The ACT2025 Podcast: Boosting Climate Ambition to Make 1.5-degree World Possible

The ACT2025 Podcast is a new WRI miniseries looking at what’s needed to secure ambitious, just and equitable outcomes at COP26 and beyond, especially for climate-vulnerable countries. In this first episode, we hear about the need for greater ambition — particularly from major emitters — to keep global temperature increase to no more than 1.5 degrees C in order to stave off the most dangerous climate impacts.

Yamide Dagnet, Director of Climate Negotiations, WRI

“If we want to be remembered as good ancestors, our way forward is clear: Close the gap towards 1.5 degrees C with more, better, faster climate action, especially from major emitters and advanced economies who have contributed the most to the problem and continue to lag behind.”

Tasneem Essop, Executive Director, Climate Action Network International

“This is an issue of survival. Not just in terms of life and death survival, but survival of your livelihoods, survival of your homes, your cultures, your heritage, and that is being fundamentally threatened by the levels of actions or ambition that governments across the world — and especially those who are most responsible for the crisis.”

Mark Bynoe, Assistant Executive Director, Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (ACT2025 partner)

“We cannot adapt our way out of this crisis. It is imperative that we aggressively pursue all measures in pursuit of the temperature increase of no more than 1.5 degrees C.”

More About ACT2025

For the November COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the stakes could not be higher: to prevent catastrophic climate change that will disproportionately affect low-income countries and their people. In the face of widespread climate impacts, some of the countries most at risk have strived to be as ambitious as possible with their climate action. But because the majority of major emitters and high-income countries are not making good on their commitments or finance pledges, climate-vulnerable countries face even greater risks in the future.

WRI and a coalition of organizations and experts from all over the world — mostly the global South — recently formed the ACT2025 consortium to ensure voices from countries most exposed to climate change are heard, empowered, mobilized and adequately supported in international climate negotiations. 

Find more podcasts and resources on other aspects of ACT2025 here.

Useful Links:

• ACT2025 Alliance Statement
• Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre
• Climate Action Network International
• Climate Watch: Which Countries Have Stepped Up Their NDCs So Far?
• IPCC Sixth Assessment Report

Mima Holt, Nate Warszawski and Chikondi Thangata contributed to the production of this podcast.