COP26 and climate justice for the Pacific

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, Siobhan McDonnell and George Carter join us for a powerful, confronting conversation about the impact of climate change in the Pacific Island region ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.Despite being at an enormous disadvantage in terms of resources and delegation size, what strategies have Pacific Island countries used to be so effective in international climate negotiations? How will Pacific negotiators approach the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, or COP26, amidst enormous challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing urgency of the global climate situation? And has the Australian Government been guilty of ‘double-speak’ by delivering one set of messaging in regional negotiations and another in global forums? Dr Siobhan McDonnell and Dr George Carter, both scholars at The Australian National University (ANU) and negotiators for Pacific Island delegations at COP26, join Professor Sharon Bessell and Dr Arnagretta Hunter to discuss these questions and more.George Carter is a Research Fellow in Geopolitics and Regionalism at ANU Department of Pacific Affairs. In 2019 he became a Co-Director of ANU Pacific Institute.Siobhan McDonnell is a legal anthropologist with over 20 years of experience working with Indigenous people in Australia and the Pacific on land use, gender, and climate change. She is a Senior Lecturer at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.Sharon Bessell is Professor of Public Policy and Director of Gender Equity and Diversity at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.Arnagretta Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow for the ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School.Policy Forum Pod is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Subscribe on Android or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected]. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.