Geneva and climate change, start local and change the world
01/07/25 • 37 min
For our planet, each year brings new climate records, and they’re not good ones.
“We now know that 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record. At the same time, we have accumulated more CO2 than ever in the history of human life on Earth,” says Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization.
On Inside Geneva this week, we look at the damage from the perspective of United Nations (UN) aid agencies.
“Climate change is making us sick, and it’s making us sick because it’s increasing the possibility of having more infectious diseases and waterborne diseases like cholera. It’s also sometimes destroying the capacity to produce food,” says Maria Neira, Climate Change Director at the World Health Organization.
We also hear how aid agencies are trying to reduce their own carbon footprints.
“Anyone who’s in the field at the moment shouldn’t be using their own agency vehicles. We should be ride-sharing. We’ve got 6,000 vehicles. Why aren’t they electric? We’ve got 6,000 generators. Why aren’t they all solar-powered?” says Andrew Harper, Climate Change Advisor to the UN Refugee Agency.
It’s part of a local Geneva initiative called 2050 Today to encourage the city’s UN agencies, diplomatic missions and private enterprises to tackle climate change.
“In my small mission, we know that our contribution may be minor in comparison, but we also understand the power of collective movements. By sharing the 2050 Today tools with our other embassies throughout the world, we aim to reduce our emissions by 45% from our 2022 levels,” says Matthew Wilson, the Ambassador of Barbados to the UN in Geneva.
Sometimes great things start local – join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to find out how.
Get in touch!
- Email us at [email protected]
- Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en
Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter.
For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/
Host: Imogen Foulkes
Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain
Distribution: Sara Pasino
Marketing: Xin Zhang
For our planet, each year brings new climate records, and they’re not good ones.
“We now know that 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record. At the same time, we have accumulated more CO2 than ever in the history of human life on Earth,” says Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization.
On Inside Geneva this week, we look at the damage from the perspective of United Nations (UN) aid agencies.
“Climate change is making us sick, and it’s making us sick because it’s increasing the possibility of having more infectious diseases and waterborne diseases like cholera. It’s also sometimes destroying the capacity to produce food,” says Maria Neira, Climate Change Director at the World Health Organization.
We also hear how aid agencies are trying to reduce their own carbon footprints.
“Anyone who’s in the field at the moment shouldn’t be using their own agency vehicles. We should be ride-sharing. We’ve got 6,000 vehicles. Why aren’t they electric? We’ve got 6,000 generators. Why aren’t they all solar-powered?” says Andrew Harper, Climate Change Advisor to the UN Refugee Agency.
It’s part of a local Geneva initiative called 2050 Today to encourage the city’s UN agencies, diplomatic missions and private enterprises to tackle climate change.
“In my small mission, we know that our contribution may be minor in comparison, but we also understand the power of collective movements. By sharing the 2050 Today tools with our other embassies throughout the world, we aim to reduce our emissions by 45% from our 2022 levels,” says Matthew Wilson, the Ambassador of Barbados to the UN in Geneva.
Sometimes great things start local – join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to find out how.
Get in touch!
- Email us at [email protected]
- Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en
Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter.
For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/
Host: Imogen Foulkes
Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain
Distribution: Sara Pasino
Marketing: Xin Zhang
Previous Episode
Can the UN and international law survive?
In 2024 there are more than 100 conflicts ongoing, worldwide. A record number of aid workers have been killed.
Tom Fletcher, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator: ‘It’s not just the ferocity of these conflicts, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Syria. It’s about that wilful neglect of international humanitarian law. And as a result we seem to have lost our anchor somehow. That scaffolding, that we felt was there, international humanitarian law that I was hoping we’d be taking for granted at this point, is shaking.’
Inside Geneva asks whether we have given up on international law.
Nico Krisch, Professor of International Law, Geneva Graduate Institute: If I see the Europeans talks about international law and the rules based order, but then keep supporting Israel in the face of the International Court of Justice - deliver weapons, not take part in the negotiations on the legally binding instrument on business and human rights that many countries in the global south want, then I ask well, what do you really mean by your commitment to international law and multilateralism?
Can the United Nations survive such double standards?
Richard Gowan, Crisis Group: I think the rest of the UN membership is watching this, they’re seeing a fragmenting international order, and they are profoundly frustrated.
And what about the long term effects of so much violence, for the perpetrators as well as the victims?
Cordula Droege, Chief Legal Officer, ICRC: Humanitarian law is also based on the fact that to dehumanise your enemy means that you also dehumanise yourself. And if you do it on a large scale you dehumanise the entire society and the fabric of society.
Is the age of multilateralism, cooperation, the ‘rules based order’ over?
Jan Egeland, Secretary General, Norwegian Refugee Council: The ideals were shared by more governments, there was more unity of purpose. And today there is more nationalism, introspection, skepticism. Europe first, America first, me first, rather than humanity first.
Get in touch!
- Email us at [email protected]
- Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en
Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter.
For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/
Host: Imogen Foulkes
Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain
Distribution: Sara Pasino
Marketing: Xin Zhang
Next Episode
What makes a good peace deal?
In this week’s Inside Geneva podcast episode, we ask: what makes a good peace agreement?
“Peace is not just a status. Peace is a process, and it’s a process that is part of politics in general,” says Laurent Goetschel from Swisspeace.
So, are quick peace deals possible?
“When someone says, ‘I want to have an agreement in 24 hours,’ my response as a professional is, ‘Okay. What are our ideas? What is possible right now? What is the most that can be made out of this possibility, if indeed it is a possibility?’” says Katia Papagianni from the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.
Does peace mean more than just the end of fighting?
“Peace, meaning just the absence of war, can be the result of a negotiation, maybe even a short negotiation between powerful actors directly or indirectly involved in the conflict. But it’s not only about stopping hostilities. It’s about working towards conditions that tackle the major issues. And this is a longer-lasting process,” adds Goetschel.
Can a peace agreement offer everything that everybody wants? Can all human rights be protected immediately?
“A peace agreement cannot guarantee the protection of human rights; it can just keep the door open and create some form of foundation for the political actors of a country to actually pursue the aspiration of protecting human rights,” adds Papagianni.
Join podcast host Imogen Foulkes to hear about the tough, practical realities – and the hard work and patience needed – to create a sustainable peace agreement.
Get in touch!
- Email us at [email protected]
- Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en
Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter.
For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/
Host: Imogen Foulkes
Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain
Distribution: Sara Pasino
Marketing: Xin Zhang
Inside Geneva - Geneva and climate change, start local and change the world
Transcript
This is Inside Geneva . I'm your host , Imogen Foulkes , and this is a production from Swissinfo , the international public media company of Switzerland .
Speaker 3In today's programme... . We now know that 2024 is on track to be the warmest year on record . At the same time , we have accumulated CO2 more than ever in the history of human life
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