131. Being Smartly Selfish is Selfless with President Carlos Alvarado
12/02/21 • 56 min
2 Listeners
¡Feliz Día de la Abolición del Ejército en Costa Rica!
Happy Military Abolition Day in Costa Rica!
Every year on December 1st, the country of Costa Rica celebrates the day that Christiana’s father and former Costa Rican president, José Figueres Ferrer, abolished their national army and redirected that part of the national budget to biodiversity and education. This year marks the 73rd anniversary!
So with that in mind, we take a break from our COP26 reflections to speak with President Carlos Alvarado of Costa Rica! With over 50% of their country re-forested, an energy grid that is 99.5% renewables, and ZERO investments in weapons or military, Costa Rica is a model for how to lead sustainably in a world of compounding crises. How does Costa Rica do it, and what can other countries learn from this example?
May we all be more like Costa Rica!
And! Stick around ‘til the end for a soulful tune from musical artist Bobby Bazini!
—
Christiana + Tom’s book ‘The Future We Choose’ is available now!
Subscribe to our Climate Action Newsletter: Signals Amidst The Noise
—
Mentioned links from the episode:
Listen: The Way Out Is In Podcast
__
Thank you to our guest this week:
Carlos Alvarado Quesada
President | Costa Rica
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
—
The incredible Bobby Bazini is our musical guest this week!
Bobby Bazini
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website | Tour Dates
—
Keep up with Christiana Figueres here:
Tom Rivett-Carnac:
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
Paul Dickinson:
—
Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media and send us a message!
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
¡Feliz Día de la Abolición del Ejército en Costa Rica!
Happy Military Abolition Day in Costa Rica!
Every year on December 1st, the country of Costa Rica celebrates the day that Christiana’s father and former Costa Rican president, José Figueres Ferrer, abolished their national army and redirected that part of the national budget to biodiversity and education. This year marks the 73rd anniversary!
So with that in mind, we take a break from our COP26 reflections to speak with President Carlos Alvarado of Costa Rica! With over 50% of their country re-forested, an energy grid that is 99.5% renewables, and ZERO investments in weapons or military, Costa Rica is a model for how to lead sustainably in a world of compounding crises. How does Costa Rica do it, and what can other countries learn from this example?
May we all be more like Costa Rica!
And! Stick around ‘til the end for a soulful tune from musical artist Bobby Bazini!
—
Christiana + Tom’s book ‘The Future We Choose’ is available now!
Subscribe to our Climate Action Newsletter: Signals Amidst The Noise
—
Mentioned links from the episode:
Listen: The Way Out Is In Podcast
__
Thank you to our guest this week:
Carlos Alvarado Quesada
President | Costa Rica
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
—
The incredible Bobby Bazini is our musical guest this week!
Bobby Bazini
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website | Tour Dates
—
Keep up with Christiana Figueres here:
Tom Rivett-Carnac:
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
Paul Dickinson:
—
Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media and send us a message!
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
130. Opening Hearts with Elizabeth Wathuti
With the ink still drying on The Glasgow Pact, we’re already hearing the results from Glasgow being labeled in binary terms like “Success” and “Failure” While we know that some stunning pledges and progressive language in the Pact came from some of the negotiations, it is also true that historically these pledges have not been met completely, or have been missed entirely. Full stop.
So with millions of humans suffering under the systemic injustice of rising global emissions, how do we meet this moment to reduce those global emissions and break those unjust systems of oppression? And how does the COP process make those necessary changes politically possible? And in the next eight years?!
Maybe it’s as simple as starting with silence.
This week we speak with Elizabeth Wathuti, environmentalist and climate activist from Kenya. She is the founder and president of Green Generation Initiative, and Head of Campaigns and Daima Consortium Coordinator for the Wangari Maathai Foundation.
Elizabeth brought the house down at COP26 this year with her speech in which she led a moment of silence followed by the urgency to every Head of State in the room to “ please open your hearts”. You won’t want to miss what she has to say to us on the show!
Stick around ‘til the end for an incredible music track from Knomad Spock!
_
Excerpt from Elizabeth Wathuti's speech at COP26, reproduced courtesy of the UN.
Excerpt from the Opening Ceremony of the World Leaders Summit at COP26, November 2021.
Available here: Elizabeth Wathuti at COP26 “Please Open Your Hearts” Speech
—
Christiana + Tom’s book ‘The Future We Choose’ is available now!
Subscribe to our Climate Action Newsletter: Signals Amidst The Noise
—
Mentioned links from the episode:
Read: Martin Wolf’s piece in The FT
__
Thank you to our guest this week, Elizabeth Wathuti!
Elizabeth Wathuti
Environmentalist | Climate Activist
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn
—
The incredible Knomad Spock is our musical guest this week!
Knomad Spock
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
—
Keep up with Christiana Figueres here:
Tom Rivett-Carnac:
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
Paul Dickinson:
—
Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media and send us a message!
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
132. Getting Over The Line at COP26 with Alok Sharma
Countries have stepped up. Projected emission trajectories have come down. But let’s be real for a moment- We are still not doing enough, fast enough. So what did this year's host of the COP26 get right, and what is still in play as we prepare for COP27? Today we talk with Alok Sharma, President of COP26 and the man in the spotlight of the Glasgow negotiations just a few weeks back.
As Alok takes us back through his experience at COP26 keeping 1.5°C front and center, the grounding truth of how The Glasgow Pact directly impacts the lives and livelihoods of millions of people becomes crystal clear. In this episode we hear from his perspective how fighting climate change must be both a personal experience and global effort, and how building trust was a precious commodity in the discussions, holding the key to all the parties mutually agreeing to get an agreement over the line.
But, how is this hard-earned political trust perceived outside the negotiation halls? It seems an increasingly challenging task to ensure that this is communicated in a digestible way to all the stakeholders working tirelessly for the phasing out of fossil fuels, climate justice, adaptation, as well as loss and damage.
Listen in to discover the presidency’s plans on how to ensure that no small piece of the process allows it all to tumble down like a big jenga tower.
And stick around after the conversation for a cinematic musical experience with Sarah Class!
—
Christiana + Tom’s book ‘The Future We Choose’ is available now!
Subscribe to our Climate Action Newsletter: Signals Amidst The Noise
—
Mentioned links from the episode:
WATCH: Sister True Dedication’s TED Talk
—
Thank you to our guest this week, the Right Honorable Alok Sharma MP!
Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP
COP26 President
—
Sarah Class is our musical guest this week!
Sarah Class
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
WATCH: ‘Resonate’ Official Music Video
DONATE: The World Land Trust
—
Keep up with Christiana Figueres here:
Tom Rivett-Carnac:
Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn
Paul Dickinson:
—
Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media and send us a message!
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn
Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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