Tuesday

21st Mar 2023

Podcast

Hedegaard on the hazards of stalling climate action

  • Connie Hedegaard was the first European commissioner for climate action (Photo: Helena Malikova)

Concerns are growing that the big climate conference in Glasgow next month will not do enough to avert climate breakdown.

Obstacles to progress include international tensions between the US and China, and between the UK and Europe.

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Someone who knows first hand how hard it can be to make climate negotiations succeed in such conditions is Connie Hedegaard.

In 2009 Hedegaard presided over the Copenhagen climate conference that ended in rancour — and left Europe on the sidelines.

Hedegaard went on to become the first European commissioner for climate action at the European Commission where she used her role to help put global climate talks back on track.

Among Hedegaard's most urgent messages to policymakers ahead of Glasgow is to resist the temptation to derail the incipient green transition in response to skyrocketing energy prices. She warns that delays risk stoking further disenchantment with democracy — and could usher in a new era of radicalisation in Europe.

Author bio

EU Scream is the progressive politics podcast from Brussels. Produced by James Kanter with graphics by Helena Malikova and music by Lara Natale.

You may also follow via @euscreams subscribe via iTunes, Spotify or from the EU Scream website.

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