Unpacking The Issues At COP27 Climate Conference In Egypt

How the United Nations is tackling the climate crisis, mitigation, and adaptation

By Erika Janik and Amy Martin, Outrider

Representatives from nearly every country in the world are in Egypt right now for COP27, the annual climate conference hosted by the United Nations. After more than a quarter-century of these gatherings, why are greenhouse gas emissions and global temperatures still increasing?

Last November, the team behind the Peabody Award-winning environmental podcast Threshold traveled to Glasgow to cover COP26. Managing editor Erika Janik sat down recently with Amy Martin, founder, host, and executive producer of Threshold, to talk about what we learned and what we can expect out of this year’s conference.

This is the second half of our two-part conversation. Read Part 1.

Erika Janik: COP27 is coming to a close in a few days. What was on the agenda this time, and what do we know about how things are unfolding?

Amy Martin: This year’s agenda includes work on mitigation, adaptation, climate finance, and improving collaboration. Mitigation is about reducing emissions—“mitigating” our impact on the atmosphere by shutting down coal-fired power plants and replacing gas vehicles with electric vehicles. Adaptation is about changing how we live to adapt to a warmer world—building more hurricane-resistant homes and developing crops that can thrive in more extreme weather. Climate finance is trying to create equitable systems for paying for these changes.