Carnegie Council Audio Podcast

Many countries in the ECE region are embracing carbon neutrality recognized as the first milestone towards sustainable energy, with leaders like Canada, Denmark, France, and the United Kingdom, says Olga Algayerova during a C2GTalk interview. She calls for countries to recommit to the future: "We are really running out of time and urgent action is needed." She highlights that UNECE provides a platform for technology-neutral dialogue and are keen to work with C2G to help countries get better informed about new emerging technologies that could play an important role in fighting climate change in the future. Olga Algayerova is the executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). Algayerova took office on June 1, 2017. She previously served as permanent representative of Slovakia to the International Organizations in Vienna, Austria (since 2012). She was previously president of the Millennium Development Goals of Slovakia (2010-2012); secretary of state, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006-2010

In this episode of the Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative podcast, Senior Fellow Anja Kaspersen sits down with Gary Marcus, a cognitive scientist, author, and entrepreneur, to discuss the need for an open and healthy scientific discourse on AI. What we can learn from particle physics and CERN to create an international AI mission to make sure this technology becomes a responsible and ethical public good? For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.

Governance is the key element in any climate-altering approaches being proposed, particularly from the point of view of climate vulnerable nations, says Professor Saleemul Huq in an interview with C2GTalk. His greatest concern is that decisions that have repercussions for the most vulnerable will be taken without them having a chance to take part in the discussion, so it is extremely important that climate vulnerable nations have a say when decisions are taken regarding climate-altering approaches, including carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation modification. Professor Saleemul Huq is the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum Expert Advisory Group. Huq is an expert on the links between climate change and sustainable development, particularly from the perspective of developing countries. He leads the annual Gobeshona Global Conference, which brings together scholars, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners from aroun

It's election season in the U.S. and around the world. Wilson Center's Francisco de Santibañes joins Doorstep co-hosts Nick Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin to discuss the rise in popular conservatism across Latin America and how new evangelical-church-supported, anti-establishment leaders are changing the conversation and winning elections in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. De Santibañes connects the dots of right-wing movements around the globe sparked by Donald Trump's election to the U.S. presidency in 2016. For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org. 

Governance is a key element in ensuring that nature-based approaches to addressing the climate crisis support ecological functions, are sustainable, and produce co-benefits, says Manuel Pulgar-Vidal during a C2GTalk interview. Ultimately, he stressed, any intervention—whether nature- or technology-based—can only be considered if it is based on a strong commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Manuel Pulgar-Vidal is the leader of the climate and energy practice of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International. He was formerly the minister of state for environment in Peru and president of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 20th Conference of the Parties (COP20). A lawyer with over 27 years of experience in the field of environmental law and policy, he founded the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law, one of the most recognized organizations of environmental law in the region. In his role as minister of state for environment in Peru, he was responsible for proposing a

Whether it's rigging elections in Hong Kong, arresting activists in Venezuela, restricting voting access in the U.S., silencing the opposition in Belarus, or censorship in Burma, there can be no doubt that democracy is under assault. For Global Ethics Day, Carnegie Council hosted a panel featuring activists fighting on the frontlines to uphold and strengthen democracy. What can individual citizens do to support democracy? What's the role of international organizations? For more, go to carnegiecouncil.org.

As the U.S. chief negotiator of the New START treaty, Rose Gottemoeller's new book is an invaluable insider's account of the negotiations between the U.S. and Russian delegations in Geneva in 2009 and 2010 and the crucial discussions between President Barack Obama and President Dmitry Medvedev. In this fascinating talk with Senior Fellows Tatiana Serafin and Nikolas Gvosdev, Gottemoeller reflects on her career, the importance of arms control, and what it was like being the first female deputy secretary general of NATO. For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org. 

Addressing the global challenge of governing climate-altering approaches through multilateralism is not just possible but necessary, says Ambassador Franz Perrez during a C2GTalk interview. In the end, he says, it is in everyone's best interest to build a common understanding of the potential risks, opportunities, and challenges linked to climate-altering approaches.  Ambassador Franz Perrez is the head of the International Affairs Division at the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). In this capacity, he is also the Swiss ambassador for the environment and represents Switzerland at all important international negotiations in the area of the environment. This interview was recorded on November 13, 2020, and is also available with interpretation into 中文, Español, and Français. For more, including an edited transcript, please go to C2G's website.

Ahead of the United Nations COP26 Climate Change Summit, Parag Khanna joins "Doorstep" co-hosts Nick Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin to speak about his new book MOVE: The Forces Uprooting Us, and the impact of climate migration on the future "map of humanity." As climate migrants become the greatest percentage of people seeking new opportunities in new places, Khanna discusses the rise of regional self-sufficiency and how governments can become better stewards of natural resources. For more, including a transcript of this talk, please go to carnegiecouncil.org

"What does it mean for us to think about these border regions beyond the questions of international security?" asks Suchhitra Vijayan, the author of the new book Midnight's Borders: A People's History of Modern India. In this podcast, Vijayan discusses with host Alex Woodson her 9,000-mile journey through India's borderlands, which formed the basis of the book, and she discusses the violent and continuing history of the 1947 partition, the stark differences and similarities along South Asia's various borders, and what "citizenship" mean in India in 2021 and throughout the world. For more, including a transcript of this talk, please go to carnegiecouncil.org. 

Young people may not yet have a seat at the decision-making table, but they are influential stakeholders with the power to steer the direction of the climate discourse, said Marie-Claire Graf during a C2GTalk interview. As they work towards getting that seat, they are building capacity, learning and awareness on a range of issues, including the governance of climate-altering approaches. Marie-Claire Graf is one of the Global Focal Points of YOUNGO, the Children and Youth constituency to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She is a Swiss youth advocate for sustainable development and climate action, and the president of the Swiss Associations of Student Organizations for Sustainability, and vice president at Swiss Youth for Climate. Marie-Claire is a Climate Reality Leader, and co-founder of a crowdsourcing platform startup for aggregated science-based and citizen-science data called C’Square. This interview was recorded on 15 December 2020, and is also available with interpretation into 中文,

In this episode of the Artificial Intelligence and Equality Initiative podcast, Senior Fellows Anja Kaspersen and Wendell Wallach are joined by former U.S. Navy pilot Mary “Missy” Cummings, a professor at Duke University, director of the school’s Humans and Autonomy Lab, and a world leading researcher in human-autonomous system collaboration and robotics. The conversation touches upon the maturity of current AI systems applications and key conundrums in AI research to make sure humans are not a design afterthought.   

In this episode of the Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative podcast, Senior Fellows Anja Kaspersen and Wendell Wallach are joined by Mona Sloane, senior research scientist and adjunct professor at New York University, and Rumman Chowdhury, Twitter's director of machine learning ethics, transparency and accountability, to discuss their recent online resource aiprocurement.org. The conversation addresses key tension points and narratives impacting how AI systems are procured and embedded in the public sector.

Five years since the Paris Agreement came to fruition, Paul Watkinson talks to C2GTalk to provide some personal reactions, drawing on his long experience of climate action, about what comes next. How and when do we start thinking about the large-scale carbon dioxide removal that may be needed to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to well below 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels? What multilateral approaches might the world need to govern solar radiation modification? Paul Watkinson has more than 20 years of experience in multilateral negotiations and action on climate and sustainable development issues. He served for many years as chief negotiator of France on international climate change issues. In particular, he was a member of the steering committee of COP21, heading the climate negotiating team and contributing to the development of the Paris Agreement. He was chair of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (

Island peoples may well consider climate-altering approaches, like carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation modification, because of the existential threat posed by climate change, said Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson during a C2GTalk interview. One of the main challenges, in her view, is how to ensure that the most vulnerable will have a seat at the table when these approaches are considered. Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson is the permanent representative of Barbados to the United Nations. She has worked in development policy for nearly 25 years. She served as an elected member of Parliament from 1994 to 2008, and at various times as minister of energy and environment, housing and lands, physical development and planning, and health. Thompson served as assistant secretary-general of the United Nations as one of two executive coordinators at the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, and engaged in a number of advisory roles within the UN system, including on the transition from the MDGs to the SDGs, in

The world faces a planetary emergency that requires considering all possible options to tackle it, said Johan Rockström, in a C2GTalk interview. Speaking just before the Climate Ambition Summit in December 2020, he said this was a critical moment to put the world on an irreversible path towards decarbonization, to ensure that any consideration of additional approaches—such as solar radiation modification—would not undermine that essential work. Johan Rockström is director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam. Rockström is an internationally recognized scientist for his work on global sustainability issues. He spearheaded the internationally renowned team of scientists that developed the planetary boundaries framework, which are argued to be fundamental in maintaining a "safe operating space for humanity." Aside from his research helping to guide policy, he acts as an advisor to several governments and business networks, and at

The 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly ended this week in New York with little fanfare. Yet important global discussions took place in both in-person and virtual meetings. Seton Hall University's School of Diplomacy and International Relations' Dr. Catherine Tinker joins Doorstep co-hosts Nick Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin to discuss what the media missed and how the UN still plays an important role as the "People's House" bringing nations together to solve and be accountable for transnational problems like climate change, migration, and COVID-19.

What can we learn about China's ambitions from studying how its diplomats operate? In his new book "China’s Civilian Army," Bloomberg's Peter Martin draws on memoirs and first-hand reporting in Beijing, to share the untold story of China’s "wolf warriors," its highly disciplined diplomats who have a combative approach to asserting Chinese interests. Martin joins Senior Fellows Tatiana Serafin and Nikolas Gvosdev for a fascinating conversation on China's diplomatic army.

Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative’s C2GTalk is a series of one-on-one interviews with influential practitioners and thought leaders, exploring the governance challenges raised by emerging approaches to alter the climate. Discussions touch on a range of ethical, cultural, economic, and political issues, whilst staying grounded in the practical and personal experiences of our guests.  In this introduction to the series, Mark Turner, host of C2GTalk, and Janos Pasztor, executive director of C2G and senior fellow at Carnegie Council, define some climate-altering technologies and discuss the work of C2G. What is carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation modification? How is C2G catalyzing conversations about the governance of these technologies? Check Carnegie Council’s podcast channel every Monday for a new C2GTalk.  For more, visit C2G's website.

Politicé's Emmanuala Douyon and Brooklyn College's Jean Eddy Saint Paul join "Doorstep" co-hosts Nick Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin to discuss lessons learned from Haiti's interconnected history with the U.S. and how these ideas could help the country out of its current political crisis. As the region's first Black republic and with a growing population of U.S. citizens living there, what does Haiti's future look like? How can the U.S. more effectively engage its near neighbors in the Caribbean?