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On this episode of OptOutcast, Climate Editor Amanda Magnani brings you inside COP 28, the United Nations' yearly climate conference, which took place last year in Dubai from Nov. 30-Dec. 13. The event was the largest one to date, with an attendance of nearly 100,000 people. On the one hand, it was marked by exciting announcements, such as the Loss and Damage Fund and the treaty to triple renewable energy. On the other hand, it hosted around 2,400 oil lobbyists and a final text that, while representing some progress, was also seen by many as a huge let down.

Throughout the episode, you will hear the sounds of the venue, from the moment Amanda arrives and goes through security to important announcements and the everyday lives of journalists covering the event. To better understand the event, its history, and impact, she talks to Sophie Davies, Chris Wright, and Shreeshan Venkatesh, three journalists from different parts of the world with a long history of covering COPs.

Sophie Davies is a Barcelona-based journalist and editor at OptOut’s participating outlet Gas Outlook, an independent publication launched by Global Strategic Communications Council – GSCC, about the global green energy transition of the fossil fuels sector. Sophie and Amanda met for coffee at Expo Dubai to discuss their experiences at COP 28, the progress of negotiations, empty announcements, and the massive presence of oil lobbyists.

Chris Wright is an Australian journalist and founder of Climate Tracker, an NGO dedicated to supporting climate journalists around the world, especially in the Global South. It was through a Climate Tracker fellowship that Amanda was able to attend COP 28 in person. Chris, who has been attending and covering COPs since 2011, talks about how the event and its coverage have evolved over the past decade and a half, and how the petrostate status of COP 28's host, the UAE, meant for the event and the negotiations.

Shreeshan Venkatesh is an Indian environment and science journalist and editorial head at CarbonCopy, a knowledge platform that tracks developments in the climate and energy sector. He spoke about the first ever Global Stocktake about the main issues regarding fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions for the Global South and about how world leaders usually try to control the narrative in the early days of every COP.



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On this episode of OptOutcast, our Climate Editor, Amanda Magnani, sits down with Nick Cunningham, Gas Outlook’s North American correspondent, to talk about Howe Sound, a UNESCO biosphere reserve in British Columbia that is being threatened by a liquified natural gas (LNG) initiative. 

Nick spent months investigating the Woodfibre LNG project and how it is affecting Squamish, a community that was once a mining and logging town but which recently managed to restore the local environment, bringing back herrings and even whales. Now, Woodfibre may set the efforts back. The project that hopes to export gas to Asia is years behind schedule, its costs have ballooned, and its fate remains up in the air—bringing health, safety, and environmental risks. 

Nick is the North American correspondent for Gas Outlook, where he covers the gas industry, energy and climate policy, and the energy transition. He has reported on the oil and gas industry for more than ten years, reporting from Washington, D.C., Appalachia, the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest, Canada, and Argentina.

Gas Outlook is an OptOut News participant that provides insightful and incisive content about the energy transition of oil and gas companies and countries globally. It seeks to bridge the gap between climate news and the fossil fuel industry, and serve as a resource for companies, policymakers, and all those invested in the energy transition.

On this episode of OptOutcast, our LGBTQ+ Editor, Liana DeMasi, sits down with our Climate Editor, Amanda Magnani, to talk about sustainable initiatives developed by Indigenous communities in the Brazilian Amazon and what we all have to learn from them in terms of public policies and climate action. 

Amanda spent two months in the state of Roraima, which is, on the one hand, the most Indigenous, and, on the other, the most pro-Bolsonaro state in Brazil. There, surrounded by plantations and illegal mining, native communities have been finding ways to be sustainable, both environmentally and economically. They combine traditional knowledge with modern techniques to grow crops in community farms, protect traditional seeds, and raise animals, from fish to poultry to cattle. They are in a constant fight for their physical and cultural survival.

The two editors discuss these practices and talk about parallels between a Bolsonaro-run Brazil and the future of the U.S. if the country goes red in the upcoming election. They address the relation between the Brazilian Indigenous Movement and the country’s new government, and much more. 

This episode is supported in part by the Amazon Rainforest Journalism Fund from the Pulitzer Center. You can also read a bit about the experience in our special newsletter written from the field.

Christian Downie is a political scientist and professor at the Australian National University, where he researches climate and energy politics. He is also the author of Business Battles in the U.S. Energy Sector. His recent paper with co-author Robert Brulle in the journal Climatic Change traces how fossil fuel trade associations in the U.S. are investing billions of dollars on political activities.

OptOut Climate spoke with Downie about how these trade groups obstruct climate action.

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OptOut LGBTQ+ Editor Liana DeMasi sits down with TransLash Media creator Imara Jones to talk about the current, highly calculated disinformation campaign against trans people, what these laws and this political landscape mean for the LGBTQ+ community, and the need to move potential allies to action. Today is Trans Day of Visibility, and this conversation could come at a more appropriate time.



Check out TransLash Media: https://translash.org/

Listen to the new Season Two of The Anti-Trans Hate Machine: https://translash.org/antitranshatemachine/

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Kristy Drutman is the founder of Brown Girl Green, a digital media brand that educates and inspires action around sustainability, climate change, and the environment. She is also the founder of Green Jobs Board, the top online destination for people of color to learn about employment in the environment and climate sectors. OptOut Climate spoke with Drutman about how she got started, what it takes to stay authentic on social media, and career planning for 2023.

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