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[Climate Decoded theme music starts, sparse and slightly reverberant, anticipatory]

KIM KENNY, HOST

Hey! I’m Kim Kenny. The climate crisis is present all over the world right now. Earth had a record-shatteringly hot summer, catastrophic storms and fires are altogether too common, and globally people are experiencing the brutal consequences, especially among those who are the least responsible for triggering the crisis. But we’ve known about climate change for a long time. So why do we still have so much to talk about and do? And most importantly, how can we get better at talking about climate change?

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KIM

Climate Decoded is a climate comms podcast that explores how we think and talk about climate change, and how that ultimately affects how we act. This season, we meet some of the people who are shaping and shaking up the climate conversation

MITCHELLE MHAKA

You cannot have a movement that speaks about protecting an environment without protecting people first. They need to be masters of their own narrative.

JONATHAN LYNN

What we know from studying science communications and cognitive psychology and these sorts of things, is that it's not really about the facts.

YAMINA SAHEB

We must decolonize climate science and climate scenarios.

KIM

I first wanted to start a conversation about how we talk about climate change when I was working for a United Nations organization that focuses on weather, climate, and water, called the World Meteorological Organization, in Geneva, Switzerland. And that’s where I met someone who wanted to talk about the same thing.

GREG DAVIES-JONES

Hello! That someone was me – otherwise known as Greg. I’m now based on the opposite side of the Atlantic in the policy hotbed of Washington, D.C.

KIM

And you, dear listener, will be digging into these climate communication issues with us: Greg, me, and four other friends spread around the world.

CHANTAL COUGH-SCHULZE

Like me! I’m Chantal, reporting in from the hot, dry, musical city of Austin, Texas in the US.

ISABEL BAUDISH

Hey, I’m Izzie – I’m originally from Australia, I live in Sweden, and I’m currently biking my way around France.

LARA DAVIES-JONES

Hey! I’m Lara, another biking enthusiast usually found in Bristol, or across the border in the wild Welsh mountains.

JENS WENDEL-HANSEN

Hi, I’m Jens. I’m a Swedish audio nerd based in Germany.

KIM

We’re starting this season’s global journey at the IPCC, or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and we’ll talk about how science is translated into policy. We’ll also take you to the climate COP, or Conference of the Parties, where decision-makers from around the world gather to talk about climate change. Then we’ll take you to meet climate activists in South Africa and Australia, people navigating climate anxiety in the US and the Philippines, and a whole lot more. We’ll be going behind doors you might not usually have access to.

GREG

I haven’t seen you in a long time!

IPCC GUARD

Yeah! You are back?

GREG

I’m here to see Werani Zabula from the IPCC.

IPCC GUARD

Ah, okay.

GREG

Yes, merci, thank you.

KIM

What drives you to do this work? Like, obviously it can be uncomfortable, scary – and we haven’t even gotten to the police stuff yet, but yeah, what motivates you, what do you think is at the core of this?

JOANA PARTYKA

When we look back on history, it’s actions outside of the political system and the electoral system that lead to meaningful change. And everything that we enjoy, all the rights that we enjoy today are thanks to people taking it upon themselves and making a stand and you know, this is not good enough, and we demand better.

[Climate Decoded theme music returns]

KIM

The way we narrate our climate story has profound significance. This season, we’ll be spotlighting the human connections and local initiatives that are changing how we talk and act on this global crisis. It all starts on November 6. Go subscribe now so the first episode will come right to you. And in the meantime, you can learn more about us and everything that is coming this season online. You can find us at www.climatedecoded.com and on all the social media at Climate_Decoded. Talk to y’all soon!

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