Episodes
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A major UN conference to negotiate a global treaty on plastic pollution just ended without an agreement. But efforts may resume in 2025 to get a treaty over the finish line. In this two-part episode, youâll hear first from Erin Simon, WWFâs vice president for plastic waste and business, about what happened at that conference in Korea (known as INC-5) and what comes next for the global fight against plastic pollution. Then, in Part 2, youâll hear from Sheila Bonini, WWFâs senior vice president for private-sector engagement; and Kevin Keane, president and CEO of American Beverage (ABA) â the trade association representing the nationâs non-alcoholic beverage industry. Sheila and Kevinâs teams have been working together for the last five years to find different ways to achieve material circularity â which means that all the plastic, as well as other materials like aluminum, that get used are collected and remade into new products. Sheila and Kevin will tell us about whatâs working, what hurdles still remain, and how they plan to advance their mission regardless of whether a global plastics treaty gets adopted.
Links for More Info:
Erin Simon Bio
Sheila Bonini Bio
Kevin Keane Bio
WWF Plastics Page
WWF-ABA Partnership
Sustainability Works Blog: âFive Years of Progress: WWF and ABAâs Partnership for Practical Solutionsâ
WWF Statement on INC-5 Outcome
Chapters:
0:00 Preview
0:24 Intro
2:22 Refresher on UN treaty process
5:39 Consensus as a weapon
8:52 What happened at INC-5
11:55 WWFâs 4 âmust-havesâ in a final treaty
13:53 Stumbling blocks in negotiations
17:26 Conclusion of negotiations
23:05 What happens next?
26:27 Role for companies
31:28 Interlude, Part 2 begins
33:07 Explaining the American Beverage Association
34:41 Why does ABA want to address plastic pollution?
38:08 WWF-ABA partnership
41:41 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies
46:54 Consumer awareness
48:39 ABAâs EPR principles
54:39 Building consumer confidence about recycling
56:30 Lessons for other industries
59:17 Plastic pollution is a bipartisan policy issue
01:02:41 WWF-ABA Lessons Learned
01:07:12 Outro
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Ahead of this year's Thanksgiving holiday, today's episode revisits a conversation we originally recorded in 2022 about avoiding food waste when you get together to cook those turkeys and side dishes. This topic matters because some 316 million pounds of food is expected to go to waste this Thanksgiving alone. And when we waste food, we also waste all the water, land, and energy that went into producing it. Alex Nichols-Vinueza, WWF's director of food loss & waste, joins this episode to explain how our food system ends up wasting an estimated 40% of food produced globally (1:20). He then talks about how this problem manifests on Thanksgiving (8:07), and shares some simple steps that people can take to prevent food from going to waste during the holidays (9:04). Last, Alex talks about how schools and businesses can be partners in limiting food waste (11:52), and how changes in federal policies could drive nationwide improvements (15:30).
Links for More Info:
Alex Nichols-Vinueza bio
BLOG: Serving Up Tips for a Waste Free Thanksgiving
How schools can become Food Waste Warriors
Industry Coalition Supports the Food Date Labeling Act
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Episodes manquant?
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This week marks the start of the annual UN climate conference, known as COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan. COP29 is being dubbed the âfinance COPâ because one of the main focuses of this yearâs conference will be to set a new goal for global climate finance and to lay out a plan for achieving it. The last time countries set a climate finance goal was 2009, at COP15 in Copenhagen, where wealthy nations committed to provide $100 billion annually to help developing nations deal with climate change. 15 years after the $100 billion target was established, we now know a lot more about the effects of climate change and how much it costs to address. Estimates vary on how much funding is now needed, but suffice to say that itâs a lot higher than we thought it was back in 2009. So, where will this funding come from? And whatâs a reasonable new goal for countries to work toward in the years ahead? Joining me today to talk through these and other questions is Tim Juliani, WWFâs director of US corporate climate engagement. Tim is a veteran of previous climate COPs and heâll tell us what heâs keeping an eye on heading into Baku.
Links for more info:
Tim Juliani bio: https://www.worldwildlife.org/experts/tim-juliani
WWFâs COP29 Expectations Paper: https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/cop29_expectations_24oct24.pdf
Tim Julianiâs Substack, âYet Another Climate Substackâ: https://timjuliani.substack.com/
Chapters:
0:00 Program note
1:07 Intro
3:00 COP29 context in global process
4:59 COP15 in Copenhagen story
7:02 Definition of NDCs and stocktake
7:43 COP29 is the âfinance COPâ
10:17 Climate finance challenges
14:04 Finance goals at COP29
16:55 Role of companies
24:53 Goals for NDCs at COP29
28:07 Closing call to action
29:46 Outro
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Today, rather than interviewing a WWF expert in-dept on a specific topic, weâre trying something new. Seth will be joined by Hayley Lawton from WWFâs social media team for something weâre calling: Headlines & Trendlines. Youâll hear Seth and Hayley briefly summarize some recent news articles and talk about what they mean for climate and nature. This week they discuss two big issues that are driving headlines: this yearâs devastating hurricane season, and the ongoing UN biodiversity conference. They also touch on the recent pygmy hippo craze that had everyone on Earth talking about baby Moo Deng.
Links for More Info:
New York Times, A Tale of Two Hurricanes Finds More That Differs Than Is the Same: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/13/us/hurricane-milton-helene-florida-north-carolina.htmlVox, We need $700 billion to save nature: https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/378249/cop16-biodiversity-finance-gap-seven-hundred-billion
WWF pygmy hippo facts: https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/why-are-pygmy-hippos-so-small-and-6-other-pygmy-hippo-facts
Chapters:
0:00 Preview
0:27 Intro
2:25 Hayley introduces herself
4:10 NY Times hurricane article
5:56 Hayley & Seth react to recent hurricanes
9:28 Vox nature finance article
10:36 $700b is a lot of money
12:28: COP16 outcomes
13:25 Moo Deng and pygmy hippo facts
15:23 Outro
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Next week global leaders will convene in Cali, Colombia for an important meeting: the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNâs Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP16). Youâre probably more familiar with the climate COP that happens every year, but the biodiversity COP is a critical forum for addressing the loss of nature. Two years ago, at COP15 in Montreal, the nations of the world agreed to a new Global Biodiversity Framework, which set a goal to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. Next weekâs meeting in Colombia is the first opportunity to take stock of progress and commit to implementation at scale.
Joining the show today to tell us more about COP16 and whatâs at stake is LucĂa Ruiz, WWFâs director for conservation areas. LucĂa will be attending the conference in Colombia next week and is going to help us understand what needs to happen, and what success looks like, at this important meeting.
Links for More Info:
LucĂa Ruiz bio: https://www.worldwildlife.org/experts/lucia-ruiz-bustos
CBD COP16 explainer: https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/the-convention-on-biological-diversity-cop16-and-the-grand-plan-for-life-on-earth
Chapters:
0:00 Preview
0:29 Intro
2:17 LucĂaâs background and personal story
6:54 History of the Convention on Biological Diversity
12:10 Importance of CBD COPs
13:59 Context for CBD COP16
17:20 What happened at CBD COP15 in 2022?
22:22 Explaining the 30x30 target
27:36 Role of PFPs
28:27 State of play heading into COP16
33:26 What does success look like?
36:11 Fun facts about Colombia
39:28 Outro
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In todayâs special bonus episode of Nature Breaking youâll hear all about WWFâs 2024 Living Planet Report. This bi-annual report functions as a check-up on the health of the Earth. Underpinning the report is the Living Planet Index, which monitors populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish around the world. This year the report found that monitored wildlife populations declined by an average of 73% since 1970. Importantly, this yearâs report also reveals that the Earth stands on the verge of tipping points for tropical forests and coral reefs that could have severe consequences for people and nature everywhere.
Joining the show to explain the Living Planet Report is Dr. Rebecca Shaw, WWFâs chief scientist. Rebecca will walk us through the methodology of the report, what its key findings really mean for wildlife and ecosystems, and what we all can do together to put our planet on a more sustainable pathway.
Links for More Info:
Rebecca Shaw bio: https://www.worldwildlife.org/experts/rebecca-shaw
2024 Living Planet Report: worldwildlife.org/livingplanetreport
Chapters:
0:00 Preview
0:23 Intro
2:09 LPR basics & key findings
4:42 Reasons for wildlife decline
5:51 Why should we care?
7:55 Tipping points explainer
10:21 Amazon rain forest tipping point
12:22 Rebeccaâs story about living in the Amazon
13:49 Amazon tipping point continued
14:54 LPR species example: parrotfish
18:09 History of the LPR
20:56 How to reverse the loss of wildlife and nature
28:12 Message to leaders at CBD COP16
32:58 Outro
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Global food production is a key driver behind both climate change and the loss of species and ecosystems. In fact, itâs responsible for roughly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and over two-thirds of global habitat and biodiversity losses. Thatâs because unsustainable food production too often leads to the destruction of forests, grasslands, and other ecosystems in order to produce more food. So how do we create a more sustainable food system? Joining the show today is Dr. Jason Clay, Executive Director of WWFâs Markets Institute. Jason has decades of experience working with companies to find innovative ways to make their supply chains more sustainable, and today heâll be explaining his latest initiative: Codex Planetarius. In short, Codex Planetarius aims to establish global environmental standards to limit the harm caused by the production of globally traded food. The idea draws inspiration from Codex Alimentarius, the international code of health and safety standards for food established in the mid-20th century. It makes sense: If the world can adopt standards to protect human health and safety, why can't we do the same for the health and safety of the planet? In this interview, Jason explains how his career journey evolved from human rights to conservation (with help from the Grateful Dead and Ben & Jerryâs along the way), and how Codex Planetarius could establish new global norms for food production that help us feed the world without destroying it.
Links for More Info:
Jason Clay bio: https://www.worldwildlife.org/experts/jason-clay
Codex Planetarius homepage: https://codexplanetarius.org/
WEB STORY: Codex Planetarius: Increasing Global Food Sustainability and Resilience: https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/codex-planetarius-increasing-global-food-sustainability-and-resilience
Chapters:
0:00 Preview
0:21 Intro
2:09 Jasonâs childhood
4:13 Saving the rain forest with the Grateful Dead and Ben & Jerryâs
8:08 Tracy Chapman story
9:13 How the global food system works
12:06 Sustainable vs. unsustainable food production
15:16 Codex Planetarius basics
17:56 Growth of the global food trade
21:05 Limits of voluntary standards
24:08 How to pay for Codex Planetarius
28:59 How to implement Codex Planetarius
35:58 Addressing cost concerns
38:49 What comes next?
40:51 Outro
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Note: This interview was originally published on September 5, 2023. It's being re-released with a new intro for Amazon Day 2024. To our new subscribers: thanks and welcome!
September 5 is World Amazon Day, and weâre celebrating with an episode about the many things that make the Amazon rain forest so special. For example, did you know that the Amazon is the largest rain forest in the world? It covers an area nearly the size of the entire continental United States, and itâs home to about one in 10 known species on Earth. It also helps stabilize the local and global climate. But it also faces challenges from deforestation, climate change, and more. In this episode, youâll hear from Dr. Meg Symington, WWFâs vice president for the Amazon. Meg talks about how she first fell in love with the rain forest (3:11), why the Amazon matters so much to both local communities and the world at large (4:59), the many threats it faces (7:40), and what solutions are needed to keep it intact for future generations (14:08). Later, for our Supporters Sound Off segment, youâll hear from Marianne Spindel, a WWF Hero from Florida, about what inspires her passion for nature (25:40).
Links for More Info:
WWF Amazon Page
Meg Symington Bio
Become a WWF Hero
2023 Thomas Lovejoy Science for Nature Symposium
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Todayâs episode revisits the climate catastrophe that hit Pakistan two years ago this month in the form of historic floods. In July and August of 2022, Pakistan received nearly double its typical rainfall nationwide, with some localized areas receiving over four times the usual amount. Simply put, the water had nowhere to go. A third of the country was submerged underwater. Two million homes were destroyed and four million acres of agricultural land were ruined. Millions were left without access to drinking water, and the loss of crops led to food shortages. It was a humanitarian disaster of the highest order. In todayâs interview youâll hear from Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General of WWF Pakistan. Hammad talks about the impacts of the 2022 floods (2:33), and how a new initiative called Recharge Pakistan aims to make his country more resilient to future flood events (11:09).
Links for More Info:
Recharge Pakistan web page
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In this episode of WWF's Breaking Waves podcast, Johan speaks with US Representative Jimmy Panetta of California's 19th Congressional district. The Congressman discusses the beauty and bounty of his district, emphasizing the balance needed between economic growth and environmental preservation. The conversation covers stressors such as fishing regulations, renewable energy projects like offshore wind, and bipartisan efforts as key to advancing pragmatic environmental policies amidst political challenges.
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Ahead of World Elephant Day on August 12, todayâs episode is all about Asian elephants. Did you know that there are actually three different kinds of elephants? Our planet is home to Asian elephants, African savanna elephants, and African forest elephants. Youâll learn more about the difference between these species today, but for starters, Asian elephants and African forest elephants are slightly smaller than their savanna brethren. And Asian elephants are the most endangered of the three species. Asian elephant populations have decreased from some 100,000 at the start of the 20th century to under 50,000 today.
On todayâs episode, youâll hear from Nilanga Jayasinghe, WWFâs manager of Asian species conservation, about the features that make Asian elephants unique (2:27), the threats they currently face (7:14), and how a new initiative called Elly Allies aims address them â focusing specifically on driving progress in Southeast Asia and China (24:04).
Links for More Info:
WWF Asian Elephants page: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/asian-elephant
Nilanga Jayasinghe bio: https://www.worldwildlife.org/experts/nilanga-jayasinghe
Elly Allies blog post: https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/tackling-critical-threats-facing-asian-elephants
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Diplomacy and business have a big impact on our environment, particularly our oceans. On this episode of Breaking Waves, Johan speaks with Sanda Ojiambo, the CEO of the United Nations Global Compact, on the challenges and opportunities of sustainable ocean business practices. They touch on how the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) influence the ocean industry (1:23), how marine renewable energy sources like offshore wind can scale with an eye toward environmental justice (7:30), and the importance of small actions in achieving global impact for ocean conservation (19:54).
Links for More Info:
Sanda Ojiambo bio
UN Global Compact
UNDP Blog: What is a Just Transition?
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This has been a year of record temperatures across the globe. According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), June 2024 was the warmest June on record and the 13th consecutive month of record-high temperatures. This follows news from the Copernicus Climate Change Service that we recently experienced a 12-month period in which every month was at least 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial temperatures. Thatâs significant not just because it felt a little hotter for all of us, but because climate scientists have identified 1.5 degrees Celsius as a critical global warming threshold to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. To be clear, this doesnât mean the fight against climate change is lost. But the extreme heat impacting billions of people this summer is providing a preview of what might lie ahead if we donât take aggressive action.
Todayâs episode features a conversation with Dr. Stephanie Roe, WWFâs Global Climate and Energy Lead Scientist. Stephanie explains the role that climate change plays in driving heat waves (2:02), what key indicators sheâs following to determine just how bad heat-related climate impacts have gotten (5:18), and what we can all do in our daily lives to address climate change and adapt to extreme heat (14:05).
Links for More Info:
Stephanie Roe bio
NOAA Monthly Climate Report, June 2024
Copernicus Climate Change Service
NATURE Article: âClimate models canât explain 2023âs huge heat anomaly â we may be in uncharted territory,â by Gavin Schmidt
2024 State of Carbon Dioxide Removal Report
US Energy Department guide to IRA tax credits
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What responsibility do global businesses have in conserving our oceans? In this episode, Johan is joined by Marika McCauley-Sine, Chief Sustainability Officer for Mars Petcare, WWF partner and the first global pet food company to publicly commit to sustainable seafood sourcing over 15 years ago. They discuss the challenges of responsible fish sourcing (3:22), Mars's endeavors in coral reef restoration (6:51), and the importance of leadership in cross-sector collaboration to engage consumers on environmental conservation efforts (11:30).
Links for More Info:
Marika McCauley-Sine bio
Mars Sheba - Hope Reef Documentary
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Todayâs episode features two people who recently teamed up to tell an important story. The topic? Seaweed farming. Seaweed has all sorts of amazing applications, from feeding people to livestock, and even as a replacement for some plastic packaging. Expanding its market share in those areas could reduce the worldâs reliance on land- and energy-intensive agricultural practices because seaweed farming requires no land, freshwater, fertilizer, or pesticides. And seaweed is also good for sea life, because it absorbs carbon and produces nutrients beneficial to fish and other species.
But what does it really mean to be a seaweed farmer? Thatâs the story that todayâs guests are helping to tell. Dr. Ana Borrero is a hatchery manager at Seaweed Solutions, a seaweed farming company based in Norway. And Jeff Siebert is the founder and creative director of Bananabones, a video production company based in the US. WWF recently commissioned Jeff to produce a series of short films called âPortrait of a Seaweed Farmer.â Each film follows a single farmer and tells the story of their journey into the seaweed farming industry and what their work entails each day. Ana was one of the featured individuals.
In this episode hear what itâs like to produce a docu-series focused on the seaweed industry (2:04), what Ana's experience has been like as a seaweed farmer (6:00), and how she hopes her work will contribute to a better future for her children (19:47).
Links for More Info:
Portrait of a Seaweed Farmer: https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/portrait-of-a-seaweed-farmerDr. Ana Borrero & Seaweed Solutions: https://seaweedsolutions.com/the-team
Jeff Siebert & Bananabones: https://www.hellobananabones.com/story
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In this episode of Breaking Waves, Johan interviews Admiral Tim Gallaudet to discuss the complex intersections of ocean health, maritime competition, and national security within the context of geopolitics. Key topics include his three-dimensional approach to ocean geopoliticsâeconomic (blue economy), national security, and environmental conservation (1:58), how the US is countering the challenges of IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) fishing (14:23), and the importance of international alliances in ensuring stability in a warming Arctic (18:28).
LINKS:
Tim Gallaudet bio
Foreign Affairs: Fish Wars by Sarah Glaser and Tim Gallaudet
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Black-footed ferrets are among the most endangered mammals in North America. These animals live in the prairies of the Great Plains, and only about 390 of them remain in the wild today. Thatâs actually up significantly from decades past, when they were once believed to be extinct. But big threats remain in the form of habitat loss and a non-native disease called sylvatic plague, which affects the ferrets as well as the prairie dogs that they rely on for food and prairie dog burrows for shelter. The ongoing effort to save both black-footed ferrets and prairie dogs has brought together experts from WWF, Fort Belknap Indian Community, local conservation agencies in Montana, and students from the Aaniiih and Nakoda College. Joining the show today to discuss this work are Kristy Bly, WWFâs black-footed ferrets restoration manager, and Tevin Messerly, a biologist with the Fort Belknap Fish and Wildlife Department. Kristy and Tevin give a rundown of all the basic facts you need to know about black-footed ferrets (1:39), what strategies they are pursuing to save them (10:46), and what it looks like to deploy those strategies in the field (13:12).
LINKS:
WWFâs Black-Footed Ferrets page
PBS Wild Hope Episode: Americaâs BFF
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Welcome to Breaking Waves, a 6-episode limited series from WWF's Nature Breaking podcast. In this episode Johan Bergenas talks with Dr. Enric Sala, Explorer-in-Residence at National Geographic, and Dr. Gabby Ahmadia, WWF's VP of Area-Based Ocean Conservation on the ecological and economic benefits of well-managed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Both have extensive experience implementing and studying MPAs, including "no-take" areas (which prohibit all fishing and other extractive activity) and "multi-use" areas (which allow for regulated activities, including some forms of extraction and recreation, in designated zones). They discuss the rapid positive impacts on tourism of MPAs (4:19), the need for equitable and inclusive practices in MPAs (17:35), and how to overcome financial challenges associated with these strategies (21:00).
LINKS:
Pristine Seas
Project Finance for Permanence
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As we approach the upcoming Juneteenth holiday, todayâs episode is about environmental justice. Youâve probably heard that term before, but in short, it refers to the notion that underserved and historically underrepresented communities with higher populations of black, indigenous, and other peoples of color, have born a disproportionate share of the impacts from climate change and environmental degradation. And over the last few decades thereâs been a growing movement to address that disparity head on, by raising awareness, engaging companies and other actors that contribute to localized environmental harm, and by changing federal, state and local policies to ensure better outcomes. Joining the show to talk more about this is Carlos Claussell Velez, WWFâs manager for climate, DEI, and environmental justice. Carlos explains how his upbringing in Puerto Rico led to a passion for environmental justice (1:41), what climate and environmental justice really means for communities on the front lines of these issues (5:00), and what steps the US government has taken in recent years to embed the notion of justice for communities in climate action plans (12:45).
LINKS:
Carlos Claussell Velez bio
BLOG: Unleashing Change: Federal Climate Investments Driving Community Benefits
Renewable Thermal Collaborative
America Is All In
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Welcome to Breaking Waves, a 6-episode limited series from WWF's Nature Breaking podcast. In this episode of Breaking Waves, WWF's Senior Vice President of Ocean Conservation, Johan Bergenas, talks with Bill Hilf, Chairman of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, about the progression and potential of AI for ocean conservation. Johan and Bill dive into AI's role in enhancing ocean health by leveraging big data and predictive models (16:27), the challenges of sustainable funding (18:44), and the risk of energy consumption presented by AI (23:26).
LINKS:
Allen Institute for AI - Montre plus
