Shows
ODI | Think ChangeFrom Baku to Belém – what does success at COP30 look like?World leaders are heading to the Amazonian city of Belém this month for COP30, as Brazil aims to deliver the most consequential climate summit in years.This year’s negotiations come at a difficult moment. Concerns around trade relations and national security are dominating the political landscape, whilst a resurgence of disinformation has also pushed climate to take a back seat. But every five years, the Paris Agreement compels nations to reveal their progress and ambition. Brazil’s COP30 Presidency is expected to launch a landmark plan to mobilise $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for low-income countr...
2025-11-0632 min
The No Bullsh*t Guide to a Happier LifeParenting When You're Neurodivergent | The No Bullsh*t Guide to a Happier Life Welcome to episode 111. Today I share my own journey through first-time parenthood - the vulnerable postnatal period before my autism diagnosis, when sensory overload, exhaustion, and unmet needs made everything feel completely overwhelming. This is an honest exploration of how the demands of parenting can intensify existing mental health challenges, and how navigating the experience with honesty, warmth and compassion can help us to live happier, more fulfilled lives. Let's dive in! In this episode: · Why self-compassion and honest conversations with children are vital for resilience and connection. · How to set boundaries and seek support that...
2025-11-0415 min
ScientistaHelen Mountford: Yes, We’re Still Talking About Gender“Are we still talking about gender?” Yes—because it’s not solved. Climate leader Helen Mountford sits down with Dr. Sweta Chakraborty and Monica Medina to reveal how women are driving bold climate solutions around the world, why organizations perform better when women lead, and how philanthropy can unlock their potential.Thank you for listening! Learn more about Scientista here: www.scientista.world
2025-08-2232 min
Do One Better with Alberto Lidji in Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social EntrepreneurshipHelen Mountford, President and CEO of the ClimateWorks Foundation, on Climate PhilanthropyHelen Mountford, President and CEO of the ClimateWorks Foundation, provides a clear and structured overview of the current state of climate philanthropy and its role in supporting decarbonization, resilience, and systemic climate solutions. ClimateWorks, founded in 2008, was established to improve coordination among climate funders and to identify high-impact interventions that can be supported at scale. Since its inception, the organization has granted over $2 billion to partners in more than 50 countries.
Mountford explains how philanthropic funding is well-positioned to play a catalytic role in advancing climate solutions, despite its relatively small scale compared to public and...
2025-06-0935 min
Outrage + Optimism: The Climate PodcastCan philanthropy fill the hole left by USAID?Development programmes across the world are still reeling from the swingeing cuts to USAID, whilst other western nations such as the UK and Germany have announced plans to scale back their own aid commitments.With Mike Bloomberg agreeing to fill the gap in climate funding left by the US's withdrawal from Paris, is it up to wealthy philanthropists to fill the hole of state funding? Is it realistic or appropriate for them to do so? And do competing interests from funders compromise work on the ground? Tom Rivett-Carnac, Christiana Figueres and Paul D...
2025-02-2742 min
Friends of Europe podcastsPolicy Voices | Trump 2.0: How to not lose hope on climate actionHow to stay hopeful on the fight against climate change during Trump 2.0? Well, a great first step is listening to Helen Mountford. Helen Mountford is the President and CEO of ClimateWorks Foundation, a global platform for philanthropy to scale-up climate solutions, and my guest for today’s episode.
Before joining ClimateWorks, Helen worked at Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for 16 years, advising governments on policy reforms and oversee work on things like green fiscal reform, climate change finance, and green growth.
In this episode of Policy Voices, host Catarina Vila Nova spoke with Helen who helped put things in...
2025-02-0730 min
Meet The LeaderHow climate philanthropy can speed solutions and progressHelen Mountford is the president and CEO of ClimateWorks Foundation, a philanthropy platform that has granted more than a billion dollars to worthy projects and grantees in more than 50 countries since 2008. She's a key partner in a World Economic Forum initiative that launched this year called GAEA - Giving to Amplify Earth Action - and she'll tell us why philanthropy can be a critical way to fund and experiment with new ideas that can be scaled further by the private sector and how it creates an ecosystem to make big change possible. About GAEA: https://initiatives...
2023-09-2117 min
Agenda DialoguesHow climate philanthropy can speed solutions and progressHelen Mountford is the president and CEO of ClimateWorks Foundation, a philanthropy platform that has granted more than a billion dollars to worthy projects and grantees in more than 50 countries since 2008. She's a key partner in a World Economic Forum initiative that launched this year called GAEA - Giving to Amplify Earth Action - and she'll tell us why philanthropy can be a critical way to fund and experiment with new ideas that can be scaled further by the private sector and how it creates an ecosystem to make big change possible. About GAEA: https://initiatives...
2023-09-2117 min
Prompted by Nature4.4b The Interconnectedness of All Things: Writing Prompt for my Conversation with Lydia NeedleAs I mentioned in the episode (listen below or on your favoured podcast platform), the images I wanted to add to this prompt are too many to fit under the main episode post so I’ve created a whole new one over on my website (https://www.promptedbynature.co.uk/series-four/44b-creative-prompt-for-lydia-needle)
In this prompt, you can listen to Miriam Sheppard talk about her piece ‘The Imperfect Perfect Lawn’ (pictured on the website) and use this as inspiration for your own writing or art. I also mentioned the audio of the poem by Penny Stapleton, for her piece w...
2022-04-2109 min
The Climate QuestionWhat did we learn at COP26?The lights have come on in Glasgow, the bar is closed and it's time to head home.
Now the 26th Conference of Parties is over we ask what's really been decided and where do we go from here?In discussion with our presenters Neal Razzell and Kate Lamble are;
Jeffrey Sachs - Director Earth Institute, Columbia University
Dr Rose Mutiso - Research Director, Energy For Growth Hub Kenya
Helen Mountford - Vice President, Climate & Economics, World Resources Institute
2021-11-1527 min
Join the DotsCOP26 - Day 11A 12 day conference with diplomatic negotiations, a blue zone (for 'parties' and 'party overflows') and a green zone (for the general public) and many side events all over the city; attended by around 30,000 people.
A lot of work goes into preparing for a COP - not just the physical structures but also ideas, conversations and agreements. And the work continues after.
It is important to establish "the mood music" as Jill puts it, so all the work before, during and after, delivers what we need.
Ece and Jill are up in Glasgow for COP...
2021-11-1111 min
Energy EvolutionCOP26 preview: World leaders aim to strengthen climate commitmentsWorld leaders are gathering for global climate talks in Glasgow. For this episode, we talked to several climate experts from the U.S. and abroad who are familiar with past negotiations including Kelly Sims Gallagher, Carol Browner, Helen Mountford, Rachel Kyte, Thom Woodroofe, and Amal-Lee Amin. Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa, Allison Good and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the utility, oil and gas and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!
2021-10-2932 minEnergy EvolutionCOP26 preview: World leaders aim to strengthen climate commitmentsWorld leaders are gathering for global climate talks in Glasgow. For this episode, we talked to several climate experts from the U.S. and abroad who are familiar with past negotiations including Kelly Sims Gallagher, Carol Browner, Helen Mountford, Rachel Kyte, Thom Woodroofe, and Amal-Lee Amin. Energy Evolution co-hosts Dan Testa, Allison Good and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the utility, oil and gas and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution on your favorite platform to catch our latest episodes!
2021-10-2932 min
World Resources Institute Podcasts PlusCOP26 Shorts: The OverviewThis new series of short WRI podcasts looks at why COP26 matters for different issues. In this episode Nicholas Walton gets an overview of what to expect from COP from Helen Mountford.
Other episodes look at Oceans, Cities, Circular Economy, Energy, Food and Land Use, Clean Air, and Business.
For more on #COP26 go to our resource hub: www.wri.org/un-climate-change-conference-resource-hub
2021-10-1910 minWorld Resources Institute Podcasts PlusBig Ideas Into Action #18: After Joe Biden's Leaders SummitThe Leaders Summit called by President Joe Biden was in effect an opportunity to accelerate the response to the climate crisis - but did it achieve what it set out to? Where does it leave us on the road to Glasgow and COP26?
Nicholas Walton spoke to Helen Mountford, our Vice President for Climate and Economics, and David Waskow, the director of the International Climate Initiative at WRI.
Further reading: https://www.wri.org/insights/leaders-summit-climate-offers-jolt-momentum-global-action
2021-04-2713 min
Skimm ThisLike the Sea We Rise
First up: A jury this week found Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd. We’ll talk to the creator of Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability about how this historic trial could impact law enforcement trials in the future.
ICYMI: We’ve got the latest news about fake vaccines, global travel warnings and a sleep study you may have texted to your parents in a panic.
Next: The U.S. just set some big climate goals. We’ll break down what those promises actually mean. (Here’s the Daily Skimm’s big Earth Day newsletter)
Later: So much for do...
2021-04-2231 min
Climate & CapitalThe most important climate event since Paris (with WRI's Helen Mountford)The 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference — a.k.a. COP26 — is coming up, and it's a big deal. Countries have the chance to renegotiate and revise their commitments five years after the Paris Agreement. Helen Mountford, vice president of climate and economics at WRI, explains what COP26 is and what to expect. Plus: Jared discusses how the uncertain link between climate change and winter cold reveals biases on both sides of the issue.
2021-02-2727 minWorld Resources Institute Podcasts PlusBig Ideas Into Action #7: What will a President Biden mean for the environment?What will a Joe Biden presidency mean for the environment, for climate action, for energy, for technology? How will this tie in with recovery from the covid crisis, and what does it mean for the rest of the world?
In this special episode we sift through the issues with WRI experts Andrew Steer, Helen Mountford, Dan Lashof, Lori Bird, Christina deConcini and Joe Thwaites.
For more on what a Biden presidency means for the environment, including a blog post setting out our recommendations for his ten priorities, go to www.wri.org.
2020-11-1138 min
Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation: hands-on conservationWhite-tailed eagles: a project milestoneThe project to reintroduce white-tailed eagles to the Isle of Wight continues, and in this - the second year of five - seven birds have been released. This podcast picks up the story from when they were taken south from Scotland to their new home - pilot Graham and his daughter Helen Mountford of Civil Air UK making two voluntary trips to fly the birds to the Isle of Wight - but instead of focussing on the fortunes of this year's birds, we look instead at a major milestone in the project overall. One bird - G3-24 - ha...
2020-09-1919 minRoy Dennis Wildlife Foundation: hands-on conservationWhite-tailed eagles: from Scotland to the Isle of WightIn the previous podcast, Ian Perks described his work collecting eagles for translocation from nests in the Western Isles to a new home on the Isle of Wight. Now, the chicks safely collected, it's time to care for them while they wait to be taken south. This is the 2020 cohort for the white-tailed eagle reintroduction programme, a joint venture between the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Forestry England which had a successful start twelve months ago. In this year of lockdown, though, it's not as straightforward as it might be, with the usual team unable to travel to help fe...
2020-09-0522 min
World Resources Institute Podcasts PlusWRI Press Call -- What Did the U.N. Climate Action Summit Accomplish?Following Friday’s largest climate protest in history, leaders from government, business and civil society came together for the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit on September 23 to offer strategies on how to address the global climate emergency. The summit featured speeches from over 60 country leaders.
World Resources Institute hosted a press call with leading experts on international climate policy to share their reflections on the summit. Which countries stepped up to Guterres’ challenge to bring concrete plans – and which failed to do so? Are these international diplomatic settings up to task of combating the climate crisis? Which initiatives were announced that are po...
2019-09-2454 minWorld Resources Institute Podcasts PlusCOP24 Press CallOn the heels of the IPCC 1.5° C special report, climate negotiators and experts are gathering in Katowice, Poland, for the international climate talks, also known as COP24. This year’s global climate summit will be a critical moment for national leaders and negotiators to fully put in motion the vision set out by the Paris Climate Agreement. In particular, they need to focus on three tasks: finalize the rulebook to advance implementation of the Paris Agreement, send a collective signal they will strengthen their national climate commitments by 2020, and build confidence for the financial investments to support climate solutions.
COP24 is t...
2018-11-2056 min
Friends of Europe podcastsClimate and Energy Summit - SESSION IIThe second session of the Climate and Energy Summit hosted by Friends of Europe on 18 October looked at the potential of digitalisation to bring about a transformation in the development of clean technologies. To achieve sustainability objectives, energy infrastructures and systems will need to undergo extensive digitalisation. Speakers included Kirsten Dunlop (Chief Executive Officer at EIT Climate-KIC), Luc Goossens (Chief Technology Officer of ENGIE Research at ENGIE), Helen Mountford (Director of Economics at the World Resources Institute (WRI)) and Bernard Salha (Senior Executive Vice President of EDF Group).
2018-11-071h 08
TrumponomicsHow Water Will Determine the Global Economy's Winners and LosersFor years, oil was the major determinant of which countries rose to -- and lost -- power in the global economy. Today, that commodity increasingly is water. This week on Benchmark, we hear about the water crisis in Cape Town, where authorities are warning they may need to turn off the taps, from local Bloomberg editor Robert Brand. Then, we take a journey through global water issues with Helen Mountford of the World Resources Institute. They speak with Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News and Daniel Moss of Bloomberg View.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2018-04-1921 minTrumponomicsHow Water Will Determine the Global Economy's Winners and LosersFor years, oil was the major determinant of which countries rose to -- and lost -- power in the global economy. Today, that commodity increasingly is water. This week on Benchmark, we hear about the water crisis in Cape Town, where authorities are warning they may need to turn off the taps, from local Bloomberg editor Robert Brand. Then, we take a journey through global water issues with Helen Mountford of the World Resources Institute. They speak with Scott Lanman of Bloomberg News and Daniel Moss of Bloomberg View.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
2018-04-1921 min