The Lloyd’s List Podcast: Good COP, bad COP
Listen to the latest edition of the Lloyd’s List’s weekly podcast — your free weekly briefing on the stories shaping shipping
Why does COP26 matter to shipping, and what does the difference between a good COP and a bad COP look like for the industry? This week’s Lloyd’s List podcast explains why progress at COP26 will directly inform the pace of change inside the IMO and why failure will slow investment, undermine the IMO and amplify financial risk for the entire sector. Our expert panel of guests this week includes Felipe Calderón, the former president of Mexico, Nick Mabey, who heads up the leading environmental think tank E3G and the Shipping Lead on the United Nations’ Climate Champions team, Katharine Palmer
SINCE 1995, the countries bound by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have gathered for an annual Conference of the Parties, known as COPs, with fluctuating levels of hope and ambition.
They have produced action plans, mandates and protocols even as the hot air and acrimonious political breakdowns escalate.
But at no point has shipping been front and centre at these gatherings and despite a decent showing of industry types doing their best to hoist the maritime flag in Glasgow as COP26 kicks off, the reality is that shipping will not be foremost in the minds of those making the decisions.
So why do COPs matter to shipping?
Well, the short answer is that these meetings set the regulatory agenda that will directly inform how many stranded assets, bankruptcies and failures the shipping industry is going to find in its mid-term future if it doesn’t manage to accelerate its decarbonisation efforts.
But you don’t have to take our word on that because, as ever, Lloyd’s List is here to offer the expert view of the industry’s most significant issues and this week we have a very special line-up of experts for you.
In a bid to bring you the political perspective, no mere diplomat was going to be sufficient, so we went straight to the top and asked a former head of state to join us this week. Felipe Calderón, the former president of Mexico, joins the podcast this week to offer a pretty unique insight on how shipping is viewed by those at the top table in these negotiations.
We also hear from one from the world’s leading experts on COPs Nick Mabey, a former senior adviser in the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and chief executive of the leading environmental thinktank E3G.
But this week’s episode starts with a conversations with the one person who has been tasked to represent us all over the next few weeks at COP26, the Shipping Lead on the Climate Champions team, Katharine Palmer.
Lloyd’s List editor and regular podcast host Richard Meade caught up with her as she was packing her bags for Glasgow and asked her why COP26 matters to shipping and what the difference between a good COP and a bad COP means for the maritime sector.