COP31 Kicks Off, Climate and the Changing Congress, and Democrats Look to Restore Science

The annual negotiations of the UN climate treaty or COP31 are now in full swing in the coastal city of Antalya, Türkiye, with some one hundred thousand attendees. Living on Earth’s Paloma Beltran and Sophia
Pandelidis are there, and Paloma shares some of the voices they have gathered from around the world: from Australia to Vanuatu to Inuit territory and beyond.

 

Also, although climate did not play a direct role in the “blue tsunami” of the midterm elections, voters’ concerns over high energy costs bring it back into play. Gina McCarthy, former EPA Administrator and President Biden’s national climate advisor, talks about the opportunities and challenges ahead for climate policy as Democrats prepare to take charge of the US House and Senate.

 

And a House Committee to watch as Democrats take control in January will be Science, Space, and Technology, which oversees federal grants and research at the National Laboratories and agencies like NASA, NOAA
and EPA. In line to become its Chair is Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren of
California. She discusses some of her priorities, including investigations of
canceled grants and withheld research funds, as well as the possibility of
bipartisan legislation.
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