Matrix Podcasts

Episódios

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  A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast - Projecting global inequality? The need for equity-alignment in mitigation models and scenarios in IPCC assessments 09.09.2026 1h 2min

  The mitigation models, scenarios and emission pathways presented by IPCC Working Group 3 are highly technical but have direct implications for the distribution of the mitigation burden and securing climate justice for the poorest and most vulnerable states and regions. In this two part episode, Kate Cook discusses equity-related criticisms of these models and scenarios with two expert guests, Tejal Kanitkar, Associate Professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research in Mumbai, and Linda Schneider of the Heinrich Boll Foundation. What are the criticisms being made of the mitigation models and scenarios in the current report and how might these be addressed in the IPCC's next, 7th,Assessment Report? How do these equity-related concerns relate to the human rights duties and related responsibilities of states?
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  From wellbeing to special regard: the Welsh approach to climate justice and nature recovery 15.07.2026 34min

  In this episode, Kate Cook discusses the distinctive and in many ways groundbreaking approach to climate justice adopted in Wales/Cymru. Her guest is the leading campaigner Ruth Chambers OBE, senior fellow of Green Alliance and honorary professor of practice at UCL's Centre for law and the environment as well as adviser to other organisations including River Action UK and the RSPB. Ruth is widely recognised for her work on helping to shape the post-brexit legal landscape for the environment. Kate and Ruth discuss the implications of recent Welsh legislation in this area, as well as the 2015 Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act. Against ongoing concerns relating to legacies from Wales's industrial past and the increasing impacts of climate change, how is Wales addressing climate justice and nature recovery in the broader context set by the 2015 Act?
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  A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast - All at Sea? Navigating challenges to the protection of the marine environment from climate change 28.04.2026 1h

  In this episode, Kate Cook is joined by two guest experts both directly involved in securing greater protection of the marine environment from the impacts of climate change, Gareth Cunningham, the Director for Conservation Policy at the Marine Conservation Society and Dr. Sian Prior, Director of Shipping Policy for the Brussels-based organisation Seas at Risk. Together they discuss ocean acidification, sometimes labelled the ‘evil twin’ of climate change, as well as the, so far unsuccessful, attempts to secure a net zero framework for shipping emissions at the IMO and finally the scope for adopting blue carbon measures to support marine resilience.
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  ESG: Global - The new Office of Responsible Business Conduct 18.03.2026 59min

  Jamas Hodivala KC discusses with Sam McCahon, Joint Head of Disputes Team at ORBC, the UK National Contact Point's re-branding, historic concerns about its independence, its new links with UK Export Finance, and its increasingly significant role in handling complaints about compliance with the OECD Guidelines."
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  ESG: Global – From SLBs to AML: Innovative Challenges to Misleading Sustainability Claims 04.03.2026 38min

  In the latest episode of ESG: Global, Florence Iveson speaks with Alexander Wijeratna of Mighty Earth. Together, they discuss the organisation’s groundbreaking legal strategies aimed at confronting the environmental and human rights impacts of industrial agriculture. They discuss whistleblower complaints over JBS’s sustainability linked bonds, legal challenges to its stock exchange listing, and new efforts to hold major financial institutions accountable for funding deforestation, methane emissions and other climate harms linked to global meat supply chains.
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  ESG: Global - Mining for Net Zero Minerals and its Social and Environmental Impact 18.02.2026 58min

  Samantha Knights KC talks to Mutuso Dhliwayo, Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Organisation and Octavio Ferraz, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Transnational Law Institute at King’s College London about the social, economic and environmental impacts of lithium mining in Zimbabwe and bauxite mining in the Amazon as paradigm examples of the consequences of mining for rare minerals on the natural world and communities that live in the areas surrounding the mines.
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  ESG: Global – Corruption Risks in the Net Zero Transition 04.02.2026 48min

  In the latest episode of the ESG Global podcast, Jim Robottom speaks with James Bolton Jones from Spotlight on Corruption about the corruption risks emerging in the global transition to net zero. They explore the role of UK anti corruption law, critical mineral supply chains, climate finance transparency, and Spotlight’s forthcoming manifesto on ensuring integrity in the climate transition.
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  ESG: Global - Forced Labour Due Diligence 19.12.2025 47min

  As pressure builds on companies to conduct increased forced labour due diligence on their supply chains, Jamas Hodivala KC explores some of the practical issues that can arise with Kate Larsen, Director at SupplyESChange.
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  A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast - Essential, fundamental and deliverable: The Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment 16.12.2025 1h 14min

  In this episode of A Common Concern, we discuss the meaning, scope and application of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. This right has been recognised by the UN General Assembly and endorsed by the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Kate Cook is joined by environmental and human rights expert and former Head of Legal at Friends of the Earth, Gita Parihar, and by Sean O'Connell, the Global Focal Point on Environmental Justice at the UN Development Programme. Gita and Sean are currently engaged in developing a tool to assist national human rights institutions in ensuring that this right can be operated effectively. Ten years on from the adoption of the Paris Agreement, does this right provide a way to address the growing triple planetary crisis?
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  ESG: Global - Regulating for a Sustainable Future - Cross-Sector Insights 12.12.2025 36min

  In this episode, Suzanne Rab explores how ESG considerations are reshaping regulation across UK network and utility sectors. As ESG rises in prominence in energy, water, transport, telecoms and financial services, regulators face an increasingly complex balancing act: ensuring resilience and fairness while maintaining affordability and driving long-term sustainability. The discussion highlights how the UK Regulators Network (UKRN) provides a unique platform for regulators to collaborate, share lessons and address common challenges in this evolving landscape. Suzanne is joined by three speakers who each bring deep cross-sector regulatory experience. Barbara Perata-Smith, Lead on UKRN’s Net Zero Programme, discusses her work coordinating decarbonisation efforts across sectors, drawing on her background in sustainability and environmental policy at the Civil Aviation Authority. Sital Patel, on secondment from the Financial Conduct Authority, reflects on her 25-year legal and regulatory career and her commitment to public protection, including her work on the FCA’s Motor Finance Review and her advisory role with Ofcom. Kev Smith, who has spent four decades in financial services and regulation, outlines UKRN’s cross-cutting networks and the value of shared regulatory understanding. Together, the speakers examine how collaboration can drive more effective, future-ready regulation in the ESG era.
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  ESG: Global – The role of NGOs in corporate forced labour due diligence 28.11.2025 45min

  In this episode, Jamas Hodivala KC discusses with Nick Dale (former Superintendent at West Midlands Police and now Director of Intelligence at Stop the Traffik) and Sian Lea (Head of UK and European Advocacy at Anti-Slavery International) the role of Governments, companies and NGOs when conducting forced labour due diligence in supply chains.
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  ESG: Global - Climate Finance: Investing in our Future 21.11.2025 52min

  In this second episode of Season 2 of the ESG: Global podcast, Jamas Hodivala KC celebrates the 10th anniversary of Mark Carney’s “Tragedy of the Horizon” speech with his guest Dr Ben Caldecott, a sustainable finance expert. They discuss the origins of the speech, the adequacy of leadership regarding climate-related investment, the supervisory role of the Bank of England in climate-related finance, the impact of the recent collapse of the Net Zero Banking Alliance, the UK’s implementation of climate transition plans and the future role of China in sustainable finance.
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  A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast – Another world is feasible: the just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels 19.11.2025 1h 6min

  In this episode of A Common Concern, Kate Cook talks to Greg Muttitt, Honorary Research Fellow at UCL and Senior Associate at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Pushing back on current 'necessitarian' arguments against the phase out of fossil fuels, they explore what transition would look like. What are the comparative costs of transition versus retaining fossil fuels and what does transition mean for developed and developing country producers? How do we ensure that transition is genuinely just, equitable and orderly?
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  ESG: Global - Is your pension helping climate change? 14.11.2025 40min

  In this first episode of Season 2 of the ESG: Global podcast, Jamas Hodivala KC looks back a the 10 year anniversary of Mark Carney’s "Tragedy of the Horizon" speech, which considered the links between climate change and financial stability. His guest, Professor Iain Clacher, is a pensions expert and they discuss the effects of the speech on the pensions sector, including exploring the role that long-term investment decisions made by pension funds can have on climate change.
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  Time and tide... the escalating injustice of the loss and damage gap 28.10.2025 1h 20min

  In this episode of A Common Concern, Kate Cook speaks to Dr Patrick Toussaint of African Futures Lab about the international legal response to climate related loss and damage. Kate and Patrick discuss the climate regime's Loss and Damage Fund and Warsaw International Mechanism, climate reparations and their connection to racial and postcolonial justice and the implications of the ICJ's Advisory Opinion on state responsibility. One common theme throughout their discussion is the gross mismatch between what is needed and what is currently available to address catastrophic impacts that are already occurring.
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  A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast - The ICJ Opinion: Legal coherence in the face of climate breakdown 09.10.2025 1h

  In this episode Florence Iveson discusses the implications of the International Court of Justice's much anticipated Advisory Opinion on Climate Change with Kate Cook and Toby Fisher. Their wide-ranging discussion looks at issues including the role of the temperature goal in the climate regime, the limited discretion in relation to NDCs and what we now know about state responsibility, and what still remains to be determined...
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  A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast – Climate Protest 08.07.2025 42min

  In this episode, Emma Foubister discusses the right to peaceful protest in the context of climate change and climate protests with Carol Day and Anirudh Mathur.
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  A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast – Smoke and Mirrors Part 2 24.06.2025 52min

  In Part 2 of "Smoke and Mirrors: Geoengineering and International Law", Kate Cook and Mary Church of CIEL look more closely at the legal implications of these technologies including current international restrictions on their deployment, adopted under a number of different treaty regimes, as well as the implications of human rights law and the climate regime.
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  A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast – Smoke and Mirrors: Geoengineering and International Law Part 1 10.06.2025 51min

  Advocates of geoengineering claim that these technologies provide a potential solution to climate change, but many question their feasibility and harmful impacts and see them simply as a means to prolong the life of the fossil fuel industry. This two part episode looks at the evidence and the law in relation to geoengineering. In the first part of this episode, Kate Cook and Mary Church of CIEL discuss the specific potential environmental, economic and social impacts of the various technologies referred to as geoengineering and the approach taken by the IPCC. 
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  A Common Concern: The Climate Justice Podcast - Climate Displacement and the Law: Legal Limits, Barriers and Solutions 15.04.2025 52min

  Climate related displacement is already occurring and likely to increase significantly in the next few decades. In this episode of A Common Concern: the Climate Justice Podcast, Kate Cook is joined by Alex Randall, founder of the Climate and Migration Coalition and by Raza Husain KC and Sam Knights KC from Matrix to discuss current legal protections under international refugee, climate and human rights law and the risk that increasingly large numbers of displaced or vulnerable people will fall through gaps in protection. What can be done to close these gaps?