The Economist launches podcast “To a Lesser Degree” ahead of United Nations COP26 climate conference

The Economist, one of the world’s most trusted sources of news and analysis, has launched To a Lesser Degree - a new eight-episode podcast examining how to address climate change.

Host Vijay Vaitheeswaran, The Economist’s global energy and climate-innovation editor, will be joined weekly by expert guests to explore how everything—from finance to farming, transport to trade—must change to slow the pace of global warming. Mr Vaitheeswaran says, ‘This podcast is not battery cars and flatulent cows. We will take on the myths and mysteries surrounding global warming, explain the hard truths and trade-offs involved if the world is to undertake deep decarbonisation and put the most important and provocative ideas and people in the climate realm in the hot seat.”

“To a Lesser Degree” joins a roster of award-winning audio offerings from The Economist Podcasts including: “The Intelligence”, “Checks and Balance”, “The Economist Asks”, “Money Talks” and more.

Launched ahead of the United Nations COP26 climate conconference to be held in Scotland in November, Vaitheeswaran and colleagues Catharine Brahic, environment editor, and Oliver Morton, Briefings editor and climate change guru, will preview and cover the UN conference and provide post-COP26 analysis. “To a Lesser Degree” will examine emissions mitigation, climate adaptation and getting the politics right. Over eight episodes they’ll ask expert guests:

• Can humanity slow the pace of global warming?
• And if not: can people adapt to extreme climate change?
• Who will pay the price of a hotter planet?
• What innovations could reduce the damage done by climate change?

The Economist is dedicated to covering climate change. “To a Lesser Degree” joins “the Climate Issue,” The Economist’s fortnightly newsletter of the newspaper’s best climate analysis (edited by Ms Brahic). Both are part of the newspaper’s ongoing analysis of the climate crisis. In October, The Economist will also publish a Special Report on climate change.

Each episode of “To a Lesser Degree” will be available on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud and other podcast-distribution services. All episodes will be released every Monday.