In today’s episode of The Arc, ECSP’s Claire Doyle and Angus Soderberg interview Joanita Babirye, Co-founder of Girls for Climate Action. Joanita shares her firsthand experiences with climate stressors and the broader impact of climate change on women in Uganda. But it’s also a story of  hope: She tells us about her work training over 300 women in climate action and facilitating climate demonstration hubs, underscoring the role that women and girls can play as catalysts for change in the face of the climate crisis.

In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi spoke with David Nicholson, Director of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Technical Support Unit at Mercy Corps.

Nicholson described his role in ensuring that climate change is at the center of Mercy Corps’ wide-ranging and successful global humanitarian aid programs in 42 countries—and the importance of having local staff to make interventions a true partnership. He also talks about climate finance, and his hopes that COP28’s theme of “relief, recovery and peace” will advance the view that peacemaking is essential to adaptation efforts. 

In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi spoke with Iris Ferguson, the US Department of Defense’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Ferguson spoke about why climate security has become a crucial element in DOD planning, as well as why the department will have a highly visible presence at COP28. She also shared the story of her own path to leadership at the Pentagon – as well as why her position includes both global resilience and the Arctic.

In the first episode of The Arc, ECSP’s Claire Doyle and Angus Soderberg speak with Dr. Maureen Miruka about the complex relationship between gender, climate, and agriculture. Dr. Miruka, who is Director of Strategic Partnerships and Research at CARE USA, emphasizes the disproportionate impact of climate stressors on women and vulnerable populations through the lens of food systems. She also underscores the pivotal role women play as change agents in global climate mitigation and adaptation, and makes a call to broaden the scope of research in this space to include other gender minorities.