Countdown to COP28: #SustyTalk with CISL’s Eliot Whittington

#SustyTalk is all about keeping edie’s loyal readers connected to sustainability leaders across the world, whilst reminding us all that sustainability and climate action must go on through the current cost of living crisis and beyond. It launched in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020 and has continued since then, keeping us connected to the leaders who are continuing to drive sustainable business and climate action.

For this latest #SustyTalk episode, edie’s deputy editor Sarah George is in conversation with Eliot Whittington, chief systems change officer at CISL. 

This episode forms part of edie’s Countdown to COP28 editorial campaign which began on Monday 16 October and will run until the summit begins on 30 November.

Whittington is on hand to recap on COPs past, given that CISL has been attending the UN’s annual climate summits for well over a decade.

He says: “Paris wrote the roadmap. Glasgow set some staging posts along the way. COP28 is the moment where we look how far we’re progressed on that journey – that’s what the global stocktake is. This is where we ask whether there are some shortcuts we can take, whether there are ways that we can accelerate. That will be written and published in advance of the COP, but actually, how governments receive that and respond to that at the conference will be critical.”

He also provides his advice on business advocacy for a strong COP28 agreement, given that nations have tended to use current economic challenges and conflict to delay and dilute climate pledges.

Whittington explains: “Everyone can get stuck in the short term… and the world is full of problems right now. This is why I think there is a really important need for a joined-up business voice to say ‘no, we are aware of the long-term and we know we need to solve these problems. We are committed to moving on this transition. We are committed to sticking to our guns moving forward. We need policymakers to have that same level of commitment, clarity and stability.’ That is a message almost any business should feel able to deliver.”

Click here to see our catalogue of #SustyTalk interviews

Want to be featured on a future episode of #SustyTalk? Email newsdesk@fav-house.com. Please bear in mind that our interview calendar is now booked until after COP28.