The Clock is Ticking: Forty Seconds to Explain the Climate Crisis
About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of climate change during the summer of 2026 and features an interview with Vanessa Hauc about climate reporting during the FIFA Men's World Cup.
The summer of 2026 burned the largest wildfire in Spain's recorded history and the largest France has seen since the Second World War. June's heat killed more than 10,000 people across Europe. A heat dome held North Africa and the Sahel above 45°C for days. In Assam, the Brahmaputra put 700,000 people out of their homes. But it was in the United States, in its hottest month in 132 years of records, that climate reporting found its biggest audience of the summer, in the least likely slot imaginable. Footballers at the FIFA Men's World Cup had to stop mid-half to drink, cool down and put on ice vests. Two US broadcasters held the rights to those three minutes. One sold them to advertisers. The other used them to explain why the players were stopping at all. This week Christiana Figueres speaks with Vanessa Hauc, Emmy award-winning anchor at Noticias Telemundo and creator of its climate unit, Planeta Tierra. Vanessa got Telemundo to hand her time during the hydration breaks. Forty seconds, Saudi Aramco's branding in shot, to tell viewers why the players needed to stop. While competitors sold advertising slots generating an estimated $1bn globally, millions tuned in to Vanessa…
People in this episode
Host: Christiana Figueres
Guest: Vanessa Hauc
Topics covered
- climate crisis
- wildfires
- heat waves
- climate reporting
- media and climate
- human-driven climate change
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Noticias Telemundo, Saudi Aramco
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- Beyond Politics: Should we take the heat out of the climate crisis?
- Cheapest Energy in History. Still Heading for 3 Degrees?
- Europe’s Summer of Fire: The New Normal?
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