Beyond the Oil Crisis: What’s actually blocking the transition?

About this episode

The episode discusses the barriers to transitioning away from fossil fuels amidst geopolitical instability and features insights from climate activists and former leaders.

The Iran crisis continues to prove how dangerously dependent the global economy is on fossil fuels. But what will it actually take to move beyond them? In this episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson look at what the latest oil shock continues to reveal. And they turn to the upcoming First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, where governments, campaigners and other actors are gathering to build new relationships and explore new routes towards a just transition in an age of geopolitical instability. Christiana speaks with former President of Ireland Mary Robinson and Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate , who lay out the big structural barriers still slowing the shift. From debt traps that make fossil fuel extraction a financial necessity, to vested interests, and subsidies flowing in the wrong direction. The evidence is clear: the transition is happening. The question is, will it be political machinations or economic urgency that determines how fast?  Learn More: 🌍 Explore the official page for the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, including its aims, format and participants 🛢️ Understand…

People in this episode

Hosts: Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Paul Dickinson

Guests: Mary Robinson, Vanessa Nakate

Topics covered

• fossil fuels
• climate change
• geopolitical instability
• energy transition
• renewable energy
• economic urgency

Keywords

• oil crisis
• energy transition
• fossil fuels
• climate activism
• geopolitical issues
• renewable energy
• debt traps
• subsidies

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, UNFCCC, BloombergNEF

Places: Iran, Strait of Hormuz

More episodes of Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast

• Extreme Heat Breaks: The hidden climate story behind the World Cup · June 11, 2026 · 38 min
• The Agency Crisis: Heatwaves, Tony Blair and the Politics of Powerlessness · June 4, 2026 · 35 min
• Can $30k Change the World? The Power of Climate Giving · May 28, 2026 · 52 min
• Can the rules keep up?: Lawsuits, LLMs and the looming oil recession · May 21, 2026 · 47 min
• The Jet Fuel Crisis: What’s next for aviation? · May 14, 2026 · 51 min
• David Attenborough at 100 · May 7, 2026 · 40 min