London Cooking: A Climate Action Week, a Resigning PM, and the Future of Climate Diplomacy
About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of extreme weather on climate action, the resignation of a prime minister, and the future of climate diplomacy during London Climate Action Week 2026.
London Climate Action Week doesn't usually have to compete with extreme weather. But this year, the case for climate action was abundantly clear: a red heat warning, schools shut, trains cancelled, and temperatures breaking the UK's all-time June record. A prime minister's resignation on the opening day only added to the sense that events we’d once considered rare now seem to be happening all the time. This week, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson report from LCAW 2026, where 75,000 people gathered to work on exactly the crisis unfolding outside. They dig into the politics swirling around the event and the UN Secretary-General's speech that opened it. And with the future uncertain at the UN as well as in Downing Street, Christiana walks through all six candidates to succeed António Guterres, and what each of them actually believes about climate. They also speak with Kate Gallego , Mayor of Phoenix, who alongside last week's guest Nick Reece of Melbourne launched the C40 Global Urban Data Centre Pact at LCAW: a commitment signed by 41 cities to push back on unchecked AI infrastructure expansion in communities that haven't always had a say. And…
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