Empowering Communities Through Environmental Justice

In this episode of the Oxford Policy Pod, host Begim Zhanuzakova speaks with Joanna MacGregor, Chief of Strategy and UN Affairs at UN Climate Change (UNFCCC). With a career spanning governments, international organisations, and global climate negotiations, including the UK's COP26 negotiation strategy and advising the Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Joanna offers a unique perspective on the future of international climate governance. Together, they explore the outcomes of the Bonn Climate Conference, expectations for COP31, and why climate diplomacy is entering what Joanna describes as an "era of implementation". They discuss the growing role of coalitions in driving climate action, the impact of geopolitical instability on global cooperation, the importance of trust in climate finance, and lessons from small island developing states. The conversation also looks ahead to one of the defining challenges for international institutions: how artificial intelligence could reshape climate governance and what role the UNFCCC should play in ensuring that AI strengthens, global climate action.

In this episode of the Oxford Policy Pod, Jackson Sandler-Bussey sits down with Rachel Sider, Executive-in-Residence at the Geneva Centre for Security policy, and Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford MPP alumnus. Drawing from Rachel's latest report: Diagnosing return — Health conditions and experiences of returnees in Syria, we explore how Syria is rebuilding after the end of the civil war and tackling its public health crisis, from what has worked, what still needs to be done, and how the world can help.

Sir Paul Collier joins Cristian Iftodii (Oxford Policy Pod) and Richard Heydarian at the Blavatnik School of Government in Oxford for a conversation on the new economics of development. We talk about why the poorest countries have not caught up in the way economists once expected, what has changed in how we think about growth, the role of firms and of the state, and what Collier would tell a government that wants to get its country moving. Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, and was previously Director of the Development Research Group at the World Bank. His books include The Bottom Billion, The Future of Capitalism and Left Behind. Recorded in partnership with Deep Dive. Oxford Policy Pod: https://oxfordpolicypod.captivate.fm Follow us: @oxfordpolicypod #PaulCollier #Development #Economics #OxfordPolicyPod #DeepDive #RichardHeydarian

How should governments adapt as artificial intelligence reshapes our economy, culture, and society? In this episode of the Oxford Policy Pod, students Felix Wu and Marc Naro speak with scholar and poet Aaron Maniam about how public policy can keep up with rapidly evolving AI models. They discuss Aaron Maniam's latest documentary series, titled "Raising Expectations", as well what human values governments must safeguard and preserve as AI plays an increasingly integral role in our daily lives.

In this new episode of the Policy Pod, MPP students Marc Naro and Tara Shwani host François-Aïssa Touazi, a former diplomat who advised France's foreign minister on North Africa and the Middle East before joining Ardian, the largest private equity firm in Europe, where he now sits on the executive committee, chairs the Abu Dhabi arm and handles the firm's relationships with sovereign wealth funds. Mr Touazi is a 2025-26 Transformational Leadership Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government and co-President of the France-GCC Business Council at MEDEF International. Recorded at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.