VOICE OF COMMONS

Seeds of Power

Thirteen years old. Third COP. Already planting the future. On Day 4 at COP30 in Belém, Voice of Commons host Giulia Foscari meets Prasiddhi Singh, the youngest delegate in the negotiations — and one of the clearest voices in the room. Raised in Tamil Nadu in India, a region shaped by cyclones, drought, air pollution, and rising seas, Prasiddhi traces her journey back to Cyclone Vardah, when at just 4 years old she watched trees she called “friends” being uprooted. “Not who to blame,” she says — “but what to do.” That question ignited action: more than 160,000 trees planted, fourteen forests regenerated, and a call for “actionism” — moving beyond inspiration into delivery. From restoring mixed forests to strengthening resilience and clean air, her words highlight how small seeds of agency can grow into planetary change. Prasiddhi Singh (13) is a globally recognized environmentalist, author, and social entrepreneur whose curiosity for the world matches her commitment to protecting it. Founder of the UN-accredited Prasiddhi Forest, she led over 1,000 workshops and empowered more than 80,000 people across 20+ countries. Her on-ground impact spans mangrove restoration, agroforestry, lake rejuvenation, and climate innovation. She has received the Prime Minister’s National Child Award, The Diana Award UK, the Global Child Prodigy Award, and the Femina Beautiful Indians Award 2024. As the youngest Head of Delegation at a UN Climate Conference, a COP29 Youth Leader, COP30 Impact Maker, and UNICEF India’s only Climate Youth Advocate, she represents young voices on global stages. Prasiddhi was born at 394 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. LISTEN FROM VENICE, FROM ORBIT, AND BEYOND. Sign the Petition voice-of-commons.org/petition [https://voice-of-commons.org/petition] Speak Up for the Commons by submitting voice-of-commons.org/speakup [https://voice-of-commons.org/en/speakup] For more information voice-of-commons.org [https://voice-of-commons.org/] Follow us on IG @una_unless Write to us unless@una-unless.org [unless@una-unless.org] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Emerging from Emergency

“Linear change is no longer an option.” Sandrine Dixson-Declève — a force of nature, Honorary President of The Club of Rome and Executive Chair of Earth4All — delivers a message that cuts through complacency as she joins Voice of Commons host Giulia Foscari at COP30 in Belém, fresh from a charged conversation at the Planetary Science Pavilion, co-led with Johan Rockström on “safe, just, and systemic” science-based pathways for climate policy. From the prophetic warning of The Limits to Growth (1972) to today’s mission to “emerge from emergency,” she maps the shift from an extractive economy to a wellbeing economy — and the five “extraordinary turnarounds” that could unlock a Giant Leap on poverty, inequality, food, energy, and empowerment.  Sandrine names the resistance head-on: fossil fuel interests “hunkering down” to protect profits, even as the cost of inaction at 1.5°C now exceeds the cost of transformation. Together with host Giulia Foscari, she confronts what it will take to make this the COP of delivery: Beyond GDP indicators that value nature and livelihoods, serious finance for adaptation and loss and damage, and a fierce defense of multilateralism.  “This is about resisting — she says — with hope and with fists.” Sandrine Dixson-Declève is Honorary President of The Club of Rome, Executive Chair of EarthaAll, and Chair of the Systems Transformation Hub, is a leading global voice on climate, energy and economic transformation. and Executive Chair of Earth4All, working at the forefront of climate, energy, and economic transformation. With more than three decades of experience across EU, UN, and business policy, she advises, lectures, and facilitates high-level dialogue on systemic change. She serves on multiple non-executive and advisory boards, including the Climate Governance Commission, Imperial College London, and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. A TED Global speaker, she is the co-author of Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity. Sandrine was born at 331 parts per million carbon dioxide in the Atmosphere. LISTEN FROM VENICE, FROM ORBIT, AND BEYOND. Sign the Petition voice-of-commons.org/petition [https://voice-of-commons.org/petition] Speak Up for the Commons by submitting voice-of-commons.org/speakup [https://voice-of-commons.org/en/speakup] For more information voice-of-commons.org [https://voice-of-commons.org/] Follow us on IG @una_unless Write to us unless@una-unless.org [unless@una-unless.org] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Amazon Uprising

How close is the Amazon to a point of no return? In this Atmosphere Commons episode of Voice of Commons, host Giulia Foscari speaks with climatologist Carlos Nobre — IPCC author and co-chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon — as the world races toward COP30 in Belém. Nobre warns that deforestation and global heating are driving the forest toward a tipping point beyond which it could collapse into degraded savannah, flip from carbon sink to carbon source, and weaken the “flying rivers” that sustain continental food and water security. From organised crime, illegal mining, and pandemics to Tropical Forests Forever, Indigenous stewardship, and a standing-forest bioeconomy, this urgent conversation makes clear: saving the Amazon this decade is a precondition for a stable climate. Carlos Afonso Nobre is a leading Brazilian Earth system scientist specializing in Amazon research and its global impacts. He earned his PhD in Meteorology from MIT and chaired the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA). He contributed to several IPCC reports, including the Nobel Peace Prize–winning 2007 report. Nobre served as Brazil’s National Secretary for R&D Policies and as President of CAPES. He co-chairs the Science Panel for the Amazon and directs the Amazonia 4.0 initiative to promote a standing-forest bioeconomy. Carlos was born at 312 parts per million carbon dioxide in the Atmosphere. LISTEN FROM VENICE, FROM ORBIT, AND BEYOND. Sign the Petition voice-of-commons.org/petition [https://voice-of-commons.org/petition] Speak Up for the Commons by submitting voice-of-commons.org/speakup [https://voice-of-commons.org/en/speakup] For more information voice-of-commons.org [https://voice-of-commons.org/] Follow us on IG @una_unless Write to us unless@una-unless.org [unless@una-unless.org] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Soft Rain

Xiye Bastida — young climate justice leader, Indigenous advocate, co-founder of the Re-Earth Initiative, and Voice of Commons Ambassador — joins host Giulia Foscari for a galvanizing conversation broadcast from the Planetary Embassies in Venice and Chicago, marking the opening of the Chicago Architecture Biennale: SHIFT – Architecture in Times of Radical Change. Rooted in her name’s meaning, Soft Rain, Xiye reminds us that imagination is a form of resistance — and that change, like rain, can begin gently yet reshape the world. Xiye reflects on intergenerational stewardship and invites us to slow down, breathe with the Ocean, and rebuild culture around care and reciprocity. Together they explore how youth movements shape policy, how Indigenous cosmologies meet science, and what it takes to shift power relentlessly without losing kinship with all life. Xiye Bastida is a 23-year-old Mexican climate justice activist, Indigenous rights advocate, and storyteller. Through her Otomi roots, she champions Indigenous wisdom and principles as a solution for the climate crisis. She was an organizer with Fridays For Future and is the co-founder and Executive Director of Re-Earth Initiative an international youth-led organization that supports frontline youth across 27 countries. Xiye received the 2018 UN Spirit Award and was named TIME100 Next in 2023. She was born at 372 parts per million carbondioxide in the Atmosphere. LISTEN FROM VENICE, FROM ORBIT, AND BEYOND. Sign the Petition voice-of-commons.org/petition [https://voice-of-commons.org/petition] Speak Up for the Commons by submitting voice-of-commons.org/speakup [https://voice-of-commons.org/en/speakup] For more information voice-of-commons.org [https://voice-of-commons.org/] Follow us on IG @una_unless Write to us unless@una-unless.org [unless@una-unless.org] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The hunger paradox

What is the vital link between food systems, world hunger and the Atmospheric Commons? In this episode of Voice of Commons, host Giulia Foscari speaks with Martin Frick, Director of the UN World Food Programme’s Global Office in Berlin and co-founder of COPx, about how the systems meant to nourish life are accelerating planetary collapse. With hundreds of millions suffering from extreme food deprivation, this conversation explores how hunger is driven by systemic failures across our Global Commons — from a destabilised Atmosphere to degraded land and collapsing Ocean. Recorded at the Planetary Embassy in Venice, Frick calls for a mandatory global food transformation grounded in regenerative agriculture. A powerful call to rethink governance — and our role as stewards of life. Martin Frick is a climate diplomat and systems thinker. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Club of Rome, Director of the UN World Food Programme’s Global Office in Berlin, and co-founder of COPx. As Senior Director of UN Climate Change (UNFCCC), he oversaw the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the Secretariat’s global Climate Action work. Frick was the EU’s lead negotiator in the creation of the UN Human Rights Council and later helped establish the UN’s sustainability hub in Bonn.  He is a member of the Advisory Council of Voice of Commons, and was born at 324 parts per million carbon dioxide in the Atmosphere. LISTEN FROM VENICE, FROM ORBIT, AND BEYOND. Sign the Petition voice-of-commons.org/petition [https://voice-of-commons.org/petition] Speak Up for the Commons by submitting voice-of-commons.org/speakup [https://voice-of-commons.org/en/speakup] For more information voice-of-commons.org [https://voice-of-commons.org/] Follow us on IG @una_unless Write to us unless@una-unless.org [unless@una-unless.org] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.