Is COP still worth it for small nations?

对小型国家来说,气候变化大会(COP)仍值得参与吗?

Newshour

2025-11-08

42 分钟
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单集简介 ...

The president of the Pacific island nation, Palau, considers whether COP is still worth it. Also on the programme, thousands of flights have been cancelled or delayed in the US on the first day of reduced air traffic caused by the government shutdown; and, the so-called "Google Maps" of Roman Roads -- the most extensive digital map that reveals hundreds of thousand of kilometres of old roads. (Photo: Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez embrace next to European Council President Antonio Costa and Para state Governor Helder Barbalho as delegates attending the Belem Climate Summit ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) gather for a family photo, in Belem, Brazil, November 7, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado)
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单集文稿 ...

  • Hello, I'm Celia Hatton and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service.

  • I'm coming to you live from central London.

  • In today's program,

  • we'll be going back in time for a fresh look at the vast network of roads built by the Romans.

  • And then we'll go into the nearest future when Elon Musk's Tesla robots could be put to work in ordinary homes.

  • More on those stories coming up a little later.

  • But first, let's focus on the present and what's happening now in Brazil.

  • This year's climate summit is happening there.

  • A lot of coverage so far has focused on the leaders from wealthy industrialized countries that are at the meeting,

  • including the UK, France and Ireland.

  • And a lot has been said about the leaders from other major states who aren't there.

  • from the US, China, India, big emitters of greenhouse gases who've decided to skip COP.

  • But what about countries that are much, much smaller than that?

  • Countries in places that could be swallowed up by rising sea levels.

  • Is it really worth it for them to take part in the COP process?

  • The Pacific Island nation of Palau is one of those smaller countries.

  • It's made up of 340 low-lying coral and volcanic islands, and it's home to just 17,000 people.

  • I spoke with Palau's president, Sirangul Samuel Whipps.

  • He's in Brazil.

  • And I asked him to explain what's at stake for his country.