From Paris to Antalya - What's Next for COP, and What It Means at Home

In 2015, a young Australian working as a diplomat for a small island nation helped deliver the Paris Agreement by being a part of forming a High Ambition Coalition. Eleven years on, and having recently returned to Australia and having published a new book on Australia’s climate policy, he is our special guest at Finding Nature's next Supper Club. With COP31 upcoming in Türkiye in November, we'll be exploring where the COP process has come from, where it's at, where it could be going and what it all means for each of us pursuing climate action.

Thom Woodroofe has spent the years since Paris in the engine room of climate diplomacy from his role as chief of staff to Kevin Rudd, at Australia's foreign affairs department in Washington DC, and running the Asia Society's China Climate Hub, where he's built backchannels for US-China climate talks. Earlier this year he published Power, Prosperity & Planet, arguing that climate and energy policy will only hold public support if it's framed around the things that actually worry Australians: power bills, cost of living, economic security, insurance affordability - not abstract targets.

This is a small, dinner-format conversation that will leave you feeling nourished, a sense of belonging with like-minded (and hearted) seekers and allowing for the sharing of wisdom in an intimate setting. We'll go from the remarkable inside story of how The Paris Agreement got done, to Australia's compromise outcome on COP31 hosting, to whether the COP format itself is still fit for purpose before ending up exactly where Thom's book does: what any of this needs to mean for an ordinary household, not just a negotiating room?

Our special guest

Thom Woodroofe is the author of the recently published Power, Prosperity & Planet: Climate & Energy Policy for All and Co-Founder and Partner of New Prosperity Group, which brings together energy, climate and industry expertise to help seize the opportunity of a transition to a decarbonised economy.

He was previously Senior Fellow and Founding Director of the Asia Society Policy Institute's China Climate Hub, played a key role in securing the Paris Agreement, including helping establish the High Ambition Coalition, and has been chief of staff to former PM Kevin Rudd and worked for DFAT in Washington DC. He grew up off grid in country Victoria before going on to study at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Why Finding Nature Supper Club

Finding Nature Supper Club brings together a small circle of curious, engaged people for an evening of real conversation about the issues shaping our world, without the jargon, nor performance - just good food and conversation with brilliant people.

As always, the peerless Gus_tronomy will not only satiate hunger but leave you wanting more.

Every guest will also take home a copy of Thom's book as part of their ticket purchase.

Don't wait, these tickets won't.