After reflecting on the events of last year, this week, The Agenda's Stephen Cole is going back to the future in this special program: Forecasting 2022. France will vote to elect a new president in April. Emmanuel Macron's second-round opponent from 2017, the far-right populist Marine Le Pen, has already launched her campaign. And there are many others who could also take France forward. So, to discuss the country's political outlook for 2022 and beyond, The Agenda's Stephen Cole is joined by Jacques Reland, Senior Research Fellow with the Global Policy Institute.

The fight to save the planet was the big issue of 2021 - with the pandemic delayed COP26 Climate gathering in Glasgow and the virtual element of COP15 in Kunming, both aimed at saving the planet.
As the face-to-face Part 2 of COP15 is scheduled in April, we talk to Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, the Global Leader of Climate and Energy at the WWF, to discuss what further action we need to take in 2022.

2021 was another year dominated by the pandemic. Despite progress with the first, second and booster jabs, the Omicron variant has led to further uncertainty for us all. But as we move into 2022, is there more optimism for the next 12 months? One of the people who is best placed to answer that question is Margaret Harris from the World Health Organization.  
 

The big event at the beginning of this year is the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Thousands of athletes will gather as Beijing becomes the first-ever city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. Chef de Mission of the French team for Beijing 2022 and a three-time Olympian herself, Nathalie Pechalat talks to us about what we can expect in the continuing shadow of COVID-19.

And finally, we couldn't have a show about forecasting without looking to the stars to see what they have in store for us. Last year brought a mix of the expected - the continuation of the pandemic - and the completely unexpected - new variants, Joe Biden becoming U.S. President and Germany's most experienced leader Angela Merkel standing down as Chancellor. World-famous astrologer Susan Miller tells us what she sees in her crystal ball for 2022.

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