The world's wetlands store carbon and can help us tackle some of the impacts of climate change. Are we overlooking their importance? And what can we do to protect them more? Graihagh Jackson travels to wetlands near her home in East Anglia while Qasa Alom reports from the Bay of Bengal. And The Climate Question catches up with an old friend of the show, Dr Musonda Mumba, Secretary-General of the Convention on Wetlands. Production team: Osman Iqbal, Octavia Woodward, Brenda Brown, Simon Watts, Ma...
Feb 11, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Global temperatures have already increased by around 1.3C above pre-industrial levels, but this warming is not spread evenly across the planet. The Arctic, despite being one of the coldest regions on Earth, has become a hotspot for global warming. Local temperatures there are rising as much as four-times faster than in other parts of the world. This rapid warming is unsettling the delicate environmental balance, causing significant ice loss – with implications for both the region and the wider w...
Feb 04, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast 2024 will see billions of voters head to the polls in a record-breaking year for elections. It follows 2023 – another record-breaking year for the climate... so could global warming impact the way people vote? Or will it be eclipsed by the other big issues that dominate news headlines, like inflation and the cost of living, healthcare, education, and jobs. In this episode, presenter Graihagh Jackson hears from voters all over the world, and dives into research examining their priorities and what...
Jan 28, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast You asked, we answered. In this episode, a panel of experts dive into your questions. How does war impact climate change? What are the carbon footprints of pets? Can so-called "green" or "living roofs" increase the resilience of cities? Send your questions to: theclimatequestion@bbc.com Join Presenter Graihagh Jackson and her guests: Dr Akshat Rathi, Senior Reporter for Climate, Bloomberg Esme Stallard, Climate and science reporter, BBC News Prof Tamsin Edwards, Climate scientist, Kings College ...
Jan 21, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lake Sihwa in South Korea is home to the world’s largest operating tidal power station, using the tides to generate enough power for a city of half a million people. This regular rise and fall of the seas is more predictable than sunny or windy weather and can be forecast years in advance. Nine thousand miles away in Northern Ireland is Strangford Lough. A narrow inlet leading to the mighty Atlantic Ocean means it’s one of the world’s best sites for harnessing tidal energy. The fast and strong c...
Jan 14, 2024•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast The future of flying might depend on used cooking oil, plants and green electricity. Sustainable aviation fuels, known as SAF, are made from less carbon-intensive processes and renewable sources. Airlines are touting them as the key to decarbonising flying. The aviation industry has pledged to move from 2.5% of all global CO2 emissions to net zero by 2050 – with these alternative fuels being the cornerstone of the strategy. However, there’s little SAF actually being produced, it, and it’s much m...
Jan 07, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emma Tracey starts 2024 by hearing from Kenya and Costa Rica, two of the countries ranked highest in the fightback against climate change. She talks to on-the-ground reporters in Nairobi and San Jose, while Climate Question regular Mia Moisio explains which nations score well on the Climate Action Tracker and what the rest of the world can learn from them. Reporters: Michael Kaloki in Kenya and Cindy Regidor in Costa Rica Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Shorouk Elkobrosi Series producer: Simon ...
Dec 31, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Budding comedian (and Climate Question presenter) Jordan Dunbar sets out to discover if humour can help us understand - and cope with - global warming. Jordan gets advice from comics and academics from around the world, and then performs his own climate change routine at a stand-up comedy venue in London. Presenter and part-time comedian: Jordan Dunbar Full-time comedians: Dr Jason Leung, Njambi McGrath, Esteban Gast Comedy history guru: Aaron Sachs, professor of history at Cornell University an...
Dec 24, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 2023 was the hottest year on record. How did the planet cope? And what has the world actually done to tackle climate change? The BBC’s Graihagh Jackson is joined by a panel of journalists and experts for an annual stocktake of the climate crisis. Under review from the past twelve months are wonky weather patterns, clever energy solutions and tense diplomatic negotiations. Graihagh Jackson: Presenter of The Climate Question Najma Mohamed: Head of Nature Based Solutions at the United Nations Envir...
Dec 22, 2023•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast The deal at this year's COP conference in Dubai is being hailed as "historic" because it's the first time nearly 200 countries have all acknowledged the role of fossil fuels in Climate Change. But critics says the agreement is riddled with loopholes, and that the pledge to "transition" from oil, gas, and coal is too weak. So who's right? And what difference will this year's discussions make? Graihagh Jackson gets the low-down from COP from BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, and she talks to thre...
Dec 15, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast As part of the BBC's 100 Women season, Mercy Juma in Nairobi talks to three leading activists from Africa. What are the particular effects of Climate Change on women? Are their voices being heard? And what positive action can be taken? Presenter: Mercy Juma Guests: Dr Susan Chomba, World Resources Institute; Dr Sahondra Kiplagat, Environmental Psychologist and Lecturer at University of Nairobi; Temilade Salami, Founder of the Ecochampions mentorship programme for youth climate leaders across Afr...
Dec 07, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the world’s attention turns to this year’s COP summit in the UAE, questions remain about the host country and conference president. It’s not the first time that an oil-producing country has hosted the climate change summit. But some environmental campaigners are unhappy about COP28 being held in the United Arab Emirates, and the choice of conference president, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber – the CEO of the national oil company, ADNOC. However, supporters say that the country is extremely vulnerable to ...
Nov 27, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Graihagh Jackson and BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt team up with the BBC's Global News Podcast to answer listeners' questions. They cover everything from the big COP summit in Dubai to tree-planting, nuclear fusion and what action to take personally on Climate Change. Presenter: Nick Miles Guests: Climate Question Host Graihagh Jackson and BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt Producers: Osman Iqbal, Stephen Jensen, Phoebe Hopson Series Producer: Simon Watts Editors: China Collins and Karen Marti...
Nov 26, 2023•31 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's the world's biggest - and most controversial - climate conference. But how does it actually work? And does it make a difference? Jordan Dunbar investigates. To help get some simple answers to simple questions, Jordan is joined by climate experts- Dr Mosunda Mumba, Secretary General of the Wetlands Convention Professor David Victor of Innovation and Public Policy University of California, San Diego, USA Adil Najim, Professor of International Relations and Environment at Boston University's P...
Nov 24, 2023•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast In his latest Climate Change 101, Jordan Dunbar finds out why 1.5C is the world's target for limiting global warming. Why 1.5 degrees? And what happens if we miss the goal?
Nov 21, 2023•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nearly three decades since the United Nations climate talks began, we take a look at what it has achieved when it comes to tackling climate change. We also look towards COP 28 taking place in Dubai and ask what progress can be made at the latest round of negotiations. It’s the only international negotiation on climate change and a unique opportunity to get agreement on how to best tackle global warming – but it has its critics as well as its fans. Joining Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar are: ...
Nov 19, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the world faces up to the increasingly apparent effects of climate change, access to accurate information that helps us to understand what’s going on, why, and what we can do about it, is vital. But in its efforts to do this, the science community is facing a growing amount of abuse from people who do not believe what they’re saying. Anger at the science is leading to threats against the scientists in some cases. In this episode, presenter Jordan Dunbar is joined by BBC Verify’s Merlyn Thomas...
Nov 12, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Greenland is an island covered in a sheet of ice that is over 3km thick in places, containing 7.4 metres of average global sea level rise. Due to climate change, it’s melting at an astonishing rate. We meet some of the people being forced to rapidly adapt their traditional ways of life. And find out why ice loss means sea level rises for elsewhere in the world – but the opposite for the island itself Joining presenter Graihagh Jackson are: • Mads Malik Fuglsang Holm, reporter in Greenland • Twil...
Nov 05, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Yasuni National Park in Ecuador forms part of the Amazon rainforest and is one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet. It also produces 60,000 barrels of oil per day. In a recent referendum, held as part of Ecuador’s Presidential elections, people voted to stop drilling for oil – including the newly elected President Daniel Noboa. We visit the town of El Coca – the gateway to the park - where the result thrilled people who are concerned about the climate. But many, especially those who...
Oct 28, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week we hear from listeners about the ways they cope and how they remain positive on climate change. From being involved in a like-minded community, to taking action in everyday ways. Or just knowing that the brightest minds are pushing innovative climate solutions forward every day. In a wave of negative climate news, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and uncertain about the future. Climate change is a real threat, and it’s normal to experience worry, but there are reasons to be positive....
Oct 22, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bill Gates, the tech billionaire turned philanthropist, has been combating poverty, disease, and inequity around the world for decades. However, in recent years he has shifted focus and resources towards the climate crisis. Gates believes fighting climate change and fighting poverty are two sides of the same coin. Food, health and economic crises will last longer and become more severe as climate threats escalate; disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable communities. Surprisingly, Gates ...
Oct 15, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week we speak to people in the greater Horn of Africa, experiencing the worst drought in 40 years. It's left 23 million people at risk of starvation and new research has found that it was 100 times more likely to have happened because of climate change. Presenter Sophie Eastaugh hears about a climate adaptation strategy pioneered by the Maasai people. Food insecurity, conflict and perishing livestock are just a few elements of an ever-worsening crisis, with proactive planning difficult for ...
Oct 08, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast About 16 percent of the world’s population is thought to be disabled, but they are still 2 to 4 times more likely to be injured or killed in a natural disaster than those who are not disabled. Emma Tracey, from the BBC’s Access All podcast, investigates for The Climate Question, meeting disabled people who have dealt with extreme weather events first hand. As well as those who are researching and enforcing change, even in the places you’d least expect it Emma is joined by: Sébastien Jodoin, Asso...
Oct 01, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we’re off to Costa Rica, an eco-tourism hotspot in collaboration with BBC’s The Travel Show. Eco-tourism is big business - it’s forecasted to generate $103 billion annually by 2027. But how well do its green claims actually stack up when it comes to the climate? Presenter Qasa Alom visits the birthplace of Sea Turtle conservation, goes on patrol with a ranger protecting the forest from loggers and miners, and spots luxury tourist developments in the terrain of the puma. How big is tou...
Sep 24, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Climate Question receives lots of emails from listeners asking about the impact that the food and drink we consume on a daily basis has on the environment and climate: which foods are most associated with greenhouse gas emissions? Which fruits and vegetables are the most sustainable choices at the supermarket? How would a tax on carbon-intensive imported produce, like beef, work? In this programme, a panel of experts answer your questions to help you see past the product packaging, wherever ...
Sep 17, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this, the second episode in our spin-off series on Climate Quitters, we invite trailblazers from three different continents to reveal the ups and down, highs and lows of their new lives in climate conscious careers. In Mumbai, Namita Dandekar swapped a role marketing stock for one of India's largest - and wealthiest - conglomerates for a front-line position with The RainTree Foundation, an organisation that works with rural communities to introduce climate friendly practices into their everyd...
Sep 10, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bornholm – a Danish island in the Baltic Sea – is trying to go carbon neutral by 2025. It is a lofty ambition that would put the island decades ahead of most countries. This dream has been 15 years in the making; a crash in fish stocks meant Bornholmers had to reinvent themselves and they chose to become ‘the bright green island’. Since then, they have been making biogas from pig manure, building wind turbine after wind turbine, and now they are piloting new ways of storing this renewable energy...
Sep 03, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast The live music industry is booming. With global growth in concerts and festivals, more and more of us are enjoying our favourite bands and artists live. The music industry now relies on touring for money – encouraging more and more bands to travel and fans to see them. This is causing emissions to soar just like the private jets. So what can be done? Jordan Dunbar discovers the problem isn’t coming from who you might think and that this could be a climate opportunity rather than a problem. Guest...
Aug 25, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has been raising awareness of the impact that climate change is having on small island nations like hers, from the Caribbean to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In addition to facing more extreme weather and temperatures, these islands also have to contend with the threat posed by rising sea levels – which, for some islands, is existential. In this episode, Qasa Alom speaks to reporters in Fiji and the Maldives about what small island nations can do to ...
Aug 20, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jordan Dunbar introduces The Climate Question's guide to the Climate Change basics - with the help of some friends of the show.
Aug 16, 2023•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
