The Climate Question

With more and more people moving to cities, informal settlements are expected to grow. When floods hit these unplanned places, it can be disastrous, as we often don’t know much about them. Crucial questions often remain difficult to answer, like how many people live there, what are the buildings made of, and could they withstand a flood? In the township of Alexandra in Johannesburg, the BBC’s Noms...

Earthquakes are caused by a sudden release of stress along faults in the earth's crust, not by climate change, but some new studies suggest that melting glaciers and permafrost may influence when, where and how often seismic activity occurs. In this episode, hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar chat to seismologist Dr. Verena Simon from the Swiss Seismology Service and Associate Professor of G...

How much does advertising influence what we buy and how we think? A growing number of cities are restricting adverts for fossil fuel products, from flights and petrol cars to gas heating. From May, Amsterdam is set to become the first capital city to do so. In 2024, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on countries to introduce similar bans worldwide. In this episode of The Climate Que...

As climate change makes the world hotter, some cities have appointed so-called Chief Heat Officers to try to improve their response to record-breaking temperatures. In 2024, Graihagh Jackson spoke to two women who have done the job in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Monterrey, Mexico. What does their role involve? What solutions are out there? And do they get enough funding? Plus, Umaru Fofana reports...

Transport is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and in cities around the world it is also one of the biggest daily frustrations. Congestion, pollution and long journeys to work affect millions of people every day. In this episode of The Climate Question, Jordan Dunbar explores how cities can move large numbers of people more quickly, cheaply and with fewer emissions. W...

The Climate Question panel answer your queries. Do beavers protect the planet? Should we put solar panels in deserts? And why does the world need to upgrade its electricity grids? Host Graihagh Jackson puts your head-scratchers to Justin Rowlatt, BBC climate editor; Akshat Rathi, senior climate reporter for Bloomberg News and host of Bloomberg's Zero podcast; and Caroline Steel, presenter of BBC C...

War leaves a visible trail of destruction: lives and families devastated, homes and communities reduced to rubble. But there is also a climate cost of armed conflict, and it’s an issue that Climate Question listeners have been asking about. So in this show, Host Graihagh Jackson chats to two leading experts about the carbon footprint of battle itself - the jets, the bombs, the supply lines - and t...

Methane is much more powerful than carbon dioxide and emissions are still rising. So what can we do to tackle the human-made sources of this greenhouse gas? And could this buy us time to get to grips with climate change? It's a topic which many Climate Question listeners have been contacting us about. So in this episode Hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar put some of your questions and commen...

China is installing solar panels and wind turbines so fast that its greenhouse gases emissions may now have peaked. If this trend is confirmed, it would be a major milestone in the fight against climate change because China is the world's largest polluter. The BBC’s Beijing Correspondent Laura Bicker has travelled across China to see the country’s clean energy revolution first hand. She’s visited...

First broadcast in 2024. Graihagh Jackson finds out about the little know pollutant making us sick and driving the climate crisis. It commonly comes from burning coal, diesel or wood and has a habit of getting stuck in people’s lungs as well as causing glaciers to melt. In Nepal, home to some of the world’s most beautiful glaciers, we meet journalist Tulsi Rauniyar, who tells us all about the impa...

Winter sport depends on one thing that is becoming less reliable each year: snow. As temperatures rise, glaciers are retreating, seasons are shifting, and lower-elevation resorts are struggling to guarantee consistent conditions. Hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar explore the ways climate change is reshaping winter sport, from elite competition to local economies. Former alpine ski racer and...

Fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, dread and powerlessness are some of the many emotions associated with what’s called climate anxiety. A global survey of 10,000 young people aged between 16–25 years, found that 60% were very worried about climate change, and nearly half said that their anxiety negatively effects their daily life. Psychologists say these are rational responses to our changing climate,...

We know the planet is getting hotter because of human-induced climate change. But just how hot could it get? In this show, Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar chat to Nasa scientist, Kate Marvel, about the world of climate modelling. Kate has spent decades trying to work out what will happen to the Earth as emissions of carbon dioxide increase. Although the basic facts of climate change are settled...

How farmers and scientists in eastern India are using ancient rice seeds to fight the growing impact of flooding, soil salinity and drought. The BBC’s William Kremer tells Graihagh Jackson about his visit to the Sundarbans in West Bengal, where cyclones and rising sea levels have devastated crops. William meets the rice growers drawing on the skills of their forefathers to feed their families. Gra...

Across the world, cars are getting taller, wider and heavier. Sports Utility Vehicles, or SUVs, now dominate global car sales, and the trend has continued into the electric age with many new EVs larger than ever. In this episode of The Climate Question, Jordan Dunbar examines why bigger cars have become so popular with drivers and so profitable for manufacturers. From comfort and safety to status...

People often ask whether there are any quick fixes to the climate crisis — easy wins that could cut emissions without waiting decades. This week, The Climate Question does something a little different. Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar stage an imaginary cabinet meeting, with three “ministers” competing to deliver the biggest climate impact in just five years. Climate scientist and YouTuber Adam...

Whales are among the largest animals to have ever lived – and scientists are discovering they also play a big role in the climate system. From the food they eat to where their waste and bodies end up, whales help move carbon from the atmosphere to the deep ocean, where it can be locked away for centuries. This week, Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar explore what whales can tell us about climate c...

We answer YOUR climate questions – on everything from “green” careers to ice cores to the world’s electricity challenge! In this edition of The Climate Question, Host Graihagh Jackson explores your climate-related headscratchers. Her panel chat about the new jobs that will open up as the world economy moves away from fossil fuels – and the skills that will be needed. They also discuss the dangers...

Storms, cyclones and flooding in South East Asia have killed close to 2000 people, devastating communities across Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Scientists warn climate change is reshaping weather patterns, increasing the risk of heavier rainfall and more destructive floods in the future. With many densely populated cities sinking and built on flood-prone land, the region is particul...

What do you think of when you think about our oceans? Maybe you see a picture of our planet with a big patch of blue? Maybe you think about storms or dramatic ocean voyages? Maybe fish or coral reefs? In this edition of The Climate Question, Hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar explore how our oceans are even more important than you might imagine. They help put the brakes on climate change and...

Across the world vehicle manufacturers are racing to make zero emission cars in the move away from fossil-fuel powered vehicles. It’s a huge market which could reach 9 trillion dollars worldwide by 2030. One small country which is grabbing this opportunity is Hungary. Located in the heart of Europe but with a population of under 10 million, it’s becoming one of the top battery producers globally f...

How can the world speed up its efforts to fight climate change? It’s been a dramatic fortnight at the COP climate summit in the Amazonian city of Belem, with torrential rains and floods, protests and even a fire. A deal has finally been done but it’s divisive and has left many wondering whether we'll really avoid the worst effects of a warming world. Join Jordan Dunbar and Graihagh Jackson as they...

The American lawyer, oil lobbyist and master strategist Don Pearlman is said to have chain-smoked his way through almost every UN climate gathering from the early 1990s until his death in 2005. Some of those who saw Pearlman operate in Kyoto, where the first legally binding international agreement on climate change was agreed in 1997, say he created the playbook for stalling climate talks. The Kyo...

Carbon dioxide is a molecule so important it has shaped life on Earth for billions of years. Without it, there would be no plants, no oceans, no people. But now, after centuries of burning coal, oil and gas, it's in the atmosphere at levels that alarm scientists. In this episode of The Climate Question, Graihagh Jackson speaks to Peter Brannen, science journalist and author of The Story of CO2 is...

Every year, tens of thousands of people — from world leaders to activists to celebrities— gather for one of the world’s most ambitious meetings: the UN’s annual climate summit, COP. But what does it actually take to make it happen? How do you feed, transport and house 80,000 people, while trying to keep global negotiations on track? The Climate Question hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar tal...