Planet Possible

Niki is joined by Amandeep Kaur Maan, Founder of EcoSikh UK and Mumin Islam, a water industry leader with a passion for water demand management, equity, diversity and environmental and social justice to explore the relationship between faith, culture and our environment. Both guests have worked on the delivery of a groundbreaking project with Cambridge Central Mosque - the first 'eco Mosque' in th...

Monica Feria-Tinta is a lawyer based in England and Wales but with an international outlook . She has a passion for, and a world-leading expertise in, representing climate, nature, water and indigenous peoples in high-profile legal cases.  In this episode she discusses: how she was the first lawyer to bring climate claims to court successfully. her famous work with indigenous people around the wor...

New York City is the most densely populated city in the USA and, famously the "concrete jungle" of all those famous movies and TV shows. Surrounded by water on 3 sides and with old infrastructure, how does the Big Apple cope with rising sea levels, pressure on water quality and very little room for nature? Vincent worked on high profile projects like Hunter's Point and Little Island - pairing beau...

Al Chisholm is CIWEM's Director of Policy, though he will be soon be leaving to take on a new role at a different organisation.  In his last appearance on the podcast in his current role, he gives his thoughts on 3 big current nature, climate and water news stories. Niki and Alastair discuss:  The new strategic policy statement for the Environment Agency and Natural England. How citizen science is...

The King’s Foundation, founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 1990, was inspired by his philosophy of Harmony: that by understanding the balance, order and relationships between ourselves and the natural world, we can create a more sustainable future. Niki heads to Dumfries House, home of The King’s Foundation, to see how the concept of Harmony comes to life.  Hear from Dr Simon Sadinsky, Exec...

On this MiniPod episode, Niki Roach is joined by The Guardian’s Biodiversity correspondent - Phoebe Weston. Together, they discuss: 1) Why honey bees aren’t necessarily good for ecosystems and the Italian island that’s banned them. 2) China’s carbon dioxide emissions fall by 1% in the final quarter of 2025. 3) And a radical project in Belgium that’s turning off street lights to preserve wildlife....

To meet future water demands we will have to embrace water reuse and advanced water recycling. What's possible? What's best practice? What do the public think? Traditionally there has been a public perception challenge over reusing water (the so-called "yuck factor") - how do we get past that? The UK is just starting to really get going on water reuse, while in the USA they're further ahead. So, i...

The Planet Possible MiniPod focuses on big current stories in climate, water and nature, providing a detailed update in just 15 mins.  Our guest on this episode is Lee Pitcher, the Labour MP for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, who also chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Water.  Water is firmly in the spotlight in the UK, with recent supply outages in the South East Water region ma...

In this month’s Planet Possible, Niki Roach is joined by Ruth Chambers OBE - a Senior Fellow at Green Alliance, and honorary professor of practice at the UCL Centre for law and the environment. Ruth, and host Niki, metaphorically travel around the nations of the UK - identifying what will be making the headlines in UK environmental policy, in 2026. In Wales, the Environmental Governance Bill will...

Our last Minipod of 2025 welcomes John Curtin, the president of CIWEM. John joins Niki Roach in this 15 minute episode, to discuss the following 3 current stories in Water, Climate and Nature: Infrastructure Risks - How should we approach building new infrastructure in a world shaped by climate change, and shifting environmental issues and politics? And how do we move beyond short-term fixes and i...

In this month’s Planet Possible, we’re going beyond the specifics of COP30 and reflect on the shifting geo politics of climate leadership, and what it could mean for our future generations. Niki Roach is joined by two experts in this field - Dr Clare Richardson-Barlow, a Political Economist with a focus on the Asia specific region, and Professor of International Politics at the University of Leeds...

In this MiniPod episode, Niki is joined by freelance environmental journalist Jo Caird, whose portfolio includes Editor of The Environment Magazine - a CIWEM publication. They discuss: 1) Using geoengineering to repair the climate, and how the technology has the potential to adjust global temperatures. The process of solar radiation modification could see injecting aerosol compounds and potential...

On this month’s Planet Possible, Niki is joined by co-host Polly Cook - Chief Officer for Climate, Energy and Green Spaces at Leeds City Council.   And for our deep dive interview, on this episode into Heat Networks, Niki and Polly are joined by David Riley - Head of Carbon and Climate Adaptation within Anglian Water and Michael Avant Smith - Senior VP for Decarbonisation at BMA.   This Episode is...

The stories on this week's Minipod are: Finnish researchers have been exploring what happens when we bring a little more wild back into our everyday lives. Their “rewilding” experiment shows the link between increasing our nature exposure and better microbiome biodiversity. There’s good news, and perhaps some not so good news, about renewables. Solar power has now been the largest source of new el...

Lord Zac Goldsmith has been a voice for environmental issues throughout his political career. He has held vital positions of power in government that have made him able to move the needle on climate and nature. His insights take us inside the cabinet meetings, international negotiations and global summits where progress can be encouraged and delivered... but also stifled. In this wide-ranging inte...

Emma Reynolds has been appointed the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK. How will she sort through all the recent reports and reviews into the highly contentious future of the water sector in the UK? What actions will she take from the various recommendations There is drought in many parts of the UK. Should it be water companies that decide (and announce) when...

This episode explores Niki's visit to Havant Thicket, the first new reservoir to be built in the UK, in 30 years. Niki spoke to Terry Fuller from Future Water, Robert Taylor CEO of Portsmouth Water and other key members of the delivery team about this ambitious project. The site is owned by Portsmouth Water, who will store and supply Southern Water, as part of a water cooperative. Once complete, t...

In this month's MiniPod, we're joined by CIWEM President Hannah Burgess and we discuss... 1. The consultation on how flood funding is awarded and how that opens the door to more voluntary groups, and environmental NGOs, directly accessing funding. 2. The news that a global plastics treaty is being debated, alongside some ideas for individual actions. 3. We also consider the updated national sustai...

Have we reached an important positive tipping point where more people than ever of power and influence want to talk about - and take action on - the challenges facing our planet in climate, nature and water? It certainly seems to us - making this podcast - that more people want to talk about environmental issues, and we want to play our part by amplifying planet positive messages both from people...

We're joined by Adam Bedford - Collaborative Projects Director at FERA Science, in this month’s MiniPod and we discuss... 1. The news that more than 80% of famers are worried about the climate crisis harming their livelihood. 2. A group of British, Ukrainian and Dutch engineers trying to rebuild Ukraine as efficiently and sustainably as possible, by recycling the rubble from bombed buildings to ma...

The Cunliffe Review has just been published and proposes massive change to the UK water sector.  What are the headlines? Are the recommendations right? Do they go far enough? What are the implications for the water companies, campaigners, the general public... and the bigger picture of climate, nature and the environment as a whole? CIWEM's Director of Policy Al Chisholm and host Niki Roach give t...

Nature is in decline across the UK. 2023 data shows the abundance of terrestrial and freshwater species has on average fallen by 19% across the UK since 1970. Yet working with nature may be part of the answer to reversing this decline.   As the Environment Agency release a new position statement on nature-based solutions, we’re joined by their Director of Water, Helen Wakeham and the CEO of the Ri...

We're joined by The Guardian newspaper Biodiversity Reporter, Phoebe Weston in this months MiniPod and we discuss... The news that water contamination by forever chemicals from an airport in eastern France has resulted in 3000 vulnerable residents unable to drink their tap water. A groundbreaking tree-planting programme that is uniting farmers and rewilders in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. UK...

For many in the environment sector the name Tony Juniper is synonymous with the defence of nature. He has led major organisations, run global campaigns and advised at the highest levels, including co-authoring  ‘Harmony’ with His Majesty King Charles II. He was recently re-appointed as the Chair of Natural England and is a Fellow of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership.  In our Jun...

Niki is joined by Lee Pitcher, MP for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme and Chair of the APPG on Water. Prior to being an MP has spent his career building partnerships across the water sector and this episode we’re talking about… The threat of drought across the UK this summer as April temperatures were the 3rd warmest since records began. The Water Safety Bill – as a new MP this is Lee’s fir...