The Climate Question

The ocean covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface and can hold more than 150 times the amount of carbon dioxide as air. Around a quarter of CO2 emissions created by human activity each year is absorbed by them. From phytoplankton to whales to seagrass meadows, we explore how this happens. And in climate news, we hear about the wildfires and drought affecting Chile. Hosts Jordan Dunbar and Kate Lamb...

India has made a lot of climate pledges in the last couple of years. They’ve had mixed reviews. Some have applauded the country’s ambition – including committing to a net zero target - while others argue it’s still too reliant on coal, the dirtiest of fossil fuels. India is already facing the brutal impacts of a warming planet and, with a population of around 1.4 billion, its energy demand is huge...

In 2009, the G20 countries pledged to phase out 'inefficient' fossil fuel subsidies, which have long been seen as an obstacle to fighting climate change. But today, subsidies for oil and gas producers are at record levels -- $64 billion in 2021. It’s not just to do with the war in Ukraine. Despite its image as a leader on climate change, the UK is listed as one of the worst offenders for governmen...

The Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average temperature. Ice caps are melting, forcing the indigenous Inuit community living around the Northwest passage to change their way of life. Polar bears and wildlife are losing their habitats and the ability to hunt. Further south, Middle Eastern countries are facing temperatures above 50 Celsius more regularly. We speak to people livin...

Heatwaves are already the most deadly of climate risks. If we don’t keep climate change in check, we’ll experience more of them, reaching even higher temperatures. Already we need cooling to keep our homes, hospitals and workplaces comfortable, our vaccines stable and our food nutritious. As the planet warms up we’ll have even greater need. Currently the cooling industry is incredibly polluting –...

Half of all the energy we use globally goes on heating and cooling. We need heating for all sorts of things; from keeping our homes warm to industry which needs super high temperatures. At the moment, the heat we use is mostly powered by polluting fossil fuels, a huge driver of climate change. But can renewables deliver the high temperatures and a constant supply which are so vital? In this episod...

Extreme weather is becoming even more extreme thanks to climate change. Countless lives are claimed by heatwaves, cold snaps, cyclones, droughts and torrential rains every year around the world. Climate change threatens to make things worse. But the United Nations is spearheading new action to make sure every person on Earth is protected by early warning systems within the next five years. It’s ho...

From climate sceptic to climate campaigner, Sarah Ott grew up in the US surrounded by doubters, listening to out-right deniers. This is the story of what changed her mind. We also hear people’s questions about climate change from Kenya where there’s major drought and we speak to BBC Disinformation reporter Marco Silva on dealing with climate misinformation. Presenter Neal Razzell is joined by: Sar...

Back in 2010, FIFA announced that the tiny country of Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup. It would be the first Middle Eastern country to do so. The tournament has seen thousands of fans travel to see it, with millions tuning in around the world. But it hasn’t been without controversy. The event’s organisers claimed that it would be the first fully carbon-neutral World Cup. A big new solar park w...

The ecosystems of the land and ocean absorb around half our planet warming emissions. But these are being destroyed by human activity. At the same time, climate change is a primary driver of the destruction of these habitats and biodiversity loss. If biodiversity is our strongest natural defence against climate change (as it’s been described), what’s stopping us from doing more to protect it? As t...

What we eat has a massive impact on global warming. Meat and dairy are among the biggest drivers of the climate crisis - creating more planet-warming emissions than all the cars in the world. As we all try to reduce our carbon footprints, it’s not surprising that the global market for meat alternatives that come from soy or pea protein is growing at a huge rate. In fact it’s estimated that by the...

At the start of COP 27 Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi told the world that it was vital that African countries receive "appropriate support and funding according to the principle of shared responsibilities and burdens”. For years the richest nations have been accused of failing to meet their $100 billion-a-year pledge for funding. It turn out this doesn’t even scratch the surface - a recent repo...

The world has been in Egypt for COP27, the UN’s big climate talks. It’s a country that’s already feeling the acute effects of climate change – temperatures have risen by two degrees since last century, damaging farming and driving up food prices. Tensions are rising, but many are concerned that restrictions on the right to protest and freedom of expression mean that climate change is not getting t...

Last year at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, countries made big promises to tackle climate change – by curbing their greenhouse gas emissions and reducing deforestation. But as this year’s COP27 continues in Egypt, we ask whether countries are keeping to their word. Presenters Neal Razzell and Graihagh Jackson are joined by a host of guests at COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh: The Climate Questi...

If there were fewer of us, would the amount of greenhouse gasses we emit reduce? It’s a question that often creeps up in discussions about climate change. Studies show that the global population will decline eventually and populations in many rich nations are already declining. However, 11,000 scientists signed a paper warning of “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless society transfor...

We’ve been told that big finance is crucial to the transition to net zero, and billions of dollars are invested in so-called sustainable finance every year. But the BBC’s Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, have been looking into a new green finance product and found that not all is quite as it seems. Their investigation has found an example of sust...

Africa accounts for around 10 per cent of the world's known fossil-fuel reserves. But plans to build an oil pipeline through East Africa to transport hundreds of thousands of barrels a day have been condemned by the European Union. The pipeline, which runs from the source in Uganda to the Tanzanian coast, will generate billions of dollars a year. But critics say it will release tens of millions of...

We know many of the obstacles in the way of a creating a cleaner planet - making cement green, decarbonising electricity or creating affordable clean transport. But how do we get the experts the funding they need to bring these solutions to the world? Many people see innovation prizes as the answer - from Prince William’s ‘Earthshot’ to Elon Musk’s ‘X-Prize’ there are hundreds of millions of dolla...

From being glued to diggers to bunking off school, what happens when the public takes climate action into their own hands? Mass protests and demonstrations can be an effective way to gain media attention but do they lead to lasting change? Kate Lamble and Neal Razzell are joined by: Disha Ravi, climate activist, India Dan Hooper, (Swampy), climate activist, UK Mel, member of Scientist Rebellion, M...

The race to reduce emissions has more and more nations reaching for the nuclear option. Nuclear power plants are being built around the world, generating carbon-free electricity day and night, windy or calm. But they also generate radioactive waste, some of which can remain deadly for thousands of years. Thousands of tonnes of nuclear waste currently sit in “temporary” sites, some decades old. Thi...

Floods in Pakistan have destroyed or damaged millions of homes, schools and businesses. So far nearly 1500 people have died and 33 million have been affected. With Pakistan contributing less than 1% to global CO2 emissions, a keen sense of injustice is felt in the country, and demands for international support have been made. The Pakistan government has called it a “climate catastrophe” and accord...

As climate change brings rising temperatures and shifting patterns of rainfall, animals are adapting to keep pace. Bird’s bodies are growing smaller, their wingspan longer, lizards are growing larger thumb pads to help them grip more tightly in hurricane strength winds, beak size is changing. We visit the Galapagos, where evolution was first discovered by Charles Darwin, to investigate the many wa...

Images are a key part of communicating climate change, and shape how we understand the crisis unfolding around us. But while lots of research has been done into the language we use to talk about climate, images are often left out of the conversation. As a result, over time, a limited set of images have come to dominate how we think of climate change – like polar bears and melting glaciers - which...

In 1985 British scientist Jonathan Shanklin and colleagues published a study that shocked the world. The study revealed a hole in the Earth’s atmosphere right over Antarctica. It had been caused over time by chemicals known as CFCs, used in things like fridges, air conditioning units and aerosol cans. These were destroying the layer of ozone in the stratosphere which protects us from most of the s...

From the Aztecs to the Zoroastrians, humans have always prayed for rain. We’ve tried dances, ritual sacrifices and even blowing up the sky to boost rainfall. This might sound crazy but desperate times call for desperate measures. Climate change is making people desperate again, in some regions droughts are becoming more frequent and pervasive whereas in others floods threaten livelihoods and citie...