Planet Possible

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...

Jeannette Henderson, co-lead for Innovation at Ofwat shares some of the winners of the latest round of funding from the 5th Water Breakthrough Challenge. Hear some of the projects that are embracing drones, robotics and AI as Ofwat share £42m across 16 projects aiming to radically innovate within the water sector in England and Wales. Jeanette shares how Ofwat are working with other regulators to...

Main interview guest: Natalie Bennett - Green Party Peer, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Expert co-host: Michael Mattle - Head of Wastewater Technology at Holinger  We're exploring how biocides – human-made chemicals that we find in products like surface cleaners and toothpastes – are impacting the microbiomes in our bodies and our environmental systems. In 2025 Green Party Peer, Baroness Bennet...

In today's episode we’re focusing on water that’s used by businesses, which makes up 30% of all the water that’s supplied in England. Join Sarah McMath, CEO of MOSl as we explore the challenges of needing to deliver an extra 5 billion litres of water each day into supply by 2050 and the opportunities - and challenges - presented by commercial water demand. We explore... Smart metering for business...

25% of all the water that comes into our homes is flushed down the toilet. By 2050, we’re going to need an extra 5 billion litres of water a day - almost a third more - available in 25 years. This increased need for water is driven by a growing population, new homes and a water hungry economy and there's an opportunity to reduce our demand for the highest quality drinking water by using an alterna...

Welcome to our March MiniPod - a monthly update where we're joined by an expert guest & we react to current events in water, climate and nature - all in about 15 minutes. In this episode we're joined by Dave Slater, Regional Director for Natural England for the South West of England, and we explore... Whether beavers are a force for good after the news that  the UK Government has announced its com...

A circular economy is a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated.  The UK government wants to transition the UK to a circular economy and in  2024 established a circular economy taskforce to consider the policy pathways, interventions and targets make this happen.  We explore the circular economy in the UK and internationally and dig into a range of examples from both co...

Welcome to our February MiniPod - a monthly update where we're joined by an expert guest & we react to current events in water, climate and nature - all in about 15 minutes. In this episode we're joined by Dr Vera Jones,  Technical Director and Global Technical Authority for Water Quality at AtkinsRéalis, and we explore... How pet owners might be having an unexpectedly negative impact on the healt...

Interview guest - Bevis Watts (CEO of Triodos Bank UK, a leader in ethical and sustainable banking) Co-host - Ed Dick (CEO of Great Yellow, a company that sources long-term capital for nature restoration projects) We’re often joined by guests on Planet Possible who identify and look to take action to solve the challenges that we face in our water and environment. But we don’t often talk about how...

Welcome to our January MiniPod - a monthly update where we're joined by an expert guest & we react to current events in water, climate and nature - all in about 15 minutes. In this episode we're joined by Julie Foley,  Director of Flood Risk Strategy & National Adaptation at the Environment Agency and we explore... The recently updated flood and coastal erosion risk information for England that me...

As we record this episode at the start of January, wherever you are in the world your news is likely to be filled with images of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, or temperatures well below freezing alongside flooding across much of the UK.  And whilst climate and it’s impact on weather might be making the headlines, we know that nature and the biodiversity crises are inexorably linked to...

In this episode we explore the recent flooding that has happened across the south of Spain, resulting in the tragic loss of 224 lives, and resulting in Spain mounting it’s biggest peacetime disaster recovery operation.   One of the consequences of a changing climate is more extreme weather and that’s what exactly what the Valencia region experienced in late October. You'll hear  what happened, wha...

Welcome to our December MiniPod - a monthly update where we're joined by an expert guest & we react to current events in water, climate and nature - all in about 15 minutes. In this episode we're joined by Will McBain, a Director of Water at Arup and we explore... 1. The UK Government review of partnership funding regime for Flood and coastal erosion risk management. 2. New figures that reveal tha...

November 2024 has been a busy month in the news for conversations about our changing climate – from flooding due to Storm Bert in the UK, the tragic floods in southern Spain and wildfires in South America. It’s against this backdrop, that we’re digging into what happened at the recent Climate COP in Baku, Azerbaijan; whether it went as experts expected and what it all means at all scales from inte...

Welcome to our November MiniPod! It's a monthly update where we’re joined by an expert guest and we react to current events in water, climate and nature - all in about 15 minutes. And in this episode hear from the CIWEM Junior President Peter Rook as we discuss- • What a Donald Trump Presidency means for climate and the environment. • The opportunities of planning reform in the UK. • How AI could...