The Climate Question
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The Climate Question
Why we find it so hard to save our own planet, and how we might change that.
Recent Episodes
311 episodes
How do we save Africa's forests?
African forests are vital for food and economic development, as well as for supporting millions of species of animals and plants. We find out how to p...
Is air conditioning the answer to extreme heat?
Experts say we may now need to spend more on cooling our homes than heating them because of climate change. In fact, the International Energy Agency t...
Is this a new era of wildfires?
Huge wildfires have been sweeping across Southern Europe and North America. Is climate change increasing the risk? And what can we do?
Weather...
How is climate change affecting motherhood?
Graihagh Jackson talks to mothers from India, Kenya and the UK about how climate change is affecting women's decisions about whether to have children...
Do climate protests ever work?
Climate activists have blocked highways, scaled oil rigs and even thrown soup at master artworks. But have protests ever made a difference?
The...
Could climate change fuel an epidemic?
Scientists are warning that climate change and deforestation increase the risk of outbreaks of deadly diseases. How big is the danger? And what action...
Can science fiction help us fight climate change?
The acclaimed US sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson is also a star in the world of climate activism because his work often features climate change - o...
How to build a climate friendly city
More than seven billion of us are expected to be living in urban areas by 2050. So what are the world’s great cities doing about climate change?
"Super" El Niños and climate change
Scientists say the El Niño weather pattern has started and this one is potentially so strong that it could have devastating effects in many parts of t...
Is climate change ruining our sleep?
Parts of India have been facing extreme heat - with temperatures soaring past 46 degrees Celsius. But a less familiar story unfolds after dark. When t...
How will climate change affect insects?
Insects play a crucial role in food production and the spread of disease, as well as being keystone species in many ecosystems. What does a warmer wor...
Can the World Cup cope with extreme heat?
Scorching temperatures are expected at this year’s World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. How will players and fans cope? And how will it affect th...
Can we save the world's coral?
Corals protect humans and sustain 25% of all marine life. But reefs are under threat from climate change, and mass bleaching events mean that some sci...
Should we mine the deep ocean?
In the global race for critical minerals - could the seabed provide solutions? Or should we leave these metal-rich environments undisturbed?
...
The electric car boom in South East Asia
Electric vehicle sales are soaring in Thailand and Vietnam. What’s behind the boom? And will it help the climate?
Thais and Vietnamese are swit...
Q+A: The carbon footprint of your tech and AI; river estuaries; and "Fish Discos"
What’s the carbon footprint of streaming your favourite shows or doing an AI search? How vulnerable are river estuaries to climate change? Plus, are...
Is this climate change or just crazy weather?
It’s one of the most commonly debated questions in the climate world: Is this weather we’re experiencing natural, or is it linked to man-made climate...
Chernobyl at 40: Is nuclear power back in fashion?
In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear accident devastated the Soviet Union and shocked the world. But, 40 years on, are we now seeing a nuclear renaissance?...
Can technology help us fight flooding in cities?
With more and more people moving to cities, informal settlements are expected to grow. When floods hit these unplanned places, it can be disastrous, a...
Earthquakes and climate change
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 melti...
Why are some cities banning fossil fuel ads?
How much does advertising influence what we buy and how we think?
A growing number of cities are restricting adverts for fossil fuel products, f...
What's it like being a Chief Heat Officer?
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...
Can better buses fix city pollution?
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 frustr...
Q&A: Beavers, solar panels in the Sahara and nuclear waste
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 u...
What's the climate cost of war?
War leaves a visible trail of destruction: lives and families devastated, homes and communities reduced to rubble.
But there is also a climate...
Is cutting methane the quick way to cool the planet?
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 greenhous...
China's green energy revolution
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 wou...
What can we do to reduce black carbon?
First broadcast in 2024. Graihagh Jackson finds out about the little know pollutant making us sick and driving the climate crisis.
It commo...
Can winter sports survive a warming world?
Winter sport depends on one thing that is becoming less reliable each year: snow. As temperatures rise, glaciers are retreating, seasons are shifting,...
What is climate anxiety and how can you cope with it?
Fear, anxiety, sadness, anger, dread and powerlessness are some of the many emotions associated with what’s called climate anxiety.
A global...
How hot could the planet get?
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...
Could ancient rice seeds help fight climate change?
How farmers and scientists in eastern India are using ancient rice seeds to fight the growing impact of flooding, soil salinity and drought.
The...
Are SUVs becoming a climate problem?
Across the world, cars are getting taller, wider and heavier. Sports Utility Vehicles, or SUVs, now dominate global car sales, and the trend has conti...
Are there any quick fixes to the climate crisis?
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...
What can whales tell us about climate change?
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 foo...
Your Questions: The jobs of the future, nitrous oxide, ice cores
We answer YOUR climate questions – on everything from “green” careers to ice cores to the world’s electricity challenge!
In this edition of The...
What made the floods in South East Asia so deadly?
Storms, cyclones and flooding in South East Asia have killed close to 2000 people, devastating communities across Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and T...
What does the ocean do for us and the planet?
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...
Who wins in the electric vehicles transition?
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 wh...
How can the world speed up climate action?
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...