The Climate Question
Episodes
Are there any 'easy fixes' to climate change?
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We know from The Climate Question back catalogue, solving climate change is a knotty problem which does not lend itself to quick fixes. But in this pr...
Can flying ever be climate friendly?
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since the 1990s, air flight has made the world a smaller place. In one 24-hour period you can fly to the other end of the globe. In an hour you might ...
Can we feed the world without using chemical fertilisers?
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The development of agriculture some 12,000 years ago changed the way humans live. As technologies have developed we’ve become more and more efficien...
How can we get more people on their bikes?
10 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cycling is healthy, cheap - and as modes of transport go, they don’t come much greener. Worldwide, transport is responsible for nearly a quarter...
Where have all the mangroves gone?
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Along almost every tropical coastline you can find the tangled roots of mangrove trees, a natural barrier against extreme weather. They are also one o...
How can we save the world’s tropical peatland?
26 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists estimate that peatlands around the world hold about 350 billion tonnes of carbon. The tropical peatland of the Congo Basin – known as Cuv...
Does recycling help fight climate change?
19 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reduce, reuse, recycle is a familiar mantra the world over. Recycling has been described as ‘one of the easier climate-friendly acts” that individ...
How is climate change affecting our mental health?
12 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We often talk about the physical costs of climate change; the economic fallout, the effect on livelihoods and damage to the earth. But all of the chan...
Is destroying the planet a vote winner?
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Long term climate policy has long been at odds with short-term politics. As numerous countries head to the polls this year, we visit Brazil, Australia...
What can we do to stop rising levels of methane?
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research shows that levels of Methane gas in the atmosphere are rising rapidly. It is over 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon...
How can oceans help us capture carbon?
22 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 emiss...
Why is Asia embracing nuclear power?
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
China currently has 53 nuclear power plants with plans to scale up significantly in the next decade, while India is planning to build 10 new power pla...
Is the world ready for an electric vehicle revolution?
08 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There are over 10 million electric cars on the road globally after a decade of rapid growth, representing around 1% of the world’s car stock. But th...
Could Chile be a climate leader?
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The renowned climate scientist and IPCC author Maisa Rojas has been making headlines after being appointed as Chile’s new Minister for the Environme...
What does 'net zero' really mean?
24 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When talking about climate change, the term net zero has become popular with politicians over the last few years. More than 130 countries have now p...
How are young people feeling 6 months from COP?
17 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hundreds of youth activists travelled to Glasgow, Scotland, to have their voices heard. As we approach the halfway point between COP26 and COP27- to b...
Is space travel a problem for the climate?
10 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As more countries launch more rockets into orbit for commercial and scientific reasons, the space industry is experiencing rapid growth. It’s on the...
What does war in Ukraine mean for the climate? Part 2: Energy Security
03 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, parts of the world are so dependent on Russian gas that they have no option but to continue to buy it. ...
What does war in Ukraine mean for the climate? Part 1: Russian gas
27 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been met with harsh financial sanctions. These have come from North America and Europe. The US and Canada have als...
Can we rely on insurance to help rebuild after extreme weather?
20 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists say extreme weather is intensifying and becoming more frequent because of climate change and the impacts are causing huge losses. People li...
Can animals evolve to deal with climate change?
13 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As climate change brings rising temperatures, droughts and shifting patterns of rainfall, animals are adapting to keep pace. Bird’s bodies are growi...
The 'unequivocal' consequences of climate change
06 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"A brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity” is how a new major climate change report from the UN described the effect of rising emissions. A...
How quickly is battery technology advancing?
27 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The need to be able to store electricity as part of our low carbon future, has increased dramatically as the use of renewable energy has expanded. Bot...
What will happen if the world's glaciers melt?
20 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We hear a lot about how melting glaciers are contributing to sea-level rise but not so much about the impact inland. In places like Tajikistan, glacie...
Is our obsession with GDP killing the climate?
13 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For nearly a century, governments around the world have measured the health of their economies by a single metric: GDP, or Gross Domestic Product. It ...
Can we believe companies’ promises on climate?
06 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ahead of COP 26, a rush of businesses declared their commitment to “net zero” emissions targets. But concerns were raised about how credible these...
How committed is China to climate change?
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At the UN climate summit in Glasgow last year, China and the United States announced they will work together on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.Expe...
Are we too reliant on tech that’s not invented yet?
23 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Written into many of the promises made by countries about how they intend to achieve their UN climate pledges to reduce emissions is an assumption tha...
Can putting a price on nature help us care about it more?
16 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone who steps outside can appreciate the value that the natural world brings to our lives. To some people, the idea of placing a monetary value o...
Are we putting too much faith into electric vehicles?
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Billions of dollars are being invested in electric vehicles in the name of fighting climate change. World leaders are backing them as the green fix fo...
Is science fiction holding back climate action?
02 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries, we’ve been reading, watching and listening to science fiction. And all too often, it’s pretty pessimistic about our future, especia...
Does climate change have an ‘image problem’?
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Why do we find it so hard to take action on climate change?
20 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For decades scientists have warned us about the risks of climate change. Yet humans are badly psychologically designed to face up to the challenge of ...
What role is overpopulation playing in the climate crisis?
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 c...
Counting the cost of fashion
06 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The journey from catwalk, to wardrobe, to landfill is getting shorter and shorter. Our demands for fast fashion mean around 100 billion garments are ...
What can we learn from the fight to fix the ozone hole?
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1985 British scientist Jonathan Shanklin and colleagues published a study that shocked the world. The study revealed a hole in the Earth’s atmosp...
Could giving nature rights help fight climate change?
21 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Around the world a growing number of rivers, mountains, nature reserves, even marshes have all been given legal rights. It’s an idea that’s being ...
What did we learn at COP26?
14 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The lights have come on in Glasgow, the bar is closed and it's time to head home. Now the 26th Conference of Parties is over we ask what's really been...
How’s it going at COP26?
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Climate negotiators from all over the world are gathered in Glasgow for the global summit to discuss how we can curb the worst effects of global warmi...
What do young activists want from COP?
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week will bring around 25,000 world leaders, business people, policy shapers and campaigners together in Glasgow for COP26, a global climate summ...
What will it take for countries to keep their climate promises?
24 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
World leaders are gathering in Glasgow for a global climate summit to agree on how to further limit the threat of global warming. Experts say the conf...
Putin and the planet
17 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Russia is the world’s fourth-largest emitter of greenhouse gasses. Any talk of changing that needs to focus on President Vladimir Putin. Under his l...
Why can't we stop gas flaring?
10 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There are thought to be over 10,000 gas flares around the world that contribute to global warming by emitting tonnes of carbon dioxide and methane. ...
What made us doubt climate change?
03 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Recent research has shown that oil companies knew about the threat of climate change decades ago. Yet over forty years, it has been revealed that they...
What homes to build in a climate-changed world?
26 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Heatwaves and floods are becoming more frequent around the world. But are the homes being built today taking that into account?The Climate Question co...
What role has the media played in the climate crisis?
19 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, around the world, climate change coverage has been thin. Guests discuss why the media in petrol states, in particular, have struggled to ...
When will countries stop exploring for oil?
12 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If we are to ensure that there’s no more than a 1.5 degrees centigrade increase in global warming, the International Energy Agency recently stated t...
Should rich countries help pay for climate change impacts in poorer ones?
05 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, the developing world says urgent action is needed to avert catastrophe.Some in the develop...
Can we be ‘nudged’ to act on climate change?
22 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Another chance to listen to an episode that asks whether we can change our ways. Drastic change is needed to limit the increase in global temperature ...
“Code red for humanity”
15 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A diplomatic deadline looms as new science urges faster action. Can nations respond? So far, the answer has been ‘no.’ Three decades of internatio...
Is green hydrogen the fuel of the future?
08 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Hydrogen gas has long been recognised as a potentially valuable tool for tackling climate change. The most abundant element in the universe, it is als...
What do we tell the kids?
01 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Climate change is going to shape young people’s lives, and yet many students feel their schools are not equipping them with the knowledge and skills...
Can shipping fix its climate problem?
25 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's estimated that 9 out of 10 items sold in our shops are shipped halfway around the world on ships. The resulting emissions amount to around 3% of ...
The North American heatwave
18 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The heatwave that hit parts of the west coast of North America shattered records by several degrees. It affected parts of the United States and Canada...
Will football tackle the climate crisis?
11 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You don’t often hear climate change and football mentioned in the same sentence, but rising temperatures are set to disrupt every area of our lives,...
Could climate change cause more water conflicts?
04 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Freshwater sources around the world are becoming more irregular, and disputes between countries are common, with fears that access to water could even...
Why is Australia so slow to act on climate change?
27 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Australia is one of the world's biggest per-capita greenhouse gas emitters, and a Climate Question listener wants to know why the world isn't demandin...
Why are we failing to protect the Amazon rainforest?
20 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Brazilian legislature is currently considering a bill that would legalise the private occupation of some public land in the Amazon region - a move...
Carbon capture and storage
13 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It’s likely that there will be no successful green transition without an element of carbon capture, storage and re-use. The oil industry has been bu...
What will it take for cities to go carbon neutral?
06 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cities emit around three-quarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations, and over half of the world’s populatio...
Should we ‘dim the sun’ to save the planet?
30 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Scientists agree that cutting carbon emissions as soon as possible is key to tackling global warming. But as emissions continue to rise, some are now ...
Is bottom trawling for fish bad for the climate?
23 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More than two thirds of our planet is covered by the oceans, but there’s still much to be uncovered about the role that these watery worlds play in ...
Is South Korea a climate villain?
16 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
South Korea’s economic development has been the envy of many nations: from war, famine and poverty to one of the richest countries on Earth, all wit...
Can indigenous knowledge help us fight climate change?
09 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Indigenous people represent only about six percent of the world’s population, but they inhabit around a quarter of the world’s land surface. And t...
Why can't we crack our food waste problem?
02 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
From fruit rotting in fields, to retailers turning down funny shaped vegetables, and consumers scraping leftovers into the bin, food waste is everywhe...
Is carbon the new calorie?
25 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More companies are rolling out carbon dioxide emission labels on products to help us make greener choices. Unilever, the global consumer goods giant, ...
What does the world want from the US?
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden has invited the world’s major polluters to a summit on Earth Day (April 22nd). It may be the biggest climate summit ever organised b...
Is it time to ditch the plough?
11 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cities, money, roads, beef burgers and telephones, in fact pretty much all of human civilisation as we know it, would probably not exist were it not f...
Is science fiction holding back climate action?
04 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For centuries, we’ve been reading, watching and listening to science fiction. And all too often, it’s pretty pessimistic about our future, especia...
What can we do about climate migration?
28 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bangladesh is a country that is exceptionally vulnerable to climate change. With a low elevation and high population density, as well as poor infrastr...
Climate justice in the courtroom
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A Peruvian farmer is suing a German fossil fuel company, the city of Baltimore has filed a lawsuit against 26 oil and gas firms, and a Polish coal min...
Must our future be cast in concrete?
15 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the world becomes more populous, experts say we’re likely to use 25 percent more concrete in the next decade. But concrete is also responsible fo...
What will happen to the fossil fuel workers?
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The rise of renewables is good news for the climate, but for millions of families who rely on fossil fuels for a paycheque, it means big changes.Peopl...
Can we be ‘nudged’ to act on climate change?
01 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Drastic change is needed to limit the increase in the global temperature caused by climate change. More than two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emiss...
Have we planted too much faith in trees?
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It seems we all love trees. Politicians, celebrities and big businesses love trees too. They’re seen as a natural climate fix because they eat carbo...
Does big money really believe green is good?
15 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When a man sitting on nearly $9 trillion dollars of funds speaks, CEOs, investors and politicians listen. In late January, Larry Fink, boss of the wor...
Can the internet ever be green?
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The big tech firms of the world have reported record profits during lockdown. These firms are some of the industrial titans of the digital age. Their ...
Will Africa really leapfrog to renewables?
01 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Africa has an electricity crisis. Hundreds of millions of people lack cheap, steady supply, crippling lives in countless ways. Every other continent h...
How can we live with the SUV?
25 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lockdown saw historic drops in global emissions in every sector, except one: sports utility vehicles, or SUVs. They are among the best-selling cars in...
Does Africa have a voice on climate?
18 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate is on a mission to make sure Africa is listened to on climate justice.In early 2019 she started taking to the streets ...
Jakarta: A warning?
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As sea levels rise due to global warming, what does the future hold for our coasts? Already threatened by rising tides, Jakarta, the capital of Indone...
A year to save the world
04 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Five years ago, there was widespread celebration after world leaders signed up to the Paris Agreement. However, despite pledging to pursue efforts to ...
2020: A year of extremes
28 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Not only has this year been one of the hottest on record, but there has also been a catalogue of record breaking extreme weather events. From the unpr...
Are Catholics ignoring the Pope on climate change?
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2015, Pope Francis asked Catholics the world over to protect our planet. But five years on, with emissions and extinctions rising, what difference ...
The secret solution to climate change
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If we educate and empower girls and young women, they are likely to have more control over their fertility. And with fewer people on the planet, it be...
How to hurricane-proof our world
07 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season has devastated parts of the Caribbean and Central America. We’ll hear what it has meant to one neighbo...
A degree away from carnage
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Climate scientists have shifted the definition of what they believe is the "safe" limit of climate change. Researchers argued the global temperature r...
The war on trees and what it means for disease
23 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many people have worried that the Covid-19 pandemic meant the harm of climate change was being ignored. But could the opposite be true? Neal Razzell a...
America v China
16 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Will a Joe Biden presidency be better for the environment than President Trump’s policies? Is China really set to take the lead on tackling climate ...
Introducing The Climate Question
02 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Not just a show about climate, it’s also about how we can change. What’s stopping us from stopping climate change? Finding new ways of understandi...