The Climate Question

Latest Episodes:

Climate review of the year Dec 22, 2023

Show notes

2023 was the hottest year on record. How did the planet cope? And what has the world actually done to tackle climate change?

The BBC’s Graihagh Jackson is joined by a panel of journalists and experts for an annual stocktake of the climate crisis. Under review from the past twelve months are wonky weather patterns, clever energy solutions and tense diplomatic negotiations. Graihagh Jackson: Presenter of The Climate Question Najma Mohamed: Head of Nature Based Solutions at the United Nations Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre Justin Rowlatt: BBC Climate Editor Akshat Rathi: Senior Environment Reporter at Bloomberg News

Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Producer: Nick Holland Researcher: Octavia Woodward Editor: Simon Watts Sound: James Beard, Tom Brignell & Graham Puddifoot

Was this year's climate summit a game-changer? Dec 15, 2023

Show notes

The deal at this year's COP conference in Dubai is being hailed as "historic" because it's the first time nearly 200 countries have all acknowledged the role of fossil fuels in Climate Change. But critics says the agreement is riddled with loopholes, and that the pledge to "transition" from oil, gas, and coal is too weak.

So who's right? And what difference will this year's discussions make? Graihagh Jackson gets the low-down from COP from BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, and she talks to three leading experts on Climate Change diplomacy.

Guests: Adil Najam - Professor of International Relations, Earth and Environment at Boston University's Pardee School, USA Dr Musonda Mumba – Secretary General for the UN Convention on Wetlands David Victor - Professor of Innovation and Public Policy University of California, San Diego, USA.

Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Producers: Osman Iqbal, Octavia Woodward Editor: Simon Watts Sound mix: Graham Puddifoot and Tom Brignell

The 100 Women climate debate Dec 07, 2023

Show notes

As part of the BBC's 100 Women season, Mercy Juma in Nairobi talks to three leading activists from Africa. What are the particular effects of Climate Change on women? Are their voices being heard? And what positive action can be taken?

Presenter: Mercy Juma Guests: Dr Susan Chomba, World Resources Institute; Dr Sahondra Kiplagat, Environmental Psychologist and Lecturer at University of Nairobi; Temilade Salami, Founder of the Ecochampions mentorship programme for youth climate leaders across Africa. Producers for 100 Women: Valeria Perasso, Paula Adamo Idoeta Series Producer for The Climate Question: Simon Watts Sound Mix: Neil Churchill and BBC Nairobi Engineers Team

Should the UAE host a big climate summit? Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

As the world’s attention turns to this year’s COP summit in the UAE, questions remain about the host country and conference president.

It’s not the first time that an oil-producing country has hosted the climate change summit. But some environmental campaigners are unhappy about COP28 being held in the United Arab Emirates, and the choice of conference president, Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber – the CEO of the national oil company, ADNOC.

However, supporters say that the country is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, so it has as much of a right to host the conference as anyone else. Meanwhile, Dr Al-Jaber boasts considerable experience working in renewables – having previously run the UAE’s renewable energy company MASDAR.

So what’s really going on? To find out more, presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by:

Sam Fenwick, presenter of the BBC World Service programme ‘Business Daily’ Fiona Harvey, Environment editor at The Guardian Zeina Khalil Hajj, Head of Global Campaigning and Organising at 350.org Mia Moisio, climate policy expert at New Climate Institute and Climate Action Tracker

Producer: Ben Cooper Researchers: Shorouk Elkobrosi and Octavia Woodward Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Production co-ordinators: Jacqui Johnson and Sophie Hill

Your Climate Questions Answered Nov 26, 2023

Show notes

Graihagh Jackson and BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt team up with the BBC's Global News Podcast to answer listeners' questions. They cover everything from the big COP summit in Dubai to tree-planting, nuclear fusion and what action to take personally on Climate Change.

Presenter: Nick Miles Guests: Climate Question Host Graihagh Jackson and BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt Producers: Osman Iqbal, Stephen Jensen, Phoebe Hopson Series Producer: Simon Watts Editors: China Collins and Karen Martin

What is COP? Nov 24, 2023

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It's the world's biggest - and most controversial - climate conference. But how does it actually work? And does it make a difference? Jordan Dunbar investigates.

To help get some simple answers to simple questions, Jordan is joined by climate experts- Dr Mosunda Mumba, Secretary General of the Wetlands Convention Professor David Victor of Innovation and Public Policy University of California, San Diego, USA Adil Najim, Professor of International Relations and Environment at Boston University's Pardee school in the United States.

Check out the other explainers in these series including – ‘What Is Climate Change?’ and ‘Why Is 1.5 Degrees Important?’

Why is 1.5 degrees important? Nov 21, 2023

Show notes

In his latest Climate Change 101, Jordan Dunbar finds out why 1.5C is the world's target for limiting global warming. Why 1.5 degrees? And what happens if we miss the goal?

What has COP achieved? Nov 19, 2023

Show notes

Nearly three decades since the United Nations climate talks began, we take a look at what it has achieved when it comes to tackling climate change. We also look towards COP 28 taking place in Dubai and ask what progress can be made at the latest round of negotiations. It’s the only international negotiation on climate change and a unique opportunity to get agreement on how to best tackle global warming – but it has its critics as well as its fans.

Joining Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar are: Adil Najam - Professor of International Relations, Earth and Environment at Boston University's Pardee School, USA Dr Musonda Mumba – Secretary General for the Convention on Wetlands David Victor - Professor of Innovation and Public Policy University of California, San Diego, USA.

Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Researchers – Barry Sadid and Shorouk Elkobrsi Series Producer – Alex Lewis Editor - China Collins Sound Engineer - Tom Brignell

Why are climate scientists receiving abuse? Nov 12, 2023

Show notes

As the world faces up to the increasingly apparent effects of climate change, access to accurate information that helps us to understand what’s going on, why, and what we can do about it, is vital. But in its efforts to do this, the science community is facing a growing amount of abuse from people who do not believe what they’re saying. Anger at the science is leading to threats against the scientists in some cases. In this episode, presenter Jordan Dunbar is joined by BBC Verify’s Merlyn Thomas to find out more and are joined by the following guests: Nihan Kalle, BBC Monitoring, based in Istanbul Helene Muri, research professor in climate change at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Lincoln Alves, climate scientist at the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil. Hannah Ritchie, deputy editor at Our World in Data and a researcher at the University of Oxford, UK. Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Octavia Woodward Series producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound engineers: Tom Brignell and James Beard

Why does it matter that Greenland is melting? Nov 05, 2023

Show notes

Greenland is an island covered in a sheet of ice that is over 3km thick in places, containing 7.4 metres of average global sea level rise. Due to climate change, it’s melting at an astonishing rate. We meet some of the people being forced to rapidly adapt their traditional ways of life. And find out why ice loss means sea level rises for elsewhere in the world – but the opposite for the island itself

Joining presenter Graihagh Jackson are: • Mads Malik Fuglsang Holm, reporter in Greenland • Twila Moon, deputy lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Centre, University of Colorado, USA

Email us : theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Producer: Ben Cooper Series Producers: Simon Watts and Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford, Sophie Hill and Jacqui Johnson

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