The Climate Question

Latest Episodes:

Does climate change have an ‘image problem’? Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

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 haven’t kept up with the changing conversation about the crisis. All too often, these images tend to be abstract, removed from our daily lives and typically don’t feature people - when we know that climate change is happening all around us, all the time, and is very much a story with people and communities at its core.

So how can we develop a new, and more effective visual language for climate change? What kind of images ‘work’ to both convey the urgency of the crisis as well as inspire behavioural change? And what are some of the ways in which photographers are seeking to represent the crisis in a way that transforms apathy into action?

First broadcast – 27 December 2021

Guests: Cristina Mittermeier, photographer and conservationist Arati Kumar-Rao, National Geographic Explorer and photographer Toby Smith, Programme Lead at Climate Visuals Saffron O’Neill, University of Exeter

Presenter: Neal Razzell Series Producer: Alex Lewis Producer: Zoe Gelber Researcher: Lizzie Frisby Production Coordinator: Siobhan Reed & Helena Warwick-Cross

What can we learn from fixing the ozone hole? Sep 05, 2022

Show notes

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 sun's ultraviolet radiation - without it, cases of skin cancer would soar. Less than two years after the discovery, world leaders signed an agreement called the Montreal Protocol, committing to phase out CFCs. It has been described as the most successful international treaty of all time - every UN country has signed up, and ozone is expected to return to its previous levels around the middle of the century. So what can we learn from how we tackled the ozone hole in how we address climate change?

First broadcast - 29 Nov 2021

Presenters Neal Razzell and Kate Lamble are joined by: Jonathan Shanklin, Meterologist at the British Antarctic Survey, Dr Paul Newman, chief scientist for Earth Science at the Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center, Tina Birmpili, former executive secretary of the Ozone Secretariat, Dr Anita Ganesan, associate professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of Bristol. Producer: Sophie Eastaugh Researcher: Natasha Fernandes

Can we engineer rain to help solve climate change? Aug 28, 2022

Show notes

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 cities. We have already affected our weather cycle but can we control it? Many governments have turned to cloud seeding programmes to try to manipulate rain to fall where they desire it to. But does it actually work, and what are the potential ramifications? We speak to experts about how people are trying to create rain, whether we’re on the brink of a geopolitical nightmare.

Presenters Graihagh Jackson and Neal Razzell spoke to: Cynthia Barnett, Environmental Journalist and author of ‘Rain: a Natural and Cultural History’ Dr Katja Friedrich, Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder Dr Dhanasree Jayaram, Assistant Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education. The team this week: Reporter: Valdya Baraputri, Bilingual Reporter BBC Indonesia, reporting in Jakarta Researcher: Imogen Serwotka Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Jordan Dunbar Production Coordinators: Helena Warwick-Cross & Siobhan Reed Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Sound Wizard: Tom Brignell

Why can’t we build more wind farms? Aug 21, 2022

Show notes

In rural North East Spain, proposals to build hundreds of new wind turbines have sparked opposition and divided communities. And it isn’t only Spain. There has been resistance to wind power projects across the world from Mexico to the US. Opposition groups have succeeded in delaying, and sometimes cancelling, the construction of new wind farms. To move away from fossil fuels, we will need a huge expansion in renewables. But will wind power be able to meet this challenge in the face of local opposition around the world?

Guests: Oliver Metcalfe, Bloomberg NEF Joyce Lee, Global Wind Energy Council Alejandra Ancheita, Mexican NGO, ProDESC

Presenters: Neal Razzell and Graihagh Jackson Reporter: Esperanza Escribano Producers: Josephine Casserly and Jordan Dunbar Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell PC: Siobhan Reed and Helena Warwick-Cross

What do warmer waters mean for life below the waves? Aug 14, 2022

Show notes

The Ocean, it covers more than 70% of the surface if our planet, it provides us with food, medicine and even influences the weather.

For years its also helped to mitigate the effects of climate change. Since the 1970’s over 90% of atmospheric warming caused by green house gas emissions has been absorbed by our Oceans. But this comes at a cost.

Overtime their temperatures have risen and this has had disastrous impact on some of our most important ecosystems. Join us on a dive into the world of warming waters to discover what this means for life below the waves.

Presenters Graihagh Jackson and Neal Razzell spoke to:

Dr Juli Berwald, Science writer and author of ‘Life on the Rocks’ Dr Jahson Alemu I. Marine Ecologist, Northeastern University College of Science Dr Emma Camp, Coral Biologist, Future Reefs, University of Technology, Sydney

The team this week: Reporter: Janhavee Moole from BBC Marathi service reporting in Mumbai. Researcher: Imogen Serwotka Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Jordan Dunbar Production Coordinators: Helena Warwick-Cross & Siobhan Reed Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Sound Wizard: Tom Brignell.

Is Influencer culture bad for the planet? Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

Shopping online is nothing new but with the rise of influencer culture, livestreaming, and social commerce buying stuff has never been easier.

Research suggests that the production and use of household goods and services is responsible for about 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

So is influencer culture making us buy more - contributing to climate change? Or is it more complicated than that? In this programme we hear from Nigerian influencer Noble Igwe and eco-influencer Rosie Okotcha. As well as finding out about the growing popularity of influencers in India and the potential of Chinese live-streamers to become environmental icons. Presenters Neal Razzell and Graihagh Jackson speak with the following contributors: Noble Igwe, Nigerian influencer Rosie Okotcha, Eco-influencer Professor Shirley Yu, Senior Practitioner Fellow with the Ash Center of Harvard Kennedy School Junofy Anto Rozina founder of India Behavioural Economics Network JB MacKinnon author of ‘The Day The World Stops Shopping’

The team this week: Producer: Claire Bowes Researcher: Imogen Serwotka Series Producer: Alex Lewis Production Coordinators: Helena Warwick-Cross, Siobhan Reed Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Sound Magician: Tom Brignell

Are there any 'easy fixes' to climate change? Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

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 programme a panel of experts discuss whether there could be any easy wins on climate change such as putting solar panels across the Earth’s deserts and changing what we eat.

Presenter Neal Razzell is joined by:

Rebekah Shirley - Director of Research, Data & Innovation at World Resources Institute (WRI) Africa, Peggy Liu - Director at Project Drawdown, Chair of JUCCCE Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy (JUCCCE) Zeke Hausfather – Climate Scientist and author for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Producer: Serena Tarling Production support: Siobhan Reed and Helena Warwick-Cross Sound mix: James Beard Series producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Richard Fenton Smith

Can flying ever be climate friendly? Jul 24, 2022

Show notes

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 be able to skip the traffic and fly to the other end of your country.

But this convenience comes at a cost….to the climate. Aviation accounts for somewhere between 2 to 5% of the world’s emissions. And as the world’s desire to travel proves insatiable, the number of planes in the sky each day is only increasing.

The aviation industry has aspirational plans to decarbonise using sustainable and/or synthetic aviation fuels. But these are currently some way off. In the meantime, airlines are offering carbon offsets. Offsets are controversial products and only 1% of passengers pay for them. So, this week on The Climate Question we are asking, can flying ever be climate friendly?

Presenters Neal Razzell and Merlyn Thomas speak with the following contributors: Jo Dardenne, Aviation Director at Transport & Environment Souparna Lahiri, Climate Policy Advisor with The Global Forest Coalition Simon Berrow, Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group Joana Setzer, Assistant Professor at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment, LSE Special thanks to Helen Coffey, author of Zero Altitude: How I learned to fly less and travel more Sebastian Mikosz of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) The team this week: Reporters: Peter O’Connell in Kilrush on the west coast of Ireland Researcher: Louise Parry & Immy Rhodes Producer: Dearbhail Starr Series Producer: Alex Lewis Production Coordinators: Iona Hammond & Siobhan Reed Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Magician: Tom Brignell

Can we feed the world without using chemical fertilisers? Jul 17, 2022

Show notes

The development of agriculture some 12,000 years ago changed the way humans live.

As technologies have developed we’ve become more and more efficient at producing large amounts of food and feeding an ever growing population, often with the help of synthetically produced nitrogen fertiliser.

These fertilisers can damage ecosystems. They also produce a potent greenhouse gas called Nitrous Oxide which is 265 times more warming than carbon dioxide. It’s estimated that the manufacturing and use of this fertiliser contributes 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But is it feasible to ban synthetic nitrogen fertilisers or would that risk plunging the world into mass food insecurity?

Join presenters Qasa Alom and Graihagh Jackson as they journey from an urban garden in Sri Lanka, where a radical fertiliser ban caused chaos, to eastern Africa where Kenyan farmers are mixing tradition with new technology to try and save the world’s climate, and its soils.

With thanks to: Dr Rona Thompson, Senior Scientist at the Norwegian Institute for Air research, Norway Professor Manish Raizada, dept. of Plant Agriculture, at the University of Guelph, Canada Dr David Lelei, research associate at CIFOR-ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya Elijah Musenya, farmer, western Kenya.

And Phelystus Wayeta, for travelling to Western Kenya to report on farmers and farming practices.

Producer: Lizzy McNeill Reporter: Aanya Wipulasena, Colombo, Sri Lanka Researchers: Imogen Serwotka Production co-ordinators: Helena Warwick-Cross , Siobhan Reed. Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Sound Mix: Tom Brignell

How can we get more people on their bikes? Jul 10, 2022

Show notes

Cycling is healthy, cheap - and as modes of transport go, they don’t come much greener. Worldwide, transport is responsible for nearly a quarter of all carbon emissions, with road transport alone accounting for 75% of that. But so far, most discussions on greening the transport sector have focussed on electrifying our cars, trucks and buses – overlooking the vital role that bicycles could play in the climate transition. In fact, experts say that we’re unlikely to meet our short-term climate goals without more people getting on their bikes. So what needs to change to make that happen? We look at what’s been done on streets of Bogota, New York and Kampala to get more people cycling across the world. Presenters Kate Lamble and Neal Razzell are joined by: Janette Sadik-Khan, former Transport Commissioner of New York City Henk Swarttouw, President of the European Cyclists Federation and World Cycling Alliance Amanda Ngabirano, Lecturer in Urban Mobility at Makerere University, Kampala Jaime Ortiz Mariño, architect and organiser of the first ciclovía event in Bogotá Producer: Zoe Gelber Reporter: Laura Ubate in Bogotá Researchers: Immie Rhodes and Louise Parry Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Sound Mix: Tom Brignell

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