The Climate Question

Delhi?s roads are being taken over by electric mopeds, scooters and rickshaws. More than fifty per cent of two- and three-wheelers are already electric, and the market is expected to continue growing. It?s good news for the fight against climate change. Why has the transition to green vehicles been so swift in India and what can the rest of the world learn from it?

Graihagh Jackson speaks to reporter Sushmita Pathak, who?s been chatting to those who?ve made the switch to electric as well as those who haven?t. Akshima Ghate from the RMI Foundation and Louise Ribet of C40 cities explain why these small vehicles are so popular and what countries like India and others gain from encouraging electric uptake. From better air quality and healthier children to energy security and manufacturing expertise, there are many benefits beyond mitigating climate change.

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Octavia Woodward Editors: Sophie Eastaugh and Simon Watts Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Co-Ordinator: Brenda Brown

Got a question you?d like us to answer? Send an email to: [email protected]

Every year, the great migration sees hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, gazelles, zebras and antelopes migrate from the Serengeti plains in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara in Kenya, in search of water and juicy grass. But rising temperatures and unpredictable weather are changing this epic animal journey dramatically. It?s the same for great white sharks, which are being spotted in areas where they?d never normally live.

Tanzanian safari guide Neema Amos takes us into the Serengeti to explain why the wildebeest migration is so important. And shark expert Trisha Atwood reveals how these changes affect not just the animals, but our fight against climate change itself.

Presenter Sophie Eastaugh is joined by:

Neema Amos, Safari Guide in Tanzania

Trisha Atwood, Associate Professor of Watershed Sciences at Utah State University

Joseph Ogutu, Senior Statistician at University of Hohenheim

Email us at [email protected]

Producers: Sophie Eastaugh and Octavia Woodward Editors: Graihagh Jackson and Tom Bigwood

Series Producer: Simon Watts Sound design and mixing: Tom Brignell Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown

Archive from the Sir David Attenborough programme, ?Wildebeest: The Super Herd?, BBC Two, 2008

The BBC?s Global Health Correspondent Tulip Mazumdar investigates how extreme heat fuelled by climate change is affecting pregnant women in India. New research shared with the BBC suggests that pregnant informal workers in Tamil Nadu who were exposed to high temperatures saw double the risk of stillbirth, premature birth, low birth weight and miscarriage.

Discussing her reporting from India with The Climate Question host and fellow mum Graihagh Jackson, Tulip hears the heart-breaking stories of women affected and explores simple solutions that would make their work in scorching agricultural fields safer.

Email us at [email protected] Produced by Sophie Eastaugh, Graihagh Jackson and Camilla Horrox Editor: Sophie Eastaugh Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown

You asked, we answered. This week our expert panel dive into your questions. Can climate change cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions? How bad are avocados for the environment? Is climate change reversible?

Send your questions to: [email protected] Plus, a look at biofuels and vertical farming, China?s electric vehicle boom, and the apparent contradiction between more renewable energy and the continuing rise in planet-warming gases Join Graihagh Jackson and our expert panel: - Dr Akshat Rathi, Senior Reporter for Climate, Bloomberg - Justin Rowlatt, Climate Editor, BBC News - Prof. Tamsin Edwards, Climate scientist, Kings College London

As governments and industry find ways of reducing emissions to keep climate change under control, some people are taking responsibility for their own carbon footprints.

In this episode, Graihagh Jackson explores some different ways of living a green life ? from setting up an eco-friendly commune in Denmark, to making small adjustments to our lifestyles in cities such as London. Graihagh also talks to one of the UN's top experts on the social aspects of fighting climate change: what's the right balance between action by individuals and action by governments?

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Producers: Ben Cooper and Sophie Eastaugh Researcher: Octavia Woodward Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Simon Watts Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell

Got a climate question you?d like answered? E-mail the team: [email protected]

As climate change makes the world hotter, some cities have appointed "Chief Heat Officers" to try to improve their response to record-breaking temperatures. Graihagh Jackson speaks to two women who have done the job in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Monterrey, Mexico. What does their role involve? What solutions are out there? And do they get enough funding?

Plus, Umaru Fofana reports from Freetown on the extreme heat gripping the city. Umaru talks to locals forced to sleep outside because of the temperature, despite risks to their health and safety. And he also investigates a new piece of building design that might help people living in informal settlements. Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Reporter in Sierra Leone: Umaru Fofana Producer: Osman Iqbal Researcher: Octavia Woodward Editor: Simon Watts Sound Engineers: James Beard and Tom Brignell

It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but the idea of assembling giant solar farms in space and then beaming the renewable energy back down to Earth is gaining real life traction. Some advocates have claimed it could supply all the world?s energy needs by 2050.

But how would these solar farms be assembled, how much fuel and money would it take to blast them into space in the first place, and how would we safely beam their energy back to Earth?

In 2023, Sophie Eastaugh and Luke Jones spoke to Sanjay Vijendran, in charge of space-based solar at the European Space Agency, learn about the history of the idea from Rick Tumlinson, founder of SpaceFund, and hear words of caution from Dr Jovana Radulovic, head of mechanical and design engineering at Portsmouth University in the UK. Plus, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet describes life on the International Space Station and how it?s powered.

Thanks to the Space Studies Institute for extracts of their interview with Gerard O?Neill.

Let us know what you think about the show ? email [email protected]

Producer: Simon Tulett Researchers: Matt Toulson and Graihagh Jackson Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinator - Siobhan Reed

Graihagh chats to the BBC World Service's Global Story podcast about a plan for a super-category for storms. Is climate change making them so powerful that we need a new grade?

At the big COP climate summit last December, more than 20 countries pledged to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 to help cut carbon emissions. The signatories included familiar nuclear names such as the US, France and Japan...but also newcomers, like Ghana.

Although Ghana doesn?t currently have any nuclear power plants, president Nana Akufo-Addo says he wants to build one or two by 2030. So why is this African nation turning to nuclear? How will it pay for the multi-billion-dollar power plants? And will this help fight climate change?

Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by: on-the-ground reporter Thomas Naadi; Dr Michael Bluck, Director of the Centre for Nuclear Engineering at Imperial College London; and Dr Kacper Szulecki, research professor at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs.

Production team: Octavia Woodward, Ben Cooper, Brenda Brown, Simon Watts, Matt Willis.

Sound design by Tom Brignell.

The world's wetlands store carbon and can help us tackle some of the impacts of climate change. Are we overlooking their importance? And what can we do to protect them more?

Graihagh Jackson travels to wetlands near her home in East Anglia while Qasa Alom reports from the Bay of Bengal. And The Climate Question catches up with an old friend of the show, Dr Musonda Mumba, Secretary-General of the Convention on Wetlands.

Production team: Osman Iqbal, Octavia Woodward, Brenda Brown, Simon Watts, Matt Willis Sound design by Tom Brignell.

Send your questions to: [email protected]

Global temperatures have already increased by around 1.3C above pre-industrial levels, but this warming is not spread evenly across the planet. The Arctic, despite being one of the coldest regions on Earth, has become a hotspot for global warming.

Local temperatures there are rising as much as four-times faster than in other parts of the world. This rapid warming is unsettling the delicate environmental balance, causing significant ice loss ? with implications for both the region and the wider world.

In a previous episode on the Arctic region, Graihagh Jackson explored the impact that climate change was having on the people ? and ice sheet ? of Greenland. In the second part of The Climate Question's focus on the High North, she explores the implications of an increasingly ice-free region on global politics, military relations, and trade.

Guests: Mathieu Boulègue, consulting fellow at Chatham House and global fellow at the Polar Institute of the Wilson Centre Julie Brigham-Grette, professor of Earth Sciences in the Department of Earth, Geographic and Climate Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Malte Humpert, senior fellow at the Arctic Institute Amund Trellevik, Norwegian journalist with Investigate Europe

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

2024 will see billions of voters head to the polls in a record-breaking year for elections. It follows 2023 ? another record-breaking year for the climate... so could global warming impact the way people vote? Or will it be eclipsed by the other big issues that dominate news headlines, like inflation and the cost of living, healthcare, education, and jobs.

In this episode, presenter Graihagh Jackson hears from voters all over the world, and dives into research examining their priorities and what motivates them when they?re at the ballot box. She also finds out how climate change policies affected the outcome of recent elections in the Netherlands and Australia.

Guests: Jessica Long, Head of Environmental, Social and Governance Consulting at IPSOS UK Anna Holligan, BBC correspondent in the Netherlands Noora Firaq, Deputy CEO of Climate Outreach Phil Mercer, BBC correspondent in Australia

Got a Climate Question for us? Email: [email protected]

Production team: Ben Cooper, Octavia Woodward, Brenda Brown, Simon Watts, Matt Willis Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell

You asked, we answered. In this episode, a panel of experts dive into your questions. How does war impact climate change? What are the carbon footprints of pets? Can so-called "green" or "living roofs" increase the resilience of cities?

Send your questions to: [email protected]

Join Presenter Graihagh Jackson and her guests: Dr Akshat Rathi, Senior Reporter for Climate, Bloomberg Esme Stallard, Climate and science reporter, BBC News Prof Tamsin Edwards, Climate scientist, Kings College London

Production Team: Osman Iqbal, Octavia Woodward, Simon Watts, Matt Willis Sound Mix: Rod Farquhar, Tom Brignell

Lake Sihwa in South Korea is home to the world?s largest operating tidal power station, using the tides to generate enough power for a city of half a million people. This regular rise and fall of the seas is more predictable than sunny or windy weather and can be forecast years in advance. Nine thousand miles away in Northern Ireland is Strangford Lough. A narrow inlet leading to the mighty Atlantic Ocean means it?s one of the world?s best sites for harnessing tidal energy. The fast and strong currents have led to the world?s first commercial-scale tidal energy power station being built here. But now that?s being decommissioned.

The technology for harnessing tidal energy has been around for more than half a century and the potential to create energy from the sea is huge. Yet tidal power only accounts for a tiny proportion of the global renewable energy mix. Presenter Graihagh Jackson finds out what?s holding tidal power back. Thanks to our contributors: Rémi Gruet, CEO of Ocean Energy Europe Dr Carwyn Frost, Lecturer at Queen?s University Belfast Choi Jae-baek, Senior Manager of K-water Email: [email protected] Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Reporters: BBC?s Jordan Dunbar in Norther Ireland and freelance journalist Malene Jensen in South Korea Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Octavia Woodward and Shorouk Elkobrosi Editor: Alex Lewis Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell

The future of flying might depend on used cooking oil, plants and green electricity. Sustainable aviation fuels, known as SAF, are made from less carbon-intensive processes and renewable sources. Airlines are touting them as the key to decarbonising flying.

The aviation industry has pledged to move from 2.5% of all global CO2 emissions to net zero by 2050 ? with these alternative fuels being the cornerstone of the strategy. However, there?s little SAF actually being produced, it, and it?s much more expensive than fossil fuels. Can the technologies really take off?

Climate Question host Graihagh Jackson investigates, with reporting from the BBC's Monica Miller in Malaysia and Singapore.

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Producer: Osman Iqbal Researcher: Octavia Woodward Editor: Simon Watts Sound engineer: Tom Brignell

Emma Tracey starts 2024 by hearing from Kenya and Costa Rica, two of the countries ranked highest in the fightback against climate change. She talks to on-the-ground reporters in Nairobi and San Jose, while Climate Question regular Mia Moisio explains which nations score well on the Climate Action Tracker and what the rest of the world can learn from them.

Reporters: Michael Kaloki in Kenya and Cindy Regidor in Costa Rica Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Shorouk Elkobrosi Series producer: Simon Watts Sound engineer: Tom Brignell

Email us: [email protected]

Budding comedian (and Climate Question presenter) Jordan Dunbar sets out to discover if humour can help us understand - and cope with - global warming. Jordan gets advice from comics and academics from around the world, and then performs his own climate change routine at a stand-up comedy venue in London.

Presenter and part-time comedian: Jordan Dunbar Full-time comedians: Dr Jason Leung, Njambi McGrath, Esteban Gast Comedy history guru: Aaron Sachs, professor of history at Cornell University and author of Stay Cool: Why Dark Comedy Matters in the Fight Against Climate Change

Researcher: Octavia Woodward Producer: Osman Iqbal Series producer: Simon Watts Sound mix: Tom Brignell

Email us: [email protected]

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: [email protected]

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

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: [email protected]

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

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

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

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

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??

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?

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: [email protected]

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

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: [email protected] Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Octavia Woodward Series producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound engineers: Tom Brignell and James Beard

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 : [email protected]

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

The Yasuni National Park in Ecuador forms part of the Amazon rainforest and is one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet. It also produces 60,000 barrels of oil per day. In a recent referendum, held as part of Ecuador?s Presidential elections, people voted to stop drilling for oil ? including the newly elected President Daniel Noboa. We visit the town of El Coca ? the gateway to the park - where the result thrilled people who are concerned about the climate. But many, especially those whose livelihoods depend on the oil industry, feel the opposite. Presenter Sophie Eastaugh speaks to: Lisette Arevalo, reporter in Ecuador Alejandra Santillana, activist with Yasunidos group in Ecuador who campaigned for the vote Fernando Santos, Ecuador?s Energy & Mining Minister Tessa Khan, climate lawyer and cofounder of the Climate Litigation Network, UK Navraj Singh Ghaleigh, Senior Lecturer in climate law at Edinburgh University, UK

Email us: [email protected]

Presenter: Sophie Eastaugh Producer: Greg Brosnan Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Jacqui Johnson Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound mix: Tom Brignell

This week we hear from listeners about the ways they cope and how they remain positive on climate change. From being involved in a like-minded community, to taking action in everyday ways. Or just knowing that the brightest minds are pushing innovative climate solutions forward every day.

In a wave of negative climate news, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and uncertain about the future. Climate change is a real threat, and it?s normal to experience worry, but there are reasons to be positive. We hear from a psychologist about how ?climate anxiety? is a normal response to the uncertainty around us and from a Libyan climate activist about what motivates her, despite experiencing climate devastation in her own country.

Presenters Jordan Dunbar and Graihagh Jackson are joined by;

Susan Clayton, Professor of Psychology at The College of Wooster, USA. Nissa Bek ,climate activist and the founder of Project Mulan, Libya

With thanks to listeners: Ben, Tim, Sarah, Brian, Michael, Tony, Sean and Solomon

Email us: [email protected]

Presenters: Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar Producer: Osman Iqbal Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell

Bill Gates, the tech billionaire turned philanthropist, has been combating poverty, disease, and inequity around the world for decades. However, in recent years he has shifted focus and resources towards the climate crisis.

Gates believes fighting climate change and fighting poverty are two sides of the same coin. Food, health and economic crises will last longer and become more severe as climate threats escalate; disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable communities.

Surprisingly, Gates remains optimistic and believes the power of human ingenuity will win out with a technology-driven approach in both mitigation and adaptation.

Graihagh Jackson sits down with Mr Gates to talk about his positive outlook and the billions he?s investing in tackling climate change.

Email us: [email protected]

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Producer: Osman Iqbal Series producer: Alex Lewis and Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound engineers: James Beard and Graham Puddifoot

This week we speak to people in the greater Horn of Africa, experiencing the worst drought in 40 years. It's left 23 million people at risk of starvation and new research has found that it was 100 times more likely to have happened because of climate change.

Presenter Sophie Eastaugh hears about a climate adaptation strategy pioneered by the Maasai people. Food insecurity, conflict and perishing livestock are just a few elements of an ever-worsening crisis, with proactive planning difficult for governments with limited resources and other immediate problems. So what can be done to fight the worst effects of the ongoing crisis?

Sophie is joined by: Lanoi Meitiekene, a leader in the Maasai community Joyce Kimutai, Principal Meteorologist at Kenya Meteorological Department Yared Abera Deme, Research Analyst with the International Climate Action team, WRI Africa, Ethiopia.

Email us: [email protected]

Presenter: Sophie Eastaugh Producers: Osman Iqbal and Cesar Vargas Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell

About 16 percent of the world?s population is thought to be disabled, but they are still 2 to 4 times more likely to be injured or killed in a natural disaster than those who are not disabled. Emma Tracey, from the BBC?s Access All podcast, investigates for The Climate Question, meeting disabled people who have dealt with extreme weather events first hand. As well as those who are researching and enforcing change, even in the places you?d least expect it Emma is joined by:

Sébastien Jodoin, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law of McGill University, Canada Kera Sherwood-O'Regan, an Indigenous and disabled climate justice advocate, New Zealand Gaele Sobott, writer, living in Sydney, Australia Kemi Yemi-Ese, visual artist from Austin Texas, US Setareki Macanawai CEO, Pacific Disability Forum based in Fiji Presenter: Emma Tracey, BBC Access All Producers: Octavia Woodward and Jordan Dunbar Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Nigel Appleton Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill, Jacqui Johnson

This week, we?re off to Costa Rica, an eco-tourism hotspot in collaboration with BBC?s The Travel Show.

Eco-tourism is big business - it?s forecasted to generate $103 billion annually by 2027. But how well do its green claims actually stack up when it comes to the climate?

Presenter Qasa Alom visits the birthplace of Sea Turtle conservation, goes on patrol with a ranger protecting the forest from loggers and miners, and spots luxury tourist developments in the terrain of the puma.

How big is tourism?s climate impact, and can this ever be mitigated by its benefits?

Guests: Ralf Buckley, Director of the International Centre for Ecotourism Research, and Research Director of the Climate Response Program at Griffith University, Australia. Stefan Gossling, Professor at the Linnaeus University School of Business and Economics and Lund University's Department of Service Management

If you have a question about climate change that you?d like us to answer, or a comment ? please email them to [email protected]

Presenter: Qasa Alom Producers: Sophie Eastaugh for The Climate Question and Jamie Hamilton for The Travel Show Researcher: Octavia Woodward Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill, Jacqui Johnson

The Climate Question receives lots of emails from listeners asking about the impact that the food and drink we consume on a daily basis has on the environment and climate: which foods are most associated with greenhouse gas emissions? Which fruits and vegetables are the most sustainable choices at the supermarket? How would a tax on carbon-intensive imported produce, like beef, work?

In this programme, a panel of experts answer your questions to help you see past the product packaging, wherever you are in the world.

Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by:

Dan Saladino, food journalist, author and presenter;

Franziska Funke, Associate Doctoral Researcher in environmental economics at the Technical University of Berlin;

Dr Ximena Schmidt, sustainability expert at Brunel University, London;

If you have a question about climate change that you?d like us to answer, or a comment ? please email them to [email protected]

Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Octavia Woodward Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford, Sophie Hill and Sabine Schereck

In this, the second episode in our spin-off series on Climate Quitters, we invite trailblazers from three different continents to reveal the ups and down, highs and lows of their new lives in climate conscious careers.

In Mumbai, Namita Dandekar swapped a role marketing stock for one of India's largest - and wealthiest - conglomerates for a front-line position with The RainTree Foundation, an organisation that works with rural communities to introduce climate friendly practices into their everyday lives and livelihoods.

In Vihiga County in Kenya, Kevin Makova traded in his job as a schoolteacher to create sustainable employment opportunities for members of the community keen to work in climate and conservation focused jobs.

And in Berkeley, California, Eugene Kirpichov said goodbye to a lucrative post developing AI systems for Google to build a new, global workforce that he hopes will be capable of solving the climate crisis conundrum.

But is the grass always greener - and cleaner - for climate quitters? What are the realities of life on the other side of that leap? And does putting the planet first come at a personal cost?

In this globe-spanning episode, your host, Paul Connolly, probes all three guests for their views and experiences so far - and we go a step further to bring you on-the-ground, in-person reports from the projects based in both India and Kenya.

Presenter: Paul Connolly Series Producers: Simon Watts and Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound engineers: James Beard and Tom Brignell Production co-ordinator: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

Bornholm ? a Danish island in the Baltic Sea ? is trying to go carbon neutral by 2025. It is a lofty ambition that would put the island decades ahead of most countries. This dream has been 15 years in the making; a crash in fish stocks meant Bornholmers had to reinvent themselves and they chose to become ?the bright green island?. Since then, they have been making biogas from pig manure, building wind turbine after wind turbine, and now they are piloting new ways of storing this renewable energy, including in a battery made of salt.

The island is not just trying to rid itself of fossil fuels ? it is also aiming to go zero waste by 2032. Graihagh Jackson teams up with CrowdScience presenter Caroline Steel to explore Bornholm?s double quest to go green.The changes have not just been at top-level ? the island?s businesses and 40,000 residents have been encouraged to reduce their climate impact too. Graihagh visits a brewery whose production has gone carbon neutral by capturing CO2 to create the bubbles in its beers, and meets a chef whose Michelin-star restaurant uses locally-sourced food.

And over on CrowdScience, Caroline tackles Bornholm?s zero waste ambition, visiting a project turning used nappies into compost and a glassblower making tableware out of wasted insulin vials. See link below.

Will Bornholm make its bold goals, and what lessons can be learned for elsewhere?

Presenters: Graihagh Jackson and Caroline Steel Producer: Sophie Eastaugh Production co-ordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound engineer: Tom Brignell

The live music industry is booming. With global growth in concerts and festivals, more and more of us are enjoying our favourite bands and artists live. The music industry now relies on touring for money ? encouraging more and more bands to travel and fans to see them. This is causing emissions to soar just like the private jets. So what can be done? Jordan Dunbar discovers the problem isn?t coming from who you might think and that this could be a climate opportunity rather than a problem.

Guests: Ben Pol, Afrobeats star Prof Carly McLachlan, Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Research, University of Manchester Jordi Herreruela, Director of the Cruilla Barcelona Festival Luke Howells, Head of Sustainability for Coldplay and Glastonbury Festival Henry Stuart, Co-Founder and CEO of Visualise

Producers: Osman Iqbal and Ben Cooper Reporter in Barcelona: Esperanza Escribano Researchers: Octavia Woodward and Isobel Gough Series producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound engineers: Tom Brignell Production coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

The Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, has been raising awareness of the impact that climate change is having on small island nations like hers, from the Caribbean to the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

In addition to facing more extreme weather and temperatures, these islands also have to contend with the threat posed by rising sea levels ? which, for some islands, is existential.

In this episode, Qasa Alom speaks to reporters in Fiji and the Maldives about what small island nations can do to survive.

Guests: Dr Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, Director of the Ocean Physics program at NASA Dr Rosanne Martyr-Koller, Coastal Hazards and Adaptation Scientist at Climate Analytics Shahudha Mohamed, on-the-ground reporter in the Maldives Tim Vula, on-the-ground reporter in Fiji Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Octavia Woodward Series producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound engineers: Hal Haines and Rod Farquhar Production coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

Jordan Dunbar introduces The Climate Question's guide to the Climate Change basics - with the help of some friends of the show.

July 2023 has been confirmed as the hottest month ever on Earth. A combination of heatwaves across the Northern Hemisphere, unseasonable warmth in parts of South America and Antarctica, and global sea surface temperatures around 0.51°C above the 30-year average, meant it broke all previous records.

Climate scientists are now poring over the data, including Prof Jim Skea, the newly-elected chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He joins presenter Graihagh Jackson to discuss how worried we should be, and the challenges ahead as he takes up the most important role in global climate science.

Producer: Ben Cooper Researcher: Isobel Gough Series producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound Engineers: Graham Puddifoot and Neil Churchill Production Coordinators: Gemma Ashman, Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

Have you thought about quitting your job because of climate change?

Research shows more and more people are worried about their career?s impact on the planet. So this week The Climate Question hears from four people from around the world who?ve taken the plunge and done it.

Luke Jones meets an air steward who's swapped flying for teaching; a restaurant critic who's become a tree-planter; a fossil fuel company engineer who's switching to working in renewables; and a multinational CEO turned sustainable business campaigner.

Presenter: Luke Jones Series Producers: Alex Lewis and Simon Watts Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Editor: China Collins

Funeral rites are steeped in culture, tradition and faith, with most of the world opting for cremation or burial. However, with new research now revealing the carbon impact of established funeral choices, more people are questioning their cost to the climate.

With alternatives such as ?water cremation? and ?eco-burials? becoming available, will people start to consider another way?

Presenter Jordan Dunbar hears about initiatives in India to modify traditional funeral pyres, calculates the climate cost of the most common choices, and hears from Archbishop Desmond Tutu?s daughter, Rev. Mpho Tutu van Furth, about her surprise at her father?s final act on earth.

Producer: Osman Iqbal Researcher: Octavia Woodward Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

Climate change has been tightening its grip on the people of Afghanistan, with flood after flood and drought after drought. It?s considered to be one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, not just because it's warming twice as fast as the global average, but because its people?s ability to fight back has been severely hampered by decades of conflict and war. To add insult to injury, Afghanistan has contributed very little to the climate crisis. Since the Taliban takeover two years ago, financial aid to help locals adapt has drastically dropped, leaving Afghans to take matters into their own hands. Presenters Graihagh Jackson and Barry Sadid hear how the diaspora are helping villages back home to build life-saving dams and protect themselves against flood and drought. And we ask if there?s a way for foreign governments to financially support Afghanistan without legitimising the Taliban.

Producers: Jordan Dunbar and Barry Sadid from BBC Monitoring Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

Scientists say an El Nino weather event has started. Its effects will be felt everywhere in the form of heavier rainfall in some parts of the world and deeper droughts in others. What's the link with Climate Change? And is it making it harder for us to prepare?

On this week's edition of The Climate Question, Graihagh gets a briefing on El Nino from a leading expert; we travel to Peru to meet the coastal communities on the front line; and we hear how ancient civilisations not only learned to deal with El Nino, but managed to use it to their advantage.

Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by: Tom Di Liberto, Meteorologist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in the US Dr George Adamson, Senior Lecturer in Geography, King's College London Dr Laila Shahzad, Disaster Risk expert at Government College, Lahore.

Producer: Osman Iqbal BBC reporter in Peru: Guillermo Olmo Research: Octavia Woodward and Matt Toulson Sound: Tom Brignell Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins

The journey from catwalk, to wardrobe, to landfill is getting shorter and shorter. Our demands for fast fashion mean around 100 billion garments are produced every year. We?re buying more, then wearing them less often. Many will end up in the trash. Not only that, there?s been a big growth in clothes being made out of synthetic materials originating from crude oil. In this updated edition, we ask: can fashion cost less to the climate? and how much progress is the industry making? Speaking to Kate Lamble and Sophie Eastaugh are- ? Vanessa Friedman, New York Times Fashion Editor ? Lily Cole Fashion model, actress and podcast host ?Who Cares Wins? ? Phillip Meister, Quantis Sustainability Consulting ? Claire Bergkamp, Textile Exchange ? Sonya Bhonsle, Global Head of Value Chains, CDP. Producers: Jordan Dunbar and Ben Cooper Researcher: Natasha Fernandez Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Emma Rippon

Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, is on a mission to fight climate change through a radical scheme to reform the international financial system.

Called the Bridgetown Initiative, her plan aims to transform global institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank ? freeing up billions, maybe even trillions of dollars, for poorer countries that are struggling to cope with the impacts of a hotter planet.

Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by the BBC?s Climate Editor, Justin Rowlatt, who interviewed Prime Minister Mottley at a crucial climate finance summit in Paris. With time running out in the battle to keep the world below the 1.5C warming threshold, we find out more about her plan, how it works and the progress being made.

Producers: Ben Cooper and Miho Tanaka Researcher: Octavia Woodward Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

The world loves coffee. We drink two billion cups each day! But it?s very vulnerable to climate change, and millions of coffee farmers are struggling. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and diseases are threatening our favourite caffeinated drink and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. But there are solutions. We hear from a coffee farmer in Uganda and taste a new variety that could be a gamechanger for coffee in a warming world.

Presenter Sophie Eastaugh is joined by:

Aruna Chandrasekhar, journalist at Carbon Brief specialising in land and food

Dr Aaron Davis, head of coffee research at Kew Gardens

Ashley Limaye, journalist at BBC Africa Digital

We love to get your questions and comments, please email them or send a voice note to [email protected]

Producers: Ben Cooper and Chris McHugh

Researcher: Louise Byrne

Series Producer: Simon Watts

Editor: China Collins

Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell

Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

With the Ukrainian counter-offensive underway, Sophie Eastaugh looks at the climate damage caused by the conflict there and by the recent civil war in Tigray, Ethiopia. Sophie speaks to Lennard de Klerk, a Dutch specialist in carbon accounting, who?s just published the most comprehensive analysis yet of the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the fighting in Ukraine. For her part, an environmental researcher in Kyiv tells The Climate Question her country may have an opportunity to build back greener once the war is over.

The programme also hears from farmers in Tigray about how a region once praised internationally for its reforestation efforts is now losing tree cover at an alarming rate.

And this edition of The Climate Question looks more broadly at the carbon footprint of militaries around the world, speaking to Professor Neta Crawford, one of the leading experts in the field. Presenter: Sophie Eastaugh Producer: Daniel Gordon Research: Matt Toulson Sound Mix: Tom Brignell Series producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Production coordinators: Sophie Hill, Debbie Richford Contributors: Lennard de Klerk, Carbon Accounting Expert Professor Neta Crawford, Balliol College, Oxford Natalia Gozak, Ukrainian environmentalist Biniam Gidey, Reporter, Tigray, Ethiopia

This week, we?re off to Costa Rica, an eco-tourism hotspot in collaboration with BBC?s The Travel Show.The Climate Question gets lots of emails from listeners asking what they can do about climate change. Is it morally justifiable to fly for leisure? Which type of fish is most sustainable? And how can I use my career or free time to help the planet? In this programme a panel of experts answer your questions and run through some of the most effective things you can do to make a difference, wherever you are in the world.

Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by: Alice Brock, Phd researcher at Southampton University who specialises in personal carbon budgets Disha Ravi, climate activist with Fridays for Future India Tambe Honourine Enow, Founder of the Africa Climate and Environment Foundation

If you have a question about climate change that you?d like us to answer, or a comment ? please email them to [email protected]

Producers: Sophie Eastaugh for The Climate Question and Jamie Hamilton for The Travel Show Researcher: Matt Toulson Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

How can you have a successful relationship with someone if you believe passionately in climate action, but they don?t? The fate of our planet can be a divisive, emotive, even frightening issue. It?s something that?s tearing more and more couples and families apart, experts have told us.

It?s not easy getting past those differences with the ones we love, but it is possible. We speak to a couple, as well as a mother and daughter, to find out how. And we ask whether the way we talk to our loved ones about climate change might offer important lessons on how we discuss the issue more broadly.

Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by:

Daze and Antonia Aghaji, from London Caroline Hickman, researcher at the University of Bath in the UK and psychotherapist Mohini and Sam Pollock, from Campbell, California

Thanks to Jasmine Navarro, founder of Nava, for her help with this episode.

Producer: Simon Tulett Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Production co-ordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill