The Climate Question

Billions of dollars have been pumped into the promise of a climate-friendly way of producing meat, but is growing a steak in a lab any better for the planet than rearing a cow on a farm? Supporters of the idea say it will dramatically reduce the impact of livestock, which is responsible for about 15% of the world’s planet-warming gases, as well as returning huge amounts of land to nature. But studies suggest cultivating meat in a lab might actually be worse for the planet, at least in the long-run – we put both claims to the test. Plus, ten years on from the unveiling of the world’s first lab-grown meat, we ask why it’s still only available to buy at one restaurant in Singapore, and only on Thursdays.Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by: Tasneem Karodia, co-founder of Mzansi Meat, in South Africa; John Lynch, postdoctoral research associate at the University of Oxford, in the UK; Nick Marsh, the BBC’s Asia business correspondent, in SingaporeProducer: Simon Tulett Researcher: Matt Toulson Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

If you are planning a trip, but you want to check the climate impact before choosing how to get there, then beware. Google has been seriously underestimating the carbon footprint of plane flights, and overestimating that of some train journeys. And its calculations don’t just appear in its search results, but also feed the sites of more and more online booking companies, like Skyscanner and Booking.com. To be fair, carbon footprints are actually very hard to get right, as the BBC’s Climate Editor, Justin Rowlatt, discovers on his own trip to Rotterdam. On the way out, he takes the Eurostar high-speed train, whose carbon emissions depend on the weather over the North Sea that day. On the way back he catches a plane, whose climate impact… also depends on the day’s weather conditions over the North Sea. So what is Google doing to fix its methodology and can we trust carbon footprint calculations at all? And do passengers even really care that much about the environmental impact of their journey, or should they be made to pay for it directly? Presenter Justin Rowlatt is joined by: Doug Parr, chief scientist and policy director at Greenpeace UK Dr Feijia Yin, assistant professor for the climate effects of aviation at Delft University of Technology Andrew Murphy, head of sustainability at Eurostar Sola Zheng, aviation researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.comProducer: Laurence Knight Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill and Debbie Richford Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell

The idea of cities where everything you need on a daily basis can be reached within a quarter of an hour by foot or bike has grown in popularity in recent years, as local authorities adopt more sustainable approaches to urban planning. In theory, by having work, shopping, education, healthcare, and leisure all within a short distance could reduce dependency on cars, improving personal health and lowering carbon emissions. But the idea of adapting cities in this way hasn’t been universally-welcomed. Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by: Jay Pitter, author and urban planner Mark Watts, Executive Director at C40 Cities Gian Carlo Vega, on-the-ground reporter in Bogotá, Colombia, who was joined by Vanessa Velasco, Urban Development Specialist at the World Bank Producer: Ben Cooper Researchers: Matt Toulson, Bethan Ashmead-Latham and Pierre-Antoine Denis Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Siobhan Reed, Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

Many blame our obsession with economic growth as being one of the biggest drivers of climate change. The United Nations is currently looking at options for what might replace Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the world’s primary go-to indicator of success, taking into account factors including sustainability and the natural environment. If this happens, it would be the biggest shift in how economies are measured since nations first started using GDP in 1953, 70 years ago.Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by: Ehsan Masood, author, science journalist and an editor at the journal, Nature; Diane Coyle, economist and Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge; Adil Najam, Dean Emeritus and Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University; Fouty-Boulanga Mouleka, on-the-ground reporter in GabonProducer: Ben Cooper Researchers: Matt Toulson, Pierre-Antoine Denis, Bethan Ashmead-Latham and Laura Cain Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators: Siobhan Reed and Sophie Hill

Wind and solar power will play a crucial role in curbing climate change, but what happens to all the worn-out turbines and photovoltaic panels once they are past their best?Most wind turbine blades are almost impossible to recycle, and solar panels are very expensive to disassemble, but efforts are under way to prevent a possible renewable waste mountain.Presenter Graihagh Jackson hears how old wind turbine blades are being turned into everything from bridges to flowerbeds, and we visit one of the world’s only solar panel recycling facilities. Plus – what’s the carbon footprint of a wind turbine or a solar panel in the first place?Plus we hear from listeners Prateek, Alex and Elle. Let us know what you think about the show – email theclimatequestion@bbc.comContributors: Paul Leahy, lecturer in wind energy at University College Cork, Republic of Ireland, and principal investigator at Re-Wind; Ute Collier, deputy director of the Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre at the International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi; Guy Chichignoud, chief technology officer, ROSI, France; Vivian Jia Tong Li, campaigner for Greenpeace East Asia, Beijing.Producer: Simon Tulett Researchers: Matt Toulson and Pierre-Antoine Denis Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Simon Watts Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinators - Siobhan Reed and Sophie Hill

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?Sophie Eastaugh and Luke Jones speak 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 theclimatequestion@bbc.comProducer: Simon Tulett Researchers: Matt Toulson and Graihagh Jackson Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: China Collins Sound engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinator - Siobhan Reed

In 1856, an American woman called Eunice Newton Foote discovered that higher levels of carbon dioxide would warm the planet. But credit for discovering climate change was given to someone else who made the same discovery three years later. We celebrate Foote’s role in early climate science by recreating her little-known experiment and asking if there are some voices that continue to be overlooked in climate science today – and how we overcome these climate blind spots?Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by: Dr Alice Bell, Head of Climate and Health Policy at Wellcome and author of ‘Our Biggest Experiment – An Epic History of the Climate Crisis’ Professor Regina Rodrigues, Professor of Physical Oceanography and Climate at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, Brazil. Professor Andrea Sella, Professor of Chemistry at University College London. Producer: Louise Parry Researcher: Louise Byrne Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

With rolling blackouts and huge waste disposal issues a regular occurrence in large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, we look at how green tech start-ups offer smart, climate-friendly ways to solve the issues holding the region back.In Malawi, our repórter Peter Jengwa meets Admore Chiumia, whose company Green Impact Technologies turns waste into energy.In Zimbabwe, the BBC’s Shingai Nyoka visits AI entrepreneur Leroy Nyangani who’s come up with a way of making solar energy more financially accessible, while also solving a big problem of energy access in the country where, almost 70% are not connected to the grid and blackouts are the norm.Audrey-Cynthia Yamadjako from the African Development Bank outlines a new scheme designed to support green SMEs on the continent.Presenter Luke Jones is joined by the BBC’s Karnie Sharp who was raised in South Africa. They discuss how, with proper support, green solutions to everyday problems may unlock Africa’s economic and human potential.Producer: Ivana Davidovic Researcher: Matt Toulson Series producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Richard Vadon Sound: Tom Brignell

Worsening energy blackouts are crippling South Africa. They’re being caused in part by an over-reliance on ageing coal-fired power stations which can’t produce enough electricity. The government has an ambitious plan to rapidly build up solar and wind power by opening up the grid to private providers. But it’s facing opposition from the coal lobby.Will this electricity crisis be the thing that finally pushes South Africa to implement its climate plan? And can it be implemented in a way that treats all South Africans equally, and doesn’t unfairly benefit a rich minority? Presenters Sophie Eastaugh and Luke Jones are joined by: Dr Nthabiseng Mohlakoana, expert in South Africa’s Just Energy transition, Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands Steve Nicholls, Head of Mitigation at the Presidential Climate Commission, South Africa’s Elna Schutz, freelance journalist who spoke to businesses in and around Johannesburg Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com Producer: Laurence Knight Researcher: Matt Toulson Production Coordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell

The effects of climate change on weather patterns around the world, including seasonal temperatures and rainfalls, are being felt keenly in agriculture – with shifting seasons and varying yields undermining years of habit-formed knowledge and process. Technology experts are helping farmers, including in some of the world’s poorest regions, adapt to the new food production landscape through the use of artificial intelligence, or AI, and machine learning.Presenters Sophie Eastaugh and Luke Jones are joined by: Ranveer Chandra, Managing Director for Research for Industry and the CTO of Agri-Food at Microsoft Himanshu Gupta, Co-founder and CEO of ClimateAI Dr Claudia Ringler, Deputy Director of Environment and Production Technology Division at the International Food Policy Research InstituteEmail us: theclimatequestion@bbc.comProducer: Ben Cooper Researchers: Matt Toulson and Laura Cain Production co-ordinator: Siobhan Reed and Sophie Hill Series Producer: Alex Lewis Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Sound Engineer: James Beard