Carbon dioxide is a molecule so important it has shaped life on Earth for billions of years. Without it, there would be no plants, no oceans, no people. But now, after centuries of burning coal, oil and gas, it's in the atmosphere at levels that alarm scientists.

In this episode of The Climate Question, Graihagh Jackson speaks to Peter Brannen, science journalist and author of The Story of CO2 is the Story of Everything, and Esme Stallard, BBC climate and science reporter.

They explore what makes this tiny molecule so powerful, how it has driven ice ages and mass extinctions, why the story of CO2 is the story of human progress — and what might come next.

Host: Graihagh Jackson Production Team: Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle, Graihagh Jackson, Grace Braddock Sound Mix: Tom Brignell and Ben Andrews Editor: Simon Watts

Got a question or a comment? Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Every year, tens of thousands of people — from world leaders to activists to celebrities— gather for one of the world’s most ambitious meetings: the UN’s annual climate summit, COP.

But what does it actually take to make it happen? How do you feed, transport and house 80,000 people, while trying to keep global negotiations on track?

The Climate Question hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar talk to Helen Wright, who helped deliver COP26 in Glasgow and COP28 in Dubai, to find out what goes on behind the scenes.

From keeping the meeting rooms at exactly 21.5°C to managing thousands of journalists, politicians and protesters, Helen shares what it’s really like to build a temporary city devoted to climate action.

We also hear from Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi on whether all that effort actually changes global climate policy — and what’s on the cards for COP30 to be held in the Brazilian Amazon.

Guests: Helen Wright – Former Head of Delivery, COP26; now Event Director at Identity Group Akshat Rathi – Senior Climate Reporter, Bloomberg News, and host of the Zero podcast

Production team: Jordan Dunbar, Nik Sindle, Diane Richardson, Grace Braddock Sound Mix: Tom Brignell and Ben Andrews Editor: Simon Watts

Got a question or a comment? Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

The Amazon is probably the most famous rainforest on Earth. It’s home to Indigenous communities, one of the world's biggest rivers and a diversity of plant and animal life found nowhere else. But it’s also a region rich in sought-after resources — gold, iron ore, bauxite, coffee and rubber — and vast areas of forest have been cleared for cattle and soy production. Scientists warn that deforestation and climate change are drying the region, fuelling fires, and risking a dangerous tipping point when the rainforest can no longer sustain itself and begins to release more carbon than it absorbs. This week, hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar ask why we need the Amazon, what would happen if it disappeared, and what can still be done to protect it. They speak to a Brazilian ecologist who has spent two decades studying the forest and the fires that threaten it. Guest: Dr Erika Berenguer, Senior Research Associate, University of Oxford and Lancaster University

Producers: Nik Sindle, Diane Richardson, Graihagh Jackson, Jordan Dunbar, Grace Braddock Sound Mix: Tom Brignell, Dave O'Neil Editor: Simon Watts

Got a question? Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt travels to Somalia to investigate the links between global warming and the decades-long conflict there. He hears how Somalis are responding by launching businesses and their own renewables industry. This programme was first broadcast in 2024.

Presenter: Justin Rowlatt Producer in Somalia: Stuart Phillips Producers in London: Miho Tanaka, Sara Hegarty Sound Mix: Tom Brignell and David Crackles Editor: Simon Watts

Got a question? Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Mumbai is India’s economic engine, but every rainy season this megacity comes to a virtual standstill as torrential rains flood streets, homes and transport networks. In 2005, Mumbai faced one of its worst floods on record – and experts warn that climate change could make future rainfall even more intense.

This week, Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar explore what’s happening with Mumbai and the mighty monsoon – and how a city of more than 20 million people can adapt to a wetter, more unpredictable future.

They hear from BBC Marathi correspondent Janhavee Moole and Zerin Osho, Director of the India Programme at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, about the challenges to India’s financial capital.

Guests: Janhavee Moole, BBC Marathi Zerin Osho, Director, India Programme, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development

Production Team: Jordan Dunbar, Grace Braddock, Tom Brignell, Joe McCartney, Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle Editor: Simon Watts

Got a question? Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Today, more than half the world’s population live in cities – and as our numbers swell, so will our cities, especially those around the Pacific Rim, where it’s predicted our largest megacities of 10 million plus will be situated. And herein lies an opportunity: 60% of the buildings needed for 2050 are not yet built.

Could we shape our cities into places that are good for the climate and also good for our mental health? Can we design buildings and infrastructure that make green decisions easier and also help us deal with stress or depression?

In a programme first broadcast in 2024, Jordan Dunbar hears about examples in the Netherlands and Egypt. Are there win-win options out there that can help the world deal with two of its biggest challenges?

Contributors: Houssam Elokda -Urban Planner, with Happy Cities, Vancouver Sally Nabil - BBC Arabic Egypt Correspondent, Cairo Anna Holligan - BBC Correspondent, The Hague, Netherlands

Production Team: Graihagh Jackson, Octavia Woodward, Brenda Brown Sound Design: Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

Got a question? Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

What can ice cores tell us about the atmosphere millions of years ago?

These cylinders of ice, drilled from glaciers and ice sheets around the world, preserve precious clues about our changing climate and records such as rainfall, temperature and greenhouse gases, even volcanic eruptions. But what can the past tell us about the future?

Host Graihagh Jackson hears from two ice core experts about their icy adventures in Antarctica, the Himalayas and beyond.

Dr Liz Thomas is Head of Ice Cores Research at the British Antarctic Survey and is currently working on an ice core that may be the oldest ever.

Lonnie Thompson is a pioneer in the field whose first ice core finds date back to the 1970s. He is Distinguished University Professor of Earth Sciences. Senior Research Scientist, Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University. Professor Thompson also appears in a documentary called The Canary.

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Producers: Diane Richardson and Nik Sindle Production coordinator: Maria Ogundele and Sabine Schereck Sound mix: Tom Brignell and Louis Griffin Editor: Simon Watts

Geothermal energy is renewable, reliable and powerful. So, why is most of it untapped? That’s what our listener, Anna in the UK, wants to know. Full disclosure, she’s a geologist and is thoroughly perplexed by the lack of uptake. Geothermal is renewable, reliable and abundant and yet, less than 1% of the world’s energy is generated from it. Host Graihagh Jackson hears about a team in Iceland who hope to "super-charge" geothermal power by drilling directly into volcanic magma. And she travels to Germany to visit Vulcan Energy, a company which is combining geothermal with extracting one of the world's most sought-after metals: Lithium. Plus, our reporter in Indonesia tells Graihagh about local opposition to some geothermal power plants. The programme was first broadcast in 2024. Got a question you’d like answered? Email: TheClimateQuestion@bbc.com or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721 Host: Graihagh Jackson Reporter in Indonesia: Johanes Hutabarat Producer: Osman Iqbal Sound Mix: James Beard and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

Graihagh Jackson and the BBC’s former Global Health Correspondent Tulip Mazumdar investigate how extreme heat, fuelled by climate change, is affecting pregnant women in India. In the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Tulip hears the heart-breaking stories of some of the women affected and explores simple solutions that would make their work in scorching agricultural fields safer. The programme was first broadcast in 2024. Email us at theclimatequestion@bbc.com Produced by Sophie Eastaugh, Graihagh Jackson and Camilla Horrox Editor: Sophie Eastaugh Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell and James Beard Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown

When people talk about tipping points in the climate, it’s usually bad news – the irreversible melting of ice sheets or the collapse of rainforests. But could there be positive tipping points too, moments where climate solutions break through and spread rapidly?

Tim Lenton, Professor of Climate Change at the University of Exeter and author of Positive Tipping Points: How to Fix the Climate Crisis, says it’s already happening – from the dramatic rise of renewable energy to the surge in electric vehicles. He explains how in Norway, the 80s pop band A-Ha played a crucial role in making EVs mainstream.

So, could positive tipping points hold the key to addressing the climate crisis? Hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar speak to Professor Lenton about how positive tipping points happen and what we can learn from them. Got a question? Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com Production Team: Jonathan Baker, Grace Braddock, Tom Brignell, Diane Richardson, Sabine Schereck and Nik Sindle Editor: Simon Watts

Africa gets a world beating amount of sunshine — but has just 1% of the world’s solar panels.

Over half the continent still lives without electricity, stalling progress and holding back people’s lives. But change may be coming — thanks to a surge in solar imports from China.

New data from energy think tank EMBER shows a 60% jump in solar panel shipments to Africa in the past year. If installed, they could generate 15 GW — nearly doubling Africa’s current solar capacity.

It’s not just the biggest energy users like South Africa, Nigeria, and Algeria. Countries like Liberia, DRC, Benin, Angola, and Ethiopia have tripled their imports.

So, is this the start of a solar-powered revolution on the continent?

Hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar speak to Dr Rose Mutiso, Science Advisor at the Energy for Growth Hub and Founder of the African Tech Futures Lab.

Got a question? Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Production Team: Jordan Dunbar, Nik Sindle, Diane Richardson, Grace Braddock, Chris Gouzaris and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

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.

This programme was first broadcast in 2024.

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

Send your questions to: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated America’s Gulf coast and overwhelmed the city of New Orleans. The destruction and the response to the storm became infamous and are debated to this day.

Climate scientists warn that the warming world is likely to make typhoons, cyclones and hurricanes more intense and so even more dangerous.

Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar ask what the world has learned since the disaster in New Orleans, and how we can build cities that can stand up better to more extreme weather events.

They chat to Prof Reggie DesRoches, an engineer who was on the ground in the aftermath of Katrina to help find out what had gone wrong. His work specialises in adapting infrastructure for natural disasters, including developing innovative materials and practical techniques that might just help us adapt to more violent storms.

Can we build a world where hurricanes can't kill?

Guest: Prof Reggie DesRoches, President, Rice University, Houston

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson with Jordan Dunbar Producers: Jordan Dunbar, Di Richardson and Nik Sindle Sound mix: Tom Brignell and Sarah Kimberley Editor: Simon Watts

Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: TheClimateQuestion@BBC.com or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

This week Host Graihagh Jackson grabs a chat with the BBC’s correspondents in two countries that will shape our future climate.

Brazil is about to host the giant COP climate conference in the Amazon, but the pace of reducing deforestation has just slowed and there are concerns about potentially weaker environmental standards. Ione Wells in Sao Paulo also talks Graihagh through proposals for oil exploration in the mouth of the rainforest.

Plus, China has just started work on the world’s biggest hydroelectric dam. It’s a huge 167-billion dollar project to bring power from Tibet to Hong Kong. The dam will increase Beijing’s use of renewable energy, but comes with a potential environmental cost, as well as the risk of creating tension with China’s neighbours. Laura Bicker gives us some staggering facts and figures about the dam – as well as an explanation of how fish can use “ladders”.

Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: TheClimateQuestion@BBC.com or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson with Jordan Dunbar Producer: Diane Richardson Production Co-Ordinator: Rosie Strawbridge Sound Engineers: Dafydd Evans and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

Climate change is melting thousands of glaciers in the Himalayas and having a devastating impact on the people who live there. In 2024, the BBC's Caroline Davies visited the Pakistani side of the world's highest mountain range: she told Graihagh Jackson how villagers are coping, and how they are determined to stay put despite the risks of floods and the disruption to their traditional way of life.

You can watch Caroline's reporting from Pakistan here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00246nx/from-above-melting-glaciers

Got a climate question you’d like answered? Email: TheClimateQuestion@BBC.com or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Reporter in Pakistan: Caroline Davies Producers in Pakistan: Fakhir Munir, Usman Zahid, Kamil Dayan Khan Producers in London: Ellie House and Osman Iqbal Sound Mix: Rod Farquhar and Tom Brignell Editor: Simon Watts

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.

But the billionaire remains optimistic and believes the power of human ingenuity will win out with a technology-driven approach to reducing carbon emissions and dealing with the impact of global warming.

In 2023, Graihagh Jackson sat down with Bill Gates to talk about his positive outlook and the billions he’s investing in tackling climate change.

Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

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

From coral reefs and mangroves to raising the land itself, how small island nations are using natural and innovative techniques to adapt to rising sea levels and extreme weather events linked to climate change.

Jordan Dunbar chats to Tina Steggy, climate envoy for the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Dr. Rosanne Martyr, senior scientist on coastal vulnerability and adaptation, Climate Analytics.

Plus, Anna Holligan, the BBC's correspondent in The Hague, has the latest on a landmark climate case brought by Pacific Islanders at the International Court of Justice.

Got a comment or a question you’d like us to answer? Send an email to: TheClimateQuestion@bbc.com or whatsapp us on +44 8000 321 721

Presenter: Jordan Dunbar Producer: Diane Richardson Production Co-Ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Engineers: Tom Brignell, Rohan Madison and Frank McWeeny Editor: Simon Watts

Rare earths have been described as the oil of the 21st century, incredibly valuable both economically and in the fight against climate change. There's a battle underway around the world to mine and control these minerals - a battle that is currently being won by China.

As demand rises, the problems with rare earths are also becoming clearer because getting them out of the ground requires strip mining and the use of poisonous chemicals.

BBC China Correspondent Laura Bicker has seen this environmental impact first hand on a visit to the rare earth hubs of Bayan Obo in northern China and Guanzuo in the south. She's been speaking to locals about the benefits this booming industry brings and the damage that it can cause.

BBC Climate and Science Reporter Esme Stallard also joins Jordan Dunbar to chat about why rare earths are so valuable and the state of greenhouse gas emissions in China. Plus, she's got an update on a climate satellite that's gone missing in space!

Presenter: Jordan Dunbar Producers: Diane Richardson and Jordan Dunbar Production Co-Ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: Tom Brignell and Dave O'Neill Editor: Simon Watts

Got a question you’d like us to answer? Send an email to: TheClimateQuestion@bbc.com or whatsapp us on +44 8000 321 721

Could changing weather patterns due to climate change make a difference to where and when we travel, or to the cost of our holidays?

It was the hottest June on record for Western Europe, according to the EU’s climate service, Copernicus. And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that heatwaves in Europe will become more frequent, more intense and longer-lasting.

Extreme heat and drier weather can lead to wildfires, while retreating snow lines can put pressure on winter skiing trips. For their part, popular destinations in the Caribbean and the Pacific face another challenge - from rising sea levels.

Host Graihagh Jackson asks how holiday-makers and the travel industry can adapt to a changing climate.

Contributors: Simon King, Lead BBC weather presenter and meteorologist Dr. Susanne Etti, Global Environmental Impact Manager at Intrepid Travel Stefan Gössling, Professor of Tourism Research, Linnaeus University, Sweden

Presenter: Graihagh Jackson Producer: Diane Richardson Production Co-Ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: Tom Brignell and Dave O'Neill Editor: Simon Watts

Got a question you’d like us to answer? Send an email to: TheClimateQuestion@bbc.com or whatsapp us on +44 8000 321 721

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.

Got a comment or a question you’d like us to answer? Send an email to: TheClimateQuestion@bbc.com or whatsapp us on +44 8000 321 721

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

Got a question you’d like us to answer? Send an email to: TheClimateQuestion@bbc.com