Ep 10. Christiana Figueres – Stubborn optimism and leadership

In this special episode ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Liz Bonnin puts your questions to the BBC’s environment correspondent Matt McGrath, science correspondent Victoria Gill, and energy policy expert Professor Jim Watson. With contributions from Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Mya-Rose Craig and Chris Packham, questions tackled include how much carbon does it take to melt a cubic metre of sea ice, why is a new coal mine in Cumbria even up for discussion and how will we make sure countries stick to the pledges they make at the talks?We also bust some jargon and give you a complete rundown on all the key issues ahead of the critical climate summit.

A quick hello from the team of ‘What Planet Are We On?’ to tell you about a special episode we’re making this autumn to answer YOUR climate questions. We’ll be back with our host Liz Bonnin alongside the BBC’s environment correspondent Matt McGrath and science correspondent Victoria Gill.Plus, we’ll be joined by Professor Jim Watson from UCL’s Institute of Sustainable Resources.So send us your question about climate change or the UN’s major conference, COP26, to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer as many of them as we can. What do you want to ask the experts?

This is a bonus episode recorded at the Manchester Science Festival. Liz Bonnin talks to the acclaimed musician, Brian Eno, and environmental lawyer, James Thornton, along with a virtual audience about how our legal system can help tackle climate change and protect all life on earth. They also get into art, philosophy and creating an ecological civilization too! James is chief executive of ClientEarth, an environmental charity using the law to bring about systemic change and Brian is a trustee of the group. The event was part of a series of ‘Climate Talks’ from the Science Museum Group taking place throughout 2021. For more information, please visit this website, https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/.

In this bonus clip, Liz Bonnin, Matt McGrath and Victoria Gill talk about their favourite climate solutions from this series. We’ve heard over 100 solutions, tips or ideas from our guests - so we've put the longlist on the 'What Planet Are We On?' website so you can see them all.

This episode is about leadership. The team are joined by the UN’s former top climate diplomat, Christiana Figueres, and her political strategist, Tom Rivett-Carnac, who helped bring together world leaders for the historic Paris Agreement to combat climate change in 2015. They host the ‘Outrage and Optimism’ pod and they’ve written a book called ‘The Future We Choose’. Liz Bonnin, Victoria Gill and Matt McGrath discuss the challenges and opportunities for leaders acting to bring down emissions and hear why Christiana remains stubbornly optimistic for the future.

In part 2, we hear from some of the world’s leading young activists; Jamie Margolin, an American climate justice campaigner and the co-executive director of Zero Hour; Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate justice activist and founder of the Rise Up Movement; and 15 year-old environmentalist, Holly Gillibrand, who was one of the youngest climate activists in the UK when she first began school strikes in the Scottish Highlands where she lives. They talk to Liz Bonnin, Matt McGrath and Victoria Gill about who inspires them and about the pressures of having to step up when they feel some world leaders have checked out.

This episode is about a musician in the award-winning British band, Foals, who wants to see big changes in both the live music industry and wider society. In a rare and personal interview, Edwin Congreave, says certain types of heavily polluting tours shouldn’t take place anymore and there are greener alternatives to connect with audiences. Edwin speaks to Matt McGrath and Victoria Gill about his own realisation about the fragility of our planet, his vision for the future of the live music industry and how bands could tour differently. And he calls on society to ask itself, 'what are we going to do about this'?

This episode is about business, invention and changing the way we do things. Can we continue with ‘business as usual’ if we are going to build a sustainable future and reach our net zero targets? Norman Crowley, the founder of Crowley Carbon talks to Liz Bonnin and Matt McGrath about his approach to innovations and solutions and Sian Sutherland co-founder of A Plastic Planet discusses her campaign to eliminate plastic waste and how that translates to the climate change problem.

This episode is about our economy. As governments pour billions into the system following the pandemic, can our future be both prosperous AND green? Liz Bonnin, Matt McGrath and Victoria Gill ask economist Kate Raworth from Oxford University and author of ‘Doughnut Economics’ and Professor Rebecca Henderson from Harvard Business School and author of ‘Reimagining Capitalism In A World On Fire’ if capitalism holds the solution to a more sustainable future - or if alternative models could be kinder to the planet.

This episode is about optimism and hope and where we can find it in the often depressing climate change story.The supermodel, businesswoman and ‘Who Cares Wins’ podcaster Lily Cole talks to Liz Bonnin, Matt McGrath and Victoria Gill along with young conservationist Bella Lack about their own activism and projects, staying positive and the future of the planet. Lily also discusses the challenges of hypocrisy and tells the team, it’s better to have lots of imperfect environmentalists rather than a few perfect ones.