Storm overflows - a political football?

Al Chisholm is CIWEM's Director of Policy, though he will be soon be leaving to take on a new role at a different organisation.  In his last appearance on the podcast in his current role, he gives his thoughts on 3 big current nature, climate and water news stories. Niki and Alastair discuss:  The new strategic policy statement for the Environment Agency and Natural England. How citizen science is being carried out in one of London’s rivers. The National Emergency briefing. Find out more about the stories Niki and Al discussed here... Strategic Policy Statement Citizen Science Project National Emergency Briefing   Join the Planet Possible mailing list to hear first about new episode releases… Click here to subscribe  Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland 

The King’s Foundation, founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 1990, was inspired by his philosophy of Harmony: that by understanding the balance, order and relationships between ourselves and the natural world, we can create a more sustainable future. Niki heads to Dumfries House, home of The King’s Foundation, to see how the concept of Harmony comes to life.  Hear from Dr Simon Sadinsky, Executive Director of Education at the Foundation about the impacts both locally and internationally of the work happening on site and how the principle of interconnectedness is at the heart of their work. The episode accompanies the recent release of Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision - available now on Prime Video. Find out more here.  Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland 

On this MiniPod episode, Niki Roach is joined by The Guardian’s Biodiversity correspondent - Phoebe Weston. Together, they discuss: 1) Why honey bees aren’t necessarily good for ecosystems and the Italian island that’s banned them. 2) China’s carbon dioxide emissions fall by 1% in the final quarter of 2025. 3) And a radical project in Belgium that’s turning off street lights to preserve wildlife. Thanks to our sponsors BMA, Mackley and MWH Treatment for their support of Planet Possible. Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland 

To meet future water demands we will have to embrace water reuse and advanced water recycling. What's possible? What's best practice? What do the public think? Traditionally there has been a public perception challenge over reusing water (the so-called "yuck factor") - how do we get past that?The UK is just starting to really get going on water reuse, while in the USA they're further ahead. So, in this episode we talk to experts on both sides of the pond to get the latest thinking...UK Experts:Simon Langley from MWH Treatment and Heather Smith from Cranfield UniversityUS Experts:Paul Pitt and Gaya Ram Mohan from Hazen and Sawyer  Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland 

The Planet Possible MiniPod focuses on big current stories in climate, water and nature, providing a detailed update in just 15 mins. Our guest on this episode is Lee Pitcher, the Labour MP for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, who also chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Water. Water is firmly in the spotlight in the UK, with recent supply outages in the South East Water region making headlines. Alongside this, and following last year's Cunliffe Review, the government has published a white paper called 'A New Vision For Water'.Lee, who previously worked in the water sector before becoming an MP, joins host Niki Roach to unpack both of these topics. Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland 

In this month’s Planet Possible, Niki Roach is joined by Ruth Chambers OBE - a Senior Fellow at Green Alliance, and honorary professor of practice at the UCL Centre for law and the environment.Ruth, and host Niki, metaphorically travel around the nations of the UK - identifying what will be making the headlines in UK environmental policy, in 2026.In Wales, the Environmental Governance Bill will be a new legislation allowing future Welsh governments to set long-term environmental targets.The Environment Minister of Northern Ireland, Andrew Muir, has outlined how environmental governance is currently operating, highlighting implementation.The Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill - Introduces statutory environmental targets that politicians will be required to meet in the future.The UK Government has added 13 new deliverables, expanding the scope and ambition of environmental action at UK-wide level. Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland 

Our last Minipod of 2025 welcomes John Curtin, the president of CIWEM. John joins Niki Roach in this 15 minute episode, to discuss the following 3 current stories in Water, Climate and Nature:Infrastructure Risks - How should we approach building new infrastructure in a world shaped by climate change, and shifting environmental issues and politics? And how do we move beyond short-term fixes and improve our acceptance of the need to build for 2050 and beyond?A piece of research, supported by the natural science foundation of China, shows a new technique that could let us generate electricity from water in an entirely new way. With the potential to scale, and real promise for countries with large water masses, such as the UK.John Curtin explains the new CIWEM presidential theme of “Green Roots, Growing Prosperity” policy and why protecting the environment, and growing the economy, don’t have to be opposing forces despite how they’re often framed in politics and the media.  Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland 

In this month’s Planet Possible, we’re going beyond the specifics of COP30 and reflect on the shifting geo politics of climate leadership, and what it could mean for our future generations.Niki Roach is joined by two experts in this field - Dr Clare Richardson-Barlow, a Political Economist with a focus on the Asia specific region, and Professor of International Politics at the University of Leeds - Richard Beardsworth.Together, they discuss:COP30 - The climate change conference that has just taken place in Brazil,  why it matters so much and the context in which it’s happening, as emissions continue to rise.  How are the road maps going to be implemented, and where are the delivery on targets that have been set for the countries in attendance?China - The world’s largest emitter and how its leadership responds to those emissions. The country is also the largest investor in renewables, and the largest manufacturer of clean technology.The challenges around a just transition here in the UK, from fossil fuels, and the political recognition required regarding how difficult it will be to move towards a greener future. Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland 

In this MiniPod episode, Niki is joined by freelance environmental journalist Jo Caird, whose portfolio includes Editor of The Environment Magazine - a CIWEM publication.They discuss:1) Using geoengineering to repair the climate, and how the technology has the potential to adjust global temperatures. The process of solar radiation modification could see injecting aerosol compounds and potential refreezing of the arctic.2) The unprecedented drought impacting Tehran, Iran, where the main source of drinking water for residents is at risk of running dry within a matter of weeks. 9 million people may need to be evacuated from the city.3) The Tropical Forests Forever Facility - The facility’s mission is to protect tropical forests for indigenous peoples and future generations. It will create long-term financial stability for countries that commit to lasting forest protection, linking economic opportunity with conservation. Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland 

On this month’s Planet Possible, Niki is joined by co-host Polly Cook - Chief Officer for Climate, Energy and Green Spaces at Leeds City Council. And for our deep dive interview, on this episode into Heat Networks, Niki and Polly are joined by David Riley - Head of Carbon and Climate Adaptation within Anglian Water and Michael Avant Smith - Senior VP for Decarbonisation at BMA. This Episode is an introduction to Heat Networks and a look at an innovative plan to harness waste heat from sewers: We’re going to hear about the innovative TORCH Project which is a research and development initiative focused on assessing, and promoting, the viability of recovering heat from urban sewer systems in the UK. It aims to address the current evidence gap and de-risk the concept for wider adoption.   We find out: • What TORCH stands for and what’s it aiming to achieve and by when.• What’s going to happen in practice.• How far along the project is and who’s involved.• What makes it so innovative.• If successful, what scaling looks like and what the enablers, and barriers, are to implementation. As we think about the energy mix we want in the UK, moving forwards, heat networks could play a really interesting role.   Credits Presented & Produced by Niki RoachExecutive Producer Andy Taylor - Bwlb LimitedWith thanks to Alastair ChisholmHonorary Executive Producer Jane Boland