The climate crisis is causing rising sea levels and nowhere is this more apparent than in the Isles of Scilly - a coastal UK area that’s just years away from being submerged. So I’m talking to Sir David Attenborough and other climate activists around the world about what we can do before it’s too late. …Or is it already too late?
The way we farm food is contributing to climate change so I’m looking at innovative ways to grow it instead. Poppy Okotcha guest stars to discuss regenerative agriculture which not only stops the release of carbon but reduces the amount of it in the atmosphere.
How bad is the air pollution created by vehicles? I’m in South London talking to both the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and locals to talk about how deadly it’s become - and how a nine-year-old recently became the first British person to die from air pollution-related asthma. Then I’m heading to India where sadly it’s even worse.
The number of weather-related disasters has increased 5-fold over the past 50 years. So I’m visiting Britain’s Met Office to see how weather forecasting works because it’s an alarm system we take for granted. I also spend some time in a unique wave machine to feel the effects of flooding.
I’m in Cumbria to look at the devastating impact of wildfires and training with a specialist wildfire team which is so much harder than you’d think. Plus, I’m talking to firefighters in Cape Town, South Africa who’ve had to deal with unprecedented blazes that are threatening the future of once-vibrant communities.
I’m in Scotland looking at how to regrow wild forests because just planting trees doesn’t automatically lead to tackling climate change - it has to be the right mix of them. Plus we’re meeting the people in Kenya who are trying to repair the damage done by woodlands destroyed by the locals’ need for charcoal.
I’m heading to Inverness in Scotland - home to half of the UK’s oil and gas employees - to see how workers rights can be protected as we transition to sustainable energy. Plus we meet a small entrepreneur who’s bringing clean energy to rural areas in Africa and take an up-close look at the most powerful tidal generator in the world.
I’m talking to one of the greatest naturalists of our time, Dr. Jane Goodall, about how to protect our forests and oceans - the two great lungs of the world. I’m also spending time with comic Simon Amstell in a Scottish peat bog to see how they can help soak up huge amounts of carbon if treated right.
I’m in the Isle of Sky with my friend Jamal Edward and climate scientist Alun Hubbard to see the effects of climate change on glaciers and how fast it’s happening - faster than the models even predicted, faster , it turns out, than it’s ever happened before in Earth’s history.
As I arrive in Glasgow for COP26 with glaciology professor Dr. Alun Hubbard, I’m looking back at the last 30 years to see what action - and inaction - has led to the mess we’re currently in. It isn’t pretty but if we don’t act now, it’ll be too late. We’re at the point of no return.
Just what is COP26 all about? And what will make it a success? In this episode, I embark on the challenge of presenting our unheard voices at COP26. Along the way, I talk with President Barack Obama, COP26’s president Alok Sharma and meet some of the leading youth activists holding world leaders to account.
The unheard voices battered by climate change speak out from around the world - about the destruction they’ve experienced first-hand, what they fear is coming next, and what we can do to turn things around - if it’s not too late. It’s time to act.