Whales are among the largest animals to have ever lived – and scientists are discovering they also play a big role in the climate system. From the food they eat to where their waste and bodies end up, whales help move carbon from the atmosphere to the deep ocean, where it can be locked away for centuries.

This week, Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar explore what whales can tell us about climate change – and how warming seas may be affecting them in return. They speak to Victoria Gill, BBC Science Correspondent, about new research analysing Antarctic seabed samples to trace how whale populations influence long-term carbon storage.

They also hear from Helen Czerski, physicist, oceanographer and author of Blue Machine: How the Ocean Shapes Our World, about one of the most surprising scientific records of all: whale earwax – and how it reveals stress levels in the changing oceans.

Guests:

Hosts: Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar

Got a question or a comment? You can email us: [email protected]

We answer YOUR climate questions – on everything from “green” careers to ice cores to the world’s electricity challenge!

In this edition of The Climate Question, Host Graihagh Jackson explores your climate-related headscratchers. Her panel chat about the new jobs that will open up as the world economy moves away from fossil fuels – and the skills that will be needed.

They also discuss the dangers of nitrous oxide – a planet-warming gas, but also crucial for the fertilisers that help feed us. And have you ever wondered how scientists actually date the ice cores they dig out of glaciers. Some of them are 100,000s of years old!

Plus: the controversial scientists who’ve won the Nobel Prize, and is there anywhere on Earth that’s untouched by humans?

Host: Graihagh Jackson

Production Team: Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle, Graihagh Jackson, Grace Braddock

Got a question or a comment? You can email us: [email protected]

Storms, cyclones and flooding in South East Asia have killed close to 2000 people, devastating communities across Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Scientists warn climate change is reshaping weather patterns, increasing the risk of heavier rainfall and more destructive floods in the future.

With many densely populated cities sinking and built on flood-prone land, the region is particularly vulnerable. But experts say there are bold ideas and solutions that could help reduce the risks and save lives.

In this special collaboration between The Climate Question and the new BBC World Service podcast Asia Specific, Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar join host Mariko Oi to explore what made the floods so deadly — and what can be done in the future.

Sound engineer: Tom Brignell

Got a question or a comment? You can email us: [email protected]

What do you think of when you think about our oceans? Maybe you see a picture of our planet with a big patch of blue? Maybe you think about storms or dramatic ocean voyages? Maybe fish or coral reefs?

In this edition of The Climate Question, Hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar explore how our oceans are even more important than you might imagine. They help put the brakes on climate change and regulate our weather - even in faraway deserts. They provide food, and even influence the rise of great civilisations, like Ancient Egypt.

Graihagh and Jordan are joined by oceanographer and physicist Helen Czerski, author of Blue Machine, How the Ocean Shapes Our World. Helen also chats about the challenges of trying to collect data at sea during huge storms.

Hosts: Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar

Got a question or a comment? You can email us: [email protected]

Across the world vehicle manufacturers are racing to make zero emission cars in the move away from fossil-fuel powered vehicles. It’s a huge market which could reach 9 trillion dollars worldwide by 2030. One small country which is grabbing this opportunity is Hungary. Located in the heart of Europe but with a population of under 10 million, it’s becoming one of the top battery producers globally for electric cars.

This transition is bringing billions of euros of investment into the Hungarian economy and creating tens of thousands of jobs. One city in particular – Debrecen – the country’s second biggest, is becoming an epi-centre for battery production. The Climate Question’s Jordan Dunbar has been to Debrecen to find out who’s benefitting from the green gold rush. He speaks to local people and businesses about their hopes and fears as their city is transformed.

This programme was first broadcast in February 2025.

Presenter: Jordan Dunbar

If you have a question, email us at the [email protected] or leave a WhatsApp message at +44 8000 321 721

How can the world speed up its efforts to fight climate change?

It’s been a dramatic fortnight at the COP climate summit in the Amazonian city of Belem, with torrential rains and floods, protests and even a fire. A deal has finally been done but it’s divisive and has left many wondering whether we'll really avoid the worst effects of a warming world.

Join Jordan Dunbar and Graihagh Jackson as they take a deep dive into the results of the negotiations and find out what they mean.

The BBC’s Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt joins us from Brazil. Plus, our panel of experts discuss the future of climate action.

Guests:

Production Team: Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle, Jordan Dunbar, Grace Braddock, Melanie Stewart-Smith, Steven Bailey

Got a question or a comment? Email us: [email protected]

The American lawyer, oil lobbyist and master strategist Don Pearlman is said to have chain-smoked his way through almost every UN climate gathering from the early 1990s until his death in 2005.

Some of those who saw Pearlman operate in Kyoto, where the first legally binding international agreement on climate change was agreed in 1997, say he created the playbook for stalling climate talks. The Kyoto protocol was never ratified by the United States, and Pearlman is now the subject of a major play, Kyoto, which has just transferred from London to the Lincoln Center in New York.

As the COP30 climate summit takes place in Brazil, Climate Question Host Jordan Dunbar has been telling our friends on The Global Story podcast the true story of the man once nicknamed "the high priest of the carbon club".

With episodes each weekday, The Global Story is where the world and America meet. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption.

For The Global Story podcast

Producers: Aron Keller and Cat Farnsworth

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

Got a question or a comment? Email us: [email protected]

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:

Production team: Jordan Dunbar, Nik Sindle, Diane Richardson, Grace Braddock

Got a question or a comment? Email us: [email protected]

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.

Producers: Nik Sindle, Diane Richardson, Graihagh Jackson, Jordan Dunbar, Grace Braddock

Got a question? Email us: [email protected]