The Climate Question

How farmers and scientists in eastern India are using ancient rice seeds to fight the growing impact of flooding, soil salinity and drought.
The BBC’s William Kremer tells Graihagh Jackson about his visit to the Sundarbans in West Bengal, where cyclones and rising sea levels have devastated crops. William meets the rice growers drawing on the skills of their forefathers to feed their families. Graihagh also gets a global overview from Dr Rafal Gutaker, rice expert at Kew Gardens, London. This programme was first broadcast in 2025.
Reporter in India: William Kremer
Production Team: Diane Richardson, Graihagh Jackson, Octavia Woodward
Sound Mix: Neil Churchill and Tom Brignell
Editor: Simon Watts
If you have a question for the team, email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721
Image credit: Reuters

Across the world, cars are getting taller, wider and heavier. Sports Utility Vehicles, or SUVs, now dominate global car sales, and the trend has continued into the electric age with many new EVs larger than ever.
In this episode of The Climate Question, Jordan Dunbar examines why bigger cars have become so popular with drivers and so profitable for manufacturers. From comfort and safety to status and aspiration, SUVs are reshaping roads across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Size matters. Heavier vehicles use more energy, require bigger batteries, and create challenges for cities, from congestion and parking to road damage and safety. Jordan speaks to Theo Leggett, the BBC’s International Business Correspondent, and Anjani Trivedi, Global Business Correspondent at The Economist, about car-spreading, emissions, electrification, and whether governments and consumers could reverse the trend.
Guests:
Theo Leggett, BBC International Business Correspondent
Anjani Trivedi, Global Business Correspondent, The Economist
Presenter: Jordan Dunbar
Production team: Ben Andrews, Grace Braddock, Tom Brignell, Gareth Jones, Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle
Editor: Simon Watts
Image: CJ Gunther / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock
Got a question or a comment? You can email us: [email protected]

People often ask whether there are any quick fixes to the climate crisis — easy wins that could cut emissions without waiting decades. This week, The Climate Question does something a little different.
Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar stage an imaginary cabinet meeting, with three “ministers” competing to deliver the biggest climate impact in just five years. Climate scientist and YouTuber Adam Levy pitches methane cuts in food and farming. Radhika Khosla, an urban climatologist and adviser to national governments, argues building smarter and reducing air conditioning are the fastest levers. And Jordan steps into the role of Transport Minister to make the case for buses, bikes and less traffic.
Together, they explore whether these quick fixes are enough — and why, if they’re so effective, they aren’t already happening.
Guests:
Radhika Khosla – Associate Professor, University of Oxford
Adam Levy – Climate Scientist and creator of ClimateAdam
Hosts: Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar
Production Team: Grace Braddock, Tom Brignell, Dafydd Evans, Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle
Editor: Simon Watts
Image: Reuters
Got a question or a comment? You can email us: [email protected]

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:
Victoria Gill, BBC Science Correspondent
Helen Czerski, Professor of the Environment and Society, University College London
Hosts: Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar
Production Team: Grace Braddock, Tom Brignell, James Piper, Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle
Editor: Simon Watts
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
Guests: BBC Climate Editor Justin Rowlatt, BBC CrowdScience Presenter Caroline Steel, and Akshat Rathi, Bloomberg Senior Climate Reporter and Host of the Bloomberg Green podcast.
Production Team: Diane Richardson, Nik Sindle, Graihagh Jackson, Grace Braddock
Sound Mix: Tom Brignell
Editor: Simon Watts
Got a question or a comment? You can email us: [email protected]