BBC ramps up climate change coverage
January 16, 2020
The BBC is upping of climate change coverage with special programming, digital coverage and debates. With the UN’s international conference on climate change coming to the UK in the autumn, the BBC aims to be at the heart of the national and international debate.
Under the BBC’s Our Planet Matters banner, BBC News and wider programming will seek to do more than ever to explore all aspects of the environment and challenges facing our planet, both at a local and global level.
BBC Director of News, Fran Unsworth, said: “The challenge of climate change is the topic of our age and we will be at the heart of the debate. Our audiences around the world have long been affected by the science, politics, business and human impact of climate change. This is part of our commitment to Our Planet Matters and we have many exciting new commissions across news and current affairs with informative, accessible expertise, to help audiences keep up with this vital story. We are very aware of our own impact on the environment and our responsible travel policy means we only fly when necessary. We want to use digital technology to bring people together and cover this issue for as wide a range of audiences as possible.”
BBC Director of Content, Charlotte Moore, added: “The launch of Our Planet Matters on the BBC last year has really resonated with audiences and I’m excited to see news and current affairs join this ongoing commitment to explore the environment and the challenges facing our planet through a range of content to help inform audiences over the years ahead.”
BBC News will introduce new programmes and services across its output, including Climate Check from BBC Weather, a weekly global climate podcast from BBC World Service, with new current affairs series on BBC Two with Ade Adepitan, Ade On The Frontline Of Climate Change and Simon Reeve exploring South America and the Amazon rainforest in The Americas With Simon Reeve, as well as events and debates which aim to bring together experts from around the world to highlight the most pressing issues about the climate.
On BBC News, Sir David Attenborough kicks things off with an interview for BBC News Science Editor David Shukman. Attenborough warns that “the moment of crisis has come” in efforts to tackle climate change. He says: “We have been putting things off for year after year. As I speak, southeast Australia is on fire. Why? Because the temperatures of the Earth are increasing.”
Other factual programming coming up this year includes Attenborough presenting Extinction: The Facts, a one-hour BBC One documentary looking at the fragile state of the natural world and Chris Packham investigating the impact a growing human population is having on the planet in 7.7 Billion People And Counting on BBC Two.
As well as programming, the BBC will also step up its own commitment to creating a positive environmental impact by working towards making its operations carbon neutral.