The Climate Conversations: Recent Episodes
CNA
You have heard about climate change. But what does it mean and how does it impact us? This podcast looks into the issues related to the science and impact of climate change, as well as the policy, technology and finance behind climate action and adaptation. Each week, we talk to experts who help us understand one of the most pressing challenges facing humankind.
We're drawing the curtains on one of our OG podcast shows. But don't cry just yet. We'll still be talking about all things climate on our other CNA podcasts to help you make sense of this changing world. Tell us which episode you liked best in the comments or email us at cnapodcasts [at] mediacorp.com.sg.
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The climate challenge may seem insurmountable at times. So, it’s important to look at what is needed but also where we’ve come from. Jack Board and Liling Tan do a planetary health check, and talk through some positive stories, warning signs and personal tips to help the Earth.
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Southeast Asian parliamentarians are voicing urgent concerns about Thailand’s air pollution problems. Can regional mechanisms solve a long-entrenched issue that’s linked to health concerns for millions of people? Jack Board speaks with Nitipon Piwmow and Arlene Brosas from the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.
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The combination of rising temperatures, dense living and a lack of green spaces means rat populations in our cities are growing. Jack Board and Liling Tan uncover the risks and solutions to the pests beneath our feet.
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As the world heats up, the need to cool down is ever increasing. Places that never needed air-conditioning are now seeing growing requirements for it. Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss the plea to turn on our machines.
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The future of the Ganges river is in question. As a key water-sharing treaty between India and Bangladesh nears its expiry, Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss the critical negotiations over a river system increasingly impacted by climate change.
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The recent deadly sinking of a Bali ferry has illuminated how extreme and unpredictable weather - driven by climate change – is making the region’s seas more dangerous to traverse. Jack Board and Liling Tan chat with correspondent Nivell Rayda in Jakarta.
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US President Donald Trump’s new sprawling bill will make a major dent on the country’s clean energy industries. Jack Board and Liling Tan get the lowdown on what it means and whether the ripple effects could extend around the world.
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Nearly three quarters of humanity's most iconic sites and landscapes are under threat from water-related hazards. Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss whether these special places can be saved from climate change.
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Singapore is heavily reliant on imported natural gas for its electricity needs. With recent tensions in the Middle East throwing shockwaves into energy markets and supply routes, is the country and broader region prepared? Jack Board and Liling Tan chat with the Singapore LNG Corporation CEO Leong Wei Hung.
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Meat demand in Asia continues to soar. But the chicken and pork on your plate comes at a cost for both the farmers who produce animal feed and the forests of northern Thailand and beyond. Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss the impact of our insatiable appetite for meat.
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Money and resources are increasingly being invested in climate geoengineering. Jack Board and Liling Tan debate the science and sense of manipulating the climate to counter global warming.
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The upcoming northern hemisphere summer is set to break more heat records. From holidays, to workers and crops - the searing temperatures are going to have consequences, as Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss.
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US President Donald Trump wants to mine the seafloor. And while the industry has its supporters, scientists say hunting for precious minerals underwater could be highly damaging to the ocean. Jack Board and Liling Tan dive into the topic, ahead of the UN Ocean Conference.
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Climate change and conflict are increasingly fuelling one another, leaving lasting environmental impact across war-struck regions of the world. CNA’s Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss the latest research covering an overlooked factor in today’s hot zones.
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The Indus River is at the centre of a simmering conflict between India and Pakistan, neighbours who share the flow of the river. It’s another example of water being central to rising tensions. Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss how the power of water can be weaponised by countries.
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Angrier planet, messier times. What's keeping green investors cautious, and how can countries brace better? Jack Board and Liling Tan find answers.
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Island nations battling extreme weather and rising seas are offering citizenship in exchange for climate financing. They get money to relocate, reinforce and redevelop, while investors get visa-free passports. Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss survival and sovereignty in the face of global warming.
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Green hydrogen has been touted as a promising solution to cleaning up transport, shipping and aviation. But this clean technology has run into multiple hurdles. Jack Board and Lilling Tan chat with Alex Tancock, the CEO of InterContinental Energy.
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Ever fallen in love with a film's location set and booked a holiday there? You're in good company. "Set-jetting" travel is on the rise, thanks in part to the White Lotus effect that saw bookings surge for destinations featured in the popular HBO series.
This week on Climate Conversations, Jack Board and Liling Tan weigh the economic gains of set-jetting against the environmental toll.
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The global apparel industry remains a major contributor to pollution and waste. But there are ways to still look good without feeling bad. Ahead of International Day of Zero Waste, Jack Board and Liling Tan chat with Michael Sadowski from the Circulate Initiative.
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A few years ago, airlines were pushing hard on developing green jet fuels. But adoption rates are slow. Jack Board and Liling Tan unpack the future of clean flying.
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A new report tracks air pollution levels right across the world. The good news? Air quality is slightly improving in Southeast Asia. But as Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss, there are lingering health concerns for all of us breathing in dirty air.
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They're smaller, safer, scalable, and they could bring nuclear power to places never thought possible. Small modular reactors are the next big thing in the nuclear power race, but Dr Alvin Chew from the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies tells Liling Tan safety trumps tech every time.
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Climate themes in science fiction are everywhere. Some of our favourite shows are telling important stories about our life on Earth. Sci-fi expert Jamie Uy joins Jack Board and Liling Tan to discuss environmental calamity, the end of the world, wars over resources and fantastic technological innovations in some of their favourites.
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Every five years, countries are expected to give new climate change action targets. A shockingly small number of them met the deadline this month. Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss why and which single nation in Southeast Asia got a pass mark.
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The emergence of microplastics across the planet is leading to new health challenges. Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss some new research and the ways we could contend with tiny particles causing a huge problem.
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The tiger is alive in the forests of Thailand. The iconic species is enjoying a boom period of population growth, thanks to conservation efforts. Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss how it’s been done.
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US President Donald Trump announced his return to the White House with a flurry of executive orders, including many impacting climate and energy policy. Jack Board and Liling Tan chat with HuffPost’s Alexander Kaufman to understand what it means for the US and the world.
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Innovation in clean energy is moving fast. As the world marks International Day of Clean Energy, Jack Board and Liling Tan pick out some of the technologies to watch in 2025.
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California is struggling with wildfires as people evacuate their homes which are burning to the ground. What’s in store for 2025 when it comes to natural disasters here and around the world as climate impacts intensify? Jack Board and Liling Tan speak to Ira Spitzer who is reporting from Los Angeles.
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Southeast Asia is one of the hottest markets for setting up new digital infrastructure. But this modern-day gold rush of building data centres poses a huge climate challenge - dealing with the enormous carbon footprint. Jack Board and Liling Tan give a ringside report.
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In the final installment of our top five episodes of the year, Liling Tan speaks to Yeo Suay Hwee and Tan Gim Cheong from the Nature Society about certain native species that were once uprooted are now are coming back, and those that are lost forever.
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In the fourth of our top five episodes from the archives, Liling Tan asks Associate Professor Jason Lee, Director of the Heat Resilience and Performance Centre at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in NUS about the risks migrant workers face and what other innovative solutions can employers look at to improve the situation.
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In the third of our top five episodes of the year, Jack Board and Liling Tan explore how the use of AI is changing industries in unimaginable ways, especially in the climate change and sustainability space.
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In the second of our top five episodes of the year, Liling Tan and Jack Board speak with climate academics Prof Winston Chow and Assoc Prof Terry van Gevelt from Singapore Management University to find out why explaining climate change can get tricky when jargon gets in the way.
This podcast episode is in partnership with the inaugural Ideas Festival. You can find out more at www.ideasfestival.edu.sg.
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In the first of our top five episodes from the archives this year, we roll back the clock to the first episode of Climate Conversations where hosts Jack Board and Liling Tan tell you why the heatwave will create bigger problems in future than just wilting plants.
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From apocalyptic storms to silver linings, Jack Board and Liling Tan talk through some of the key issues around climate change.
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An electric vehicle revolution has been underway for a few years. But it hasn’t quite been a smooth road with the technology still facing cost issues, infrastructure questions and turbulence from geopolitics. Liling Tan and Jack Board talk through what’s happening in the EV industry in Southeast Asia.
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The global climate talks are happening in Baku, Azerbaijan. Jack Board tells Liling Tan all that’s happened so far from the focus on finances to spicy speeches and an incoming US president who’s hijacked the summit without even being there.
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Climate negotiations are taking place in Azerbaijan, with a focus on raising money to help poorer nations handle the impacts of a heating planet. Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss what they’re looking out for and hear exclusively from COP29 CEO, Elnur Soltanov.
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Carbon dioxide is responsible for 76 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. And yet, the potential to lock up harmful emissions is big business. Jack Board speaks to a world leader in this space, the CEO of Climeworks Christoph Gebald.
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The region’s large capital cities - Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur - are facing a multitude of threats centred around water, from flooding, land subsidence, groundwater extraction or sea level rise. To combat these issues, engineering mega adaptation projects are often raised as solutions. Can they save our capitals? Jack Board and Liling Tan chat with CNA correspondents Nivell Rayda and Rashvinjeet Bedi.
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Just when he thought he was clear of the classroom after being grilled by pre-schoolers on going plastic-free, CNA Correspondent Matthew Mohan finds himself back in the hot seat with Liling Tan on Climate Conversations, taking even tougher questions from kids about all things plastics. Can they answer them all?
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Globally important biodiversity talks are about to take place in one of the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders. COP16 host Colombia has a lot at stake, and so does the planet, as Jack Board and Liling Tan discuss with environment reporter Oliver Griffin.
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Innovations to make flying time shorter, transporting cargo in a more efficient way and banks moving away from financing fossil fuel loans - there is quite a lot of blue sky thinking in the climate space. Jack Board and Liling Tan list them out.
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Despite the impact of climate change being felt across the planet – it’s still rarely part of everyday conversations. Jack Board and Liling Tan speak to Katharine Hayhoe, a Canadian climate scientist, on why people avoid the topic, and how it's not just up to scientists to do the job of communication.
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The roar of the F1 engines is back again this year in Singapore and race organiser Singapore GP says it's on track to halve its energy emissions by 2028. This includes reducing energy use, tapping on green energy sources and limiting their carbon footprint. Jack Board and Liling Tan chat about whether these green goals are achievable as the rubber hits the road.
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This episode is brought to you by Schneider Electric, a digital partner for sustainability and efficiency.
As the clock ticks towards Singapore’s mandatory climate reporting requirements, Schneider’s cluster president for Singapore and Brunei, Yoon Young Kim, and Singtel’s vice president of group sustainability, Andrew Buay explain what sets companies apart when it comes to disclosing their carbon emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3, and what they stand to lose if they don’t start early.
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Which country needs to reverse emissions trends? Who has to start phasing out coal? Who must answer the SOS on rising sea levels affecting islands and coastal cities? In an exclusive interview with CNA, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres tells Climate Conversations co-host Liling Tan why the world’s biggest polluting countries need to accelerate change.
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From massive amounts of energy usage in hospitals, nursing homes and clinics to single use plastics for medical supplies, the medical industry's carbon footprint beats that of shipping or aviation. But how do you save lives and save the planet too? Jack Board and Liling Tan break it down.
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For a small country, Singapore wastes a staggering amount of food. And yet, there are people who struggle to eat three good meals a day. To tackle this, member of parliament Louis Ng spearheaded the Good Samaritan Food Donation Bill which was passed on Aug 7. He speaks to Liling Tan and Jack Board on why he embarked on this journey.
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Earth Overshoot Day happened on August 1st. This means we've used up the earth resources faster than we should. Jack Board and Liling Tan chat through what that means for us.
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With temperatures breaking records in Singapore, what risks do migrant workers have? Aside from just drinking more water, what other innovative solutions can employers look at? Liling Tan asks Associate Professor Jason Lee who is also the Director of the Heat Resilience and Performance Centre at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine in NUS.
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If elected, Kamala Harris will need to thread the needle between being strong on climate change and not upsetting hugely influential big oil and gas companies. Jack Board discusses her prospects with NYU climate and energy expert, Dr Carolyn Kissane.
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Jack Board takes a trip deep into the heart of communities on the climate front line in the Pacific, where culture, identity and nationhood are all at stake.
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It’s been a year since supermarkets in Singapore have stopped giving out free plastic bags. Has that created a dent in our consumption of plastics? Jack Board and Liling Tan wrap their heads around the plastic conundrum.
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As nations try and find solutions to sustain ever increasing energy needs, nuclear energy is being seriously considered by Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore. Can experts find a way to deal with the safety and cost issues? Jack Board and Liling Tan talk through the science and scary scenarios.
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Oil and water never mix so when there's a spill, all kinds of environmental, financial and even emotional impact ensue. Jack Board and Liling Tan drill deep into the impact of spills and how innovative solutions can prevent them.
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The vertical farming revolution is a way to deal with climate impacts on traditional farming and food insecurity. But heavy energy and technology costs are getting in the way of scale and commercial success. Jack Board and Liling Tan lay out the facts.
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In a country where urbanisation has uprooted native species that used to call our skies, lands and waterways home, some creatures have beaten the odds of extinction … at least for now. Liling Tan speaks to Yeo Suay Hwee and Tan Gim Cheong from the Nature Society about the species that are coming back, and the ones that are lost forever.
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The debate between coffee and tea is as old as time. For centuries, fans around the world have quarrelled over their health benefits, caffeine content, and popularity. But this week, Jack Board and Liling Tan serve up a different kind of argument – on the carbon footprint each beverage leaves behind.
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Car-free cities, greener pockets and more sustainable homes for the underserved - these were some ideas for cities to transform for a climate challenged world. But have these promises come to fruition?
Jack Board and Liling Tan do their due diligence on old promises.
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This episode is brought to you by Schneider Electric, a digital partner for sustainability and efficiency.
Whether you buy a new phone or print a document at the office, every action has a carbon footprint. Jack Board and Liling Tan do the math and break down exactly what carbon accounting does. Our guest this week is Yoon Young Kim, Cluster President at Schneider Electric.
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The use of AI is changing industries in unimaginable ways, especially in the climate change and sustainability space. But is it friend or foe? Jack Board and Liling Tan talk all things tech in this episode of Climate Conversations.
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Food has an outsized impact on greenhouse gas emissions. In this episode of Climate Conversations, Jack Board and Liling Tan tuck into the world of alternative foods and whether they really are better for the environment.
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Globally, coral reefs are being lost at alarming rates. Scientists estimate that half of them have already disappeared and 90 per cent could be gone by 2050 if temperatures continue to rise. Liling Tan and Jack Board explain why this doesn’t just affect our vacations.
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Explaining climate change can be an exercise in frustration and futility when jargon gets in the way. Climate academics Prof Winston Chow and Assoc Prof Terry van Gevelt from Singapore Management University defend themselves against Liling Tan and Jack Board, who dials in from scorching Bangkok where the "feels-like” temperature hit 52 degrees Celsius.
This podcast episode is in partnership with the inaugural Ideas Festival. You can find out more at www.ideasfestival.edu.sg.
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Studied history or philosophy in school? Your knowledge can help to solve the biggest problems of climate change. Professor David Taylor from NUS and NTU’s Dr Janice Lee speak to Liling Tan and Jack Board checks in from the Pacific Islands on this week’s Climate Conversations.
This podcast episode is in partnership with the inaugural Ideas Festival. You can find out more at www.ideasfestival.edu.sg.
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In this first episode of a brand-new Climate Conversations, hosts Jack Board and Liling Tan tell you why the heatwave will create bigger problems in future than just wilting plants. Plus, quick climate news, a quiz and a sustainability word of the week.
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The Climate Conversations podcast heads outdoors in search of a beloved songbird – the straw-headed bulbul. Fewer than 1,700 of these birds remain in the wild worldwide, largely due to habitat loss and poaching. Julie Yoo meets the co-chairs of the Straw-headed Bulbul Working Group, Low Bing Wen from the National Parks Board and Alfred Chia from Nature Society Singapore, to find out more about the conservation efforts to save these birds.
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Each year, millions of people worldwide pledge to turn off or dim their lights for one hour as part of the Earth Hour event. But beyond the symbolic Switch Off moment, how effective are these global efforts? Vivek Kumar, CEO of WWF-Singapore sits down with Julie Yoo to talk about how big an impact the festival has on raising awareness for climate change.
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Climate change is already wreaking havoc on the weather and food supplies. But now dermatologists worldwide are blaming it for an uptick in skin issues such as cancer, dermatitis and premature skin ageing. Kesh Gunasinghe, head of R&D Asia Pacific at Kenvue, shares his tips on how to better protect the human body's largest organ.
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Come 2026, passengers on planes departing from Singapore will have to pay more for their air tickets because carriers will be required to use sustainable aviation fuel. CNA’s Roland Lim was at the Singapore Airshow in February, where the sustainable aviation fuel mandate was the talk of the event. He shares more on how industry players are responding to the pressure to go green.
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During his Budget 2024 speech, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced a S$5 billion Future Energy Fund as part of Singapore’s transition to clean energy. Geothermal and nuclear energy sources are currently being studied as part of the country’s power portfolio. GE Vernova’s Asia Decarbonization Leader Kazunari Fukui is our guest this week.
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Former hedge fund manager Vikas Garg has an ambitious vision – mobilise one billion people to try the vegan lifestyle. The Singapore-based company has expanded its mobile platform app to include a peer-to-peer marketplace and restaurant reviews, in hopes of driving sustainable change. But what are the challenges he faces in building the business? He shares with Julie Yoo on this episode.
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Coca Cola recently launched 100 per cent recycled plastic PET bottles in Singapore and Malaysia, paving the way for other companies to reduce virgin plastic waste. But critics say the beverage behemoth must still address its plastic footprint by reducing production. Shea Flynn, Coca Cola’s director of sustainable packaging policy & partnerships in ASEAN & South Pacific, shares more.
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Fast furniture is a growing scourge for the planet. Nearly 11 million tonnes of tables, chairs and the like are thrown out each year, according to a 2018 EU report. Peter Ortner, an assistant professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, tells CNA's Julie Yoo how he’s come up with furniture that's lightweight, spill-proof and sustainable.
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How are warmer temperatures accelerating the spread of pathogens and what role does climate migration play in disease outbreaks? Dr Mary Rodgers, who manages the Abbott Global Viral Surveillance Program, explains to Julie Yoo.
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Singapore’s “Long Island” project will unfold over the next few decades with the aim of providing coastal protection. But what are the trade-offs to the environment? Dr Stephen Chua, research assistant professor at the Earth Observatory of Singapore at Nanyang Technological University, explains why this groundbreaking project is necessary.
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Travel is back with a vengeance post-pandemic and tourists are flocking to hotspots. How can we plan our trips better without causing environmental strain? CNA’s Dawn Tan tells Julie Yoo how some companies are shaking up the tourism scene.
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Singapore released its third national climate change study in January and the end-of-century projections are sobering. By 2100, the country could face very hot days, with daily maximum temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius. Dr Aurel Moise, Deputy Director at Singapore's Centre for Climate Research, helps unpack what it all means.
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The second of our top two episodes of The Climate Conversations this year explores how humanity’s “biggest enemy” might carry the solution to stop mosquito-borne diseases. With rising temperatures, diseases such as dengue are spreading and with potentially deadly consequences. Professor Scott O’Neill, founder and CEO of the World Mosquito Program shares more about his work.
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COP28 closed in Dubai with an agreement from more than 190 countries to transition away from fossil fuels. Yet it was the final two days that saw intense negotiations with some of the world's largest oil and gas producers. CNA's Julie Yoo and Jack Board give their take on the final agreement, the deep divisions and the challenging path ahead to hit global climate targets.
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The first of our top two episodes of The Climate Conversations this year looks at how soldiers are facing scorching heat on the battlefield as climate change wreaks havoc on weather patterns. Retired three-star British general Richard Nugee tells Julie Yoo how armies will have to find new ways to confront climate change.
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The Conference of Parties or COP28 takes place in Dubai from Nov 30 to Dec 12. Julie Yoo checks in with CNA's sustainability correspondent Jack Board and Melissa Low, research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, to discuss what’s on the packed agenda and why this is a critical meeting for all stakeholders.
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Fiji, Tonga and Tuvalu hold a fascination for travellers who are drawn to their unparalleled beauty. But these island paradises are facing an existential climate threat as sea levels rise. CNA’s Jeremy Koh gets a first-hand account and tells Julie Yoo how locals in Tuvalu are adapting to living on an island that is becoming increasingly uninhabitable.
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They say money makes the world go round and financial institutions are critically tied to businesses. But how does climate change come into the decision-making process? Julie Yoo sits down with Helge Muenkel, DBS chief sustainability officer, to discuss how banks make tough decisions on who gets money.
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Shein produces as many as 100,000 pieces of clothing daily and critics say this comes at a cost to the planet. In this episode of Sustainability Chiefs, Adam Whinston, Shein's global head of sustainability tells Julie Yoo why he believes the company's business model is often misunderstood.
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In this new limited series Sustainability Chiefs, host Julie Yoo tackles some of the world’s most pressing climate agenda with the people tasked to drive change in global companies. To kickstart the series, she speaks with the chief sustainability officer of Starbucks, Michael Kobori. What can the world’s biggest coffee chain do to reduce its carbon footprint? And will rising global temperatures threaten the future of coffee?
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Batman costumes, winter jackets and flower girl dresses - some parents have no idea what to do with these occasion clothes after their kids have outgrown them. Julie Yoo speaks to Angeline Tan, founder of local clothing rental Weekend Kids, on why sustainable shopping for children is good for everyone.
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With an increase in hotspots detected in Sumatra, Singapore is bracing itself for a return of the haze. What's the impact of air-borne particles on your health? CNA's Julie Yoo speaks to Duke-NUS Adjunct Assistant Professor Joel Aik on this episode of The Climate Conversations podcast.
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Trees can become dangerous when they’re sick, leaning or dying. But checking the health of each tree is a massive challenge, especially when Singapore has more trees than people. In this episode of The Climate Conversations, Peter Sasi, vice president of APAC at Greehill, tells Julie Yoo how advanced technology can help better protect trees – and people.
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Vibrant wetlands and animals native to Ukraine are silently facing what Oleksii Marushchak calls an “ecocide”. In this episode of The Climate Conversations, the Ukrainian conservation biologist tells Julie Yoo why he has been risking his safety to document Russia’s “war crimes against nature”.
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Hong Lim Park was covered in a sea of red as more than 1,400 people gathered on Sep 23 for the first in-person climate rally in Singapore in four years. SG Climate Rally’s founding member Tan Heng Yeng tells CNA's Julie Yoo how her style of activism has changed and why climate change is a complex problem that is closely linked to social inequality.
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Floods, heatwaves and extreme cold weather can wipe out sizeable amounts of a farmer’s harvest. In the last episode of Surviving the Sizzle, Rabia Sultan, a female farmer from Pakistan, tells Julie Yoo how she stays positive and finds new ways of growing her crops in a climate-stressed world.
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Soldiers will have to battle scorching heat as climate change wreaks havoc on weather patterns. In our second installment of Surviving the Sizzle, retired three-star general Richard Nugee tells Julie Yoo how armies will have to find new ways to confront climate change on the battlefield.
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In this three-part series, Surviving the Sizzle, Julie Yoo explores the personal stories of people on the frontlines of battling with extreme heat. In the first episode, she speaks to Chris Hardman, chief fire officer at Forest Fire Management Victoria on the real and present danger of an overheated planet.
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They are tiny but mosquitoes threaten the lives of 40 per cent of the global population. With rising temperatures, mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue are spreading and with potentially deadly consequences. Professor Scott O’Neill, founder and CEO of the World Mosquito Program, says this is humanity’s “biggest enemy” but suggests that the solution might lie with mosquitoes themselves.
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It’s a simple idea — reduce a country’s debt burden and put those savings into environmental protection. But how do debt-for-nature swaps actually work in practice? And are they really a win-win solution that benefits both the planet and a developing country’s economic development? Julie Yoo gets some answers from The Nature Conservancy’s Will McGoldrick in this episode of The Climate Conversations.
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Dr Karenne Tun is not just an avid diver and lover of these beautiful creatures, she is also leading an effort to restore Singapore’s coral reefs by planting 100,000 corals along the coast. The director of the National Parks Board National Biodiversity Centre tells Julie Yoo about working underwater, and why more resilient corals in warmer oceans matter to us.
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Avester Lau became a meteorologist to uncover the complexities behind the weather. In this limited series My Green Gig, he sits down with host Biogirl MJ to explain why predicting the weather is so difficult for meteorologists and debunks some common myths.
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From travelling to a remote island in the Philippines to spending hours in a lab analysing bird DNA, Movin Nyanasengeran believes he has landed his dream job as a bird conservationist. How do “birders” like him ensure that bird species continue to thrive? In this limited series My Green Gig, guest host Kong Man Jing shines the spotlight on people working in the conservation and environmental sectors.
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Diamonds are supposed to be a girl’s best friend. But the love for this stone has also caused detrimental impact on the environment, say its critics. While lab-grown diamonds are hailed as an ethical alternative, are they as sustainable as they claim to be? Julie Yoo puts her questions to Ryan Shearman, CEO of Aether Diamonds.
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Having a 100kg wild boar charging at you is no small thing, says ACRES co-CEO Anbarasi Boopal. But beyond managing the number of wild boars, she tells Julie Yoo why human behaviours and urban planning solutions can tackle the root cause of wild boar attacks.
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The glitz and glamour of the K-pop industry is fueled by overconsumption and a mountain of waste, say Nurul Sarifah and Dayeon Lee. They are behind the environmental organisation, Kpop4planet and are determined to keep loving K-pop a lot more sustainably.
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Over coffee one day, Krista Milne and Tiffany Crawford decided to take on the monumental task of keeping Melbourne cool. The co-chief heat officers tell Julie Yoo why heat is a silent killer, and what cities can do to protect their most vulnerable as heat waves get even hotter.
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Nobody was prepared for the haze crisis that hit Singapore in 2015, says Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. With global warming and El Nino on the horizon, the haze may yet be back to trouble us. Has anything changed? And what can Southeast Asian nations do to deal with it better? Yasmin Jonkers gets answers.
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Raising chickens and cows to feed the world’s growing population is reaching its limit, says the 24-year-old founder of FlyFeed. His solution? Eating bugs. Arseniy Olkhovskiy tells Julie Yoo what it’s like starting an insect farm in Vietnam and how he is cooking up more ways to get cheap, nutritious, and sustainably grown insect-based food onto your plate.
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Although car sharing has been called the future of mobility, challenges with cleanliness and last mile infrastructure remain. How can car sharing companies close the gap to convince more people to give up buying cars? Julie Yoo speaks with Kelvin Tay, CEO of BlueSG.
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He buries the dead for a living but when Mr Ang Ziqian took over the family business, he set out to find more bio-degradable ways to say goodbye to the deceased. The managing director at Ang Chin Moh Group sits down with Julie Yoo to talk about what makes a funeral ‘green’.
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As a Royal Navy officer, Stuart Baird was always fascinated with the power of tidal waves. Now as Bluenergy Solutions' chief technology officer, he tells CNA’s Julie Yoo why tidal energy is more powerful than wind, and more predictable than solar as a source of renewable energy.
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Losing his luggage and standing on an ice sheet in a t-shirt was not how Professor Benjamin Horton thought his trip to Antarctica would go. But he and PHD student Tan Fang Yi tell Julie Yoo why they made the trip and why sunny Singapore should care about what is happening on the coldest continent on earth.
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Nearly 90 per cent of single-use sanitary pads are made of plastic. To keep disposable period products out of landfills, how can more women be convinced to switch to a menstrual cup or reusable cloth pad? Julie Yoo speaks with Gee Ann, co-founder of The Period Co.
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From supplier to consumer, online shopping deliveryis a huge source of carbon emissions. But as demand for e-commerce continues to grow, how can the logistics industry cut its dependence on fossil fuels? Julie Yoo speaks with DHL Express Singapore managing director Christopher Ong in a new season of The Climate Conversations.
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Revenge travel is in full swing but the tourism industry also has its eye on its role in decarbonising. Can you be sustainable and still have an experience to remember? Sentosa’s planning division director Lee Cheh Hsien outlines how the island resort is taking on the difficult task of decarbonising its hotels and attractions.
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As a student, Lim Chong Tee co-founded Wateroam to bring clean water to communities without electricity. This World Water Day, he tells CNA’s Julie Yoo why a portable water filter can help hundreds of people get instant access to drinkable water in rural and disaster-hit zones.
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Bread is one of the most common breakfast foods around the world but over 24 million slices are thrown away each day. By upcycling food waste into beverages, CEO of CRUST Travin Singh tells Julie Yoo how his company has saved over 2,500kg of bread in Singapore by turning bread into beer.
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Solar prices have dipped dramatically over the last decade but installing these energy-saving panels isn’t necessarily cheap nor straightforward. Julie Yoo asks Bolong Chew, founder of the start-up Solar AI, what are the challenges and long-term benefits of going green.
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Tropical rainforests are a carbon sink and also one of earth’s best defences against climate change. But to preserve the forest, Thailand’s indigenous people must find new ways of making a living. Join Jack Board, CNA Climate Correspondent, as he finds out how climate change is affecting places and people across Asia.
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Coastal communities who depend on the Coral Triangle are facing depleting fish supplies. Now Philippines’ fishermen who were once against no-catch conservation zones, are rethinking their stance. Join Jack Board, CNA Climate Correspondent, as he finds out how climate change is affecting the places and people across Asia.
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Rice farmers who rely on the Mekong must adapt or find another way to make a living. Hear a first-hand account from Jack Board, CNA Climate Correspondent, as he finds out how climate change is affecting the places and people across Asia on “Asia’s Great Climate Frontiers”.
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Nepal is a stunning mountain paradise but as temperatures rise and glaciers melt, people in the Himalayan villages are heading for the exit. Hear from Jack Board, CNA Climate Correspondent, as he finds out how climate change is affecting the places and people across Asia on “Asia’s Great Climate Frontiers”.
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In this special five-part series called "Asia's Great Climate Frontiers", CNA’s Climate Change correspondent, Jack Board journeys across Asia to find out first-hand how climate change is affecting landscapes and lives. This episode looks at how the climate crisis is affecting the livelihoods of Mongolian nomadic herders in the Gobi Desert.
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Climate protests that make the headlines may be good for online views, but young local climate activists say that’s not enough. Poring over environmental reports and showing up at climate conventions are essential to creating change. Julie Yoo speaks to Ho Xiang Tian and Rishika Selvan in this episode.
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It’s all in the way our mind works. Psychologists say we take mental shortcuts and that means we don’t make decisions which are more sustainable. Julie Yoo speaks to Edward Choy and Jo Tan who recently hosted the documentary Who cares about Polar Bears?
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Can we better design green cities while balancing economic and climate concerns? Internationally renowned architect Lee Polisano, co-founder of PLP Architecture, talks to Julie Yoo about how he designed some of the world’s greenest buildings.
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Taking materialism out of gift-giving might require some creativity. From taking the stigma out of re-gifting to creating new family traditions, Stephanie Dickson, founder of Green is The New Black, gives tips on how to be more sustainable this season without dampening your festive spirit.
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Growing your own food is the last line of defence as food security is threatened by climate change. Bjorn Low, founder of Edible Garden City gives tips on how to plant your own balcony garden and shares why Singapore should think beyond technology solutions to beef up its food security.
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Loss and damage is on the climate summit’s agenda for the first time at COP 27. Developing countries are struggling to rebuild as historic floods and creeping sea levels batter their lands. Now, they want someone else to pay. What is loss and damage and how might this affect people living on the climate frontline? CNA’s climate change correspondent Jack Board gives his take from Egypt.
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Even before the critical climate conference began in Egypt this week, the government clamped down on activism and Greta Thunberg is absent. But the serious business of addressing climate change continues, says COP veteran Melissa Low, Research Fellow at NUS Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions.
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With climate change and sustainability being front and center, there's been an explosion of jobs related to this sector. Our guest host, SMU Law student Ming Jin, speaks to Woo Qiyun, a climate activist who works at Unravel Carbon. She explains how she got into the space and what it is like.
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Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard has announced that he is giving away his company to fight climate change. But corporations are built around the idea of maximising shareholder wealth. As the climate crisis deepens, do we need to rethink how businesses are fundamentally being run? Julie Yoo gets some answers from Jessica Cheam, founder of Eco-Business.
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Even with more recycling bins available and a higher level of awareness, recycling rates for household trash in Singapore continue to be low. What will it take to get more people recycling frequently? Julie Yoo speaks with Samuel Chng, Head of the Urban Psychology Lab.
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Monkeys slipping into homes and making out like bandits have gone viral. Julie speaks to primatologist Dr Andie Ang about the biggest misconceptions involving the primates we encounter and how we can learn to coexist with wildlife.
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A third of Pakistan was submerged, flooded after a record-breaking drought. Singapore Red Cross secretary-general Benjamin William tells Julie Yoo why humanitarian aid has not evolved in 50 years, even as climate crisis has made their work more complex.
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Fascinated with energy since she was a child, Tulika Raj worked on offshore rigs in Kazakhstan and Norway before switching to renewable energy. Now CEO of SunGreen H2, she tells Julie about what it takes for hydrogen to become green, cheap and produced at scale.
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Refugee, Princeton graduate and the first Tesla owner in Singapore, Joe Nguyen has quite a story. He tells Julie Yoo about the time Tesla owner Elon Musk called the prime minister about his car and why he thinks Singapore could be the first country to replace all internal combustion engine cars in a decade.
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A sustainable fashion-addict is an oxymoron, but that’s exactly what Jasmine Tuan, co-founder of Cloop, is. She tells Julie Yoo about hitting rock bottom when she maxed out her credit cards to running a swapping clothes business as an antidote to fast fashion.
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Wading through crocodile-infested waters or battling dehydration – that’s all in the day’s work for award-winning wildlife photographer, Jayaprakash Bojan. He tells Julie Yoo about the picture that changed his entire career, and why photography is a powerful agent for raising awareness about climate change.
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As waters get warmer and the weather gets more unpredictable, how can Singapore better protect its seafood supplies? How does sustainable fishing and aquafarms play a role in ensuring for food security in a climate stressed future? Julie Yoo speaks to Chester Gan, Responsible Seafood Programme Officer at WWF-Singapore, on how seafood gets onto your plate.
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It is a simple concept of taking recycled plastic bottles filled with water with a splash of bleach and turning them into solar lamps that light up homes without electricity. Julie Yoo speaks to Illac Angelo Diaz, Global Director of Liter of Light on what he gets out of helping the weakest in a climate stressed world.
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99 per cent of Singapore businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and they are crucial to any country’s net zero ambitions. But they face challenges with cost and manpower. Julie Yoo speaks to CEO of Containers Printers Amy Chung who’s been a first mover in cutting emissions.
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Whether you love or hate the thorny fruit, they are precious raw material for one med-tech start-up in Singapore. N&E Innovations' Didi Gan and Devi Krishna tell Julie Yoo how they stumbled on turning food waste into all natural products and what sparked their interest.
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What gets measured gets managed. This is the belief underlying the business of Grace Sai and Marc Allen, co-founders of Unravel Carbon. CNA presenter Juile Yoo gets the co-founders to talk about how their climate-tech start up wants to offer companies in Asia a fast and painless way to track and reduce their carbon emissions.
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Record heatwaves are hitting countries from Europe to Asia in a sign we are heading towards a much hotter future. Singapore will not be spared – but can we deal with intense heat? How will the lived experiences of a diverse group of people change and what do we need to do to cope? Associate Professor Gregory Clancey at the National University of Singapore explains how history can give us ideas and solutions.
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He used to enjoy a good old-fashioned greasy burger but now, Addis Tan, the co-founder of Love Handle, is all about food that is good for people and the environment. He sits down with Julie Yoo to talk about breaking barriers and staying hungry in the business of plant-based meats.
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Watching otters before it was cool and petitioning to save Chek Jawa in 2001, wildlife conservationist N Sivasothi, aka "Otterman", has seen it all. From climate apathy to serious activism, CNA's Julie Yoo gets Siva to talk about Singapore’s past and its future in a climate changed world. Get in touch with us: cnapodcasts@mediacorp.com.sg
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After 68 episodes and two years of discussing pressing issues on climate change, CNA's Jaime Ho hangs up his hosting job and answers questions for a change. Climate activist Woo Qiyun and creator of Instagram page The Weird and Wild asks Jaime his thoughts on Singapore's climate action, sustainability pet peeves, what young people can do to effect change, his favourite episode and who he wished he had as a guest.
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Food production is deeply affected by extreme weather events and the pandemic exposed weak links along the chain from farm to table. Climate impacts are here to stay so how will smallholder farmers adapt? Will technology and innovation help? How will changing consumer consumption patterns affect farmers? Jaime Ho speaks to Duke Hipp of CropLife Asia a Singapore-based NGO.
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Singapore's carbon tax will go up from S$5 now to potentially S$80 by 2030. How significant is the sharp calibration upwards in terms of climate ambition? What will it mean for businesses and consumers as it trickles down? And how will revenues be used to help industries pivot and customers cope? Jaime Ho speaks to Vinod Thomas, Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School Of Public Policy and former Director General at the Asian Development Bank.
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Following the landmark Paris Agreement of 2015, President of COP26 Alok Sharma speaks to Jaime Ho about getting the Glasgow Climate Pact past the finishing line, and why so much work remains to be done on the road to COP27 in Egypt.
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Nuclear energy is already part of the equation in the world's energy mix. With climate change an existential crisis, is there a way to produce this "clean" energy safely? What is the economics of it and how far can technological advancements go towards greater adoption? Jaime Ho speaks to Philip Andrews-Speed, Senior Principal Research Fellow at the Energy Studies Institute.
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Decades of relentless carbon emissions have affected one region more severely than any other – the Arctic. As ice melts at an unprecedented rate, humans and wildlife have already been affected. What needs to be done there, and are there also opportunities? Jaime Ho speaks to Arctic researcher Hema Nadarajah.
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Hydrogen, a simple and abundant element, has vast potential to become an alternative energy source. But extracting it is not always green nor affordable, not to mention the challenges of storage and transportation. Jaime Ho speaks to Frederic Carron, Vice President, Middle East & Asia, Energy Business, Wartsila on what it all means, and what’s in store for the potential of green hydrogen.
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Green and sustainable buildings have become an urgent corporate priority. What materials to use, how to get a net zero building off the ground and whether it'll be resilient to the worsening impacts of climate change are questions being asked in the real estate sector. Khoo Teng Chye, former URA chief planner and current Asia Pacific chair of the Urban Land Institute tells Jaime Ho that despite the challenges of cost, commitments and the climate, he is optimistic about change.
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At least 50 people died and thousands more saw their homes washed away in recent floods that hit Peninsula Malaysia. Could more have been done on flood management? How can politics, finance, data and technology come together to deal with more frequent, intense and potentially unpredictable storms? Jaime Ho speaks to Renard Siew, Climate Change Adviser to the Centre for Governance and Political Studies.
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Forests worldwide are crucial to our fight against climate change but researchers have found that 10 UNESCO World Heritage forests are now emitting more carbon than they absorb. How did the world’s most protected forests get to this stage? Can the damage be reversed to restore them as carbon sinks? What is the impact of national efforts and international commitments like those made at COP26? Jaime Ho speaks to Tales Carvalho Resende, project officer at the Natural Heritage Unit of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
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Palm oil is so versatile, it's found in half of packaged foods. It's also been identified as a driver for deforestation, when swaths of forests are cleared to make way for lucrative plantations. How has the industry tackled growing pressures to become more sustainable? How are smallholder farmers who earn a living from palm oil supported? And does sustainable palm oil mean higher prices for consumers? Jaime Ho speaks to Olivier Tichit, Director of Sustainable Supply Chain at Musim Mas.
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From streaming a movie on Netflix, to e-commerce and e-banking, we rely on data centres to process and communicate information at lightning speeds. Yet they are energy and water guzzlers. How are governments balancing the lucrative opportunity of building more data centres but also managing their large electricity footprint? And what does an eco-friendly data center look like? Jaime Ho speaks to Darren Webb, co-founder and CEO of Evolution Data Centers, which specialises in sustainable data infrastructure.
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Just what did the most important climate conference since Paris in 2015 achieve? What did nearly 200 countries commit to and where did they fall below expectations? Have a few cans been kicked down the road to Egypt next year even if countries cannot afford a minute to waste? Jaime Ho gets Melissa Low, Research Fellow at the NUS Energy Studies Institute to give us her take.
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In a special edition, CNA's climate correspondent Jack Board reports on COP26 from Glasgow. While world leaders and corporate executives huddle in halls and on stages to decide the future of the Earth, he speaks to people who are clamouring for change but have been shut out from having a seat at the table: An indigenous group mother-and-daughter duo from the Philippines, a young man who gave up being a doctor to fight for the planet and a Thai architect. They outline what are “non-negotiables” and why the struggle for climate action must persist.
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Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the country's goal of reaching net zero as early as 2050. Plans include ending new coal-fired power plants, increasing renewable energy capacity and adopting carbon tax. What are the challenges with implementation? What does it mean for Malaysia’s economy, and role of sectors such as fossil fuels and palm oil? Jaime Ho speaks to Hezri Adnan, Executive Director of the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research.
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From this week, negotiators and leaders will gather in Glasgow to negotiate outcomes that will set in place promises made in the landmark Paris Agreement of 2015. On the back of the latest IPCC report which delivered a “code red for humanity”, what can and must we expect at COP26? Jaime Ho speaks to Isabelle de Lovinfosse who works for the British Government as the Head of Southeast Asia COP 26 Strategy, based in Singapore.
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Advances in deep learning and computational power have made artificial intelligence (AI) less science fiction and more of a reality as a powerful tool in fighting climate change. But exactly what can it do to help us reduce emissions and mitigate impacts? What are the downsides of using AI to deal with a problem as complex as climate change? Jaime Ho speaks to Markus Kraft, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of Cambridge CARES, the University of Cambridge’s research centre based in Singapore and author of Intelligent Decarbonisation.
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With rising electricity prices and growing demand, how do electricity companies balance cost with carbon emissions reductions commitments? Why are alternative energy sources still not a big part of the mix and how can customers help in this green journey? Jaime Ho speaks to Lim Han Kwang, CEO of Geneco and Group Head (Retail, Regulation and Renewables) of YTL PowerSeraya to find out how they intend to hit sustainability targets and embrace green energy.
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The global shipping trade is a vast network of unimaginable scale: 90 per cent of the world's trade is done by sea. But where does global shipping stand within the world’s emissions reductions commitments? And why is it so hard for this industry to decarbonise? Can the industry lower its emissions or is that a bar too high? Jaime Ho talks to Sanjay Kuttan, Chief Technology Officer of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation.
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In 2019, passionate young people organised the SG Climate Rally. But with COVID-19, activism has leaned even further towards social media. But how far can it really go in driving climate action? Jaime Ho speaks to Woo Qiyun who runs the Instagram page The Weird and Wild for her take on how her brand of activism works, and on the challenges and opportunities behind this new virtual activism.
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We live in a world where the boom in e-commerce allows us to buy anything we want and have it delivered within the day. Yet we have also awoken to the impact of climate change, and the need to reduce waste and embrace sustainability. So how do we square this circle? Is there a gap between purpose and action? Is it about buying “greener” or just buying less? Jaime Ho speaks to Sharon Ng, Professor and Head of the Marketing Division at Nanyang Business School.
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The home of the future is going to be a sustainable and a smart one so everyone can help reduce carbon emissions. Solar panels on the roof, appliances that conserve energy when not in use and a smart system that tells you how much you've consumed. How soon can these become a reality, how much would they cost and what about the challenge of retrofitting old buildings? Jaime Ho speaks to Manish Pant, Zone President in East Asia and Japan of Schneider Electric.
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The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment has plans to create 55,000 new and upgraded jobs over the next 10 years. These plans need people but what are the skills and knowledge needed? Will passion and pay finally meet for future roles in sustainability? Jaime Ho speaks to two young guests who have already dipped their toes into this green future - Benedict Tan who majored in Environmental Studies at Yale-NUS and S Sandiyashini, a first year Life Sciences and Management student at NUS.
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The 6th Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that things are bleak and the time to fix it is fast running out. Jaime Ho speaks to Winston Chow, Associate Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Singapore Management University and a contributor to the report, on what more governments, businesses and people can do to avoid the worst that will inevitably come.
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The young will inherit a planet very different from their parents. How aware are our students about climate change? What does going green and environmental education in schools look like and how much can they influence others around them with what they learn in class? Jaime Ho speaks to Tampines secondary school students Alexander Chua and Pratibha Naidu, and their teacher, Preeti Sheri.
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Ride-hailing companies like Grab and Gojek have announced a flurry of climate commitments in the form of electric vehicles or carbon offsets, including plans for fleets to run on clean energy by 2030. What sort of dent will they make in cutting emissions? What will a switch to electric vehicles mean for private hire drivers and consumers? And how does ride-hailing fit into Singapore’s car-lite vision? Jaime Ho speaks to Andrew Chan, Managing Director of Transport at Grab Singapore in this week’s episode.
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No natural eco-system captures carbon quite as well as the humble mangrove. What are the hidden opportunities and realities of what mangroves can do in mitigating climate change? And what role do such nature-based solutions play amid other strategies countries have to make in reducing emissions? Associate Professor Dan Friess from the National University of Singapore who has studied mangroves for over a decade, speaks to Jaime Ho.
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As nations target net-zero emissions goals, the quest to transform energy systems and shift towards renewables could move the needle on climate action. But how far can alternatives like solar, wind and biothermal still go, and what about carbon capture and storage? Jaime Ho speaks to Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on the urgency of implementation and the questions around cost.
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Can Asia “radically reinvent” its energy systems and reduce reliance on fossil fuels despite rising demand? What are the “exit costs” when oil and gas companies change their business models? Accenture Senior Managing Director Valentin de Miguel speaks to Jaime Ho on the unique challenges facing the region and what companies and governments can do to make this leap.
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In tackling the climate crisis, nations have to transform their energy sector, a key component responsible for the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has set out a pathway on what countries must do starting now. But how feasible are its projected milestones and can nations with vastly different resources keep to their commitments? Jaime Ho speaks to co-author of the IEA's report, Dr Timur Gul.
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Can Indonesia get to net zero emissions by 2050, and what roles can a carbon tax and natural climate solutions play? And what about the tricky challenges of reducing fossil fuel subsidies and Indonesia's reliance on coal? Jaime Ho speaks to Dino Patti Djalal, Chairman of Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia and fellow at the Milken Institute’s Asia Center.
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A new global carbon exchange headquartered in Singapore will allow companies to buy and sell carbon credits. Four founders have kicked this off – DBS and Standard Chartered Banks, state investment company Temasek and the Singapore Exchange (SGX). What does CIX offer that is different? How will transparency and "good quality credits" be assured? Jaime Ho speaks to Mikkel Larsen, the Chief Sustainability Officer at DBS and interim CEO for CIX.
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What role does climate insurance play for corporations, governments and business owners who will be faced with the impacts of climate change? How will these risks be decided and who will pay for them? Jaime Ho speaks to Antonio Grimaldi, partner at McKinsey & Company.
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Future generations will deal with impacts of climate change so education is key. How are our educators and those who shape our school curriculums dealing with climate change? What does it take to infuse a comprehensive climate change curriculum? Where are we now and how much more needs to be done? Jaime Ho finds out from Associate Professor Chang Chew Hung, Dean of Academic and Strategic Development at National Institute of Education at Nanyang Technological University.
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A nation of 1.4 billion people, the world's second largest economy, and currently the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, what China does matters. But can it keep its bold promises to get to net-zero and how far will it lead from emissions targets to climate technology to international cooperation? Jaime Ho speaks to Chen Gang, Assistant Director at the East Asian Institute at NUS.
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In the first episode of this podcast series, Jaime Ho sits down with Dr Winston Chow a climate scientist to break down the science. What exactly is climate change? What is the difference between climate and weather? What are the fires, floods, droughts, and extreme temperatures we've seen, heard, or even experienced tell us? Listen to find out how bathtubs, blankets and the story of Goldilocks can explain this existential crisis.
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