Climate change: Why haven't we solved it yet?

What is eco-anxiety and how does it affect us? How can we learn to cope? And can mindfulness help us to effect positive social change? In this bonus episode for Mental Health Awareness Week, Aayushi speaks to University of East Anglia student Stephen Kirk and Dr Kate Russell from UEA's School of Education and Lifelong learning to find out how eco-anxiety has affected them, their peers - and what they’re doing about it. The episode coincides with the launch of a one-of-a-kind partnership between UEA, the mental health charity Mind and the Climate Psychology Alliance delivering wellbeing activities to support students with eco-anxiety. Find out more https://www.uea.ac.uk/climate-of-change/eco-anxiety

After six episodes covering the science, technology, finance and politics behind the climate debate, Aayushi speaks to Asher Minns, Executive Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, about the event of the moment - COP26. Asher, who has attended UN climate conferences for the past decade, explains what COP is, what will be discussed, what it means to the UK to host the conference, how we will know if it's a been a success, the similarities between the Kyoto Protocol and supporting a terrible football team, and how the future of humanity will rely on the effective communication of complex science. Find out more www.uea.ac.uk/climate-of-change

In episode six, Aayushi speaks to the Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development Prof Saleemul Huq – and he doesn’t hold back. In a wide-ranging conversation Aayushi asks if all countries are in the same boat, what does fair looks like when it comes to transition to net-zero. They discuss the role of fossil fuel companies, why we should invest in adapting to the changing climate, the challenges facing the most vulnerable countries, Bangladesh's leadership in facing the climate crisis head on, the realities of acting on the Paris Agreement, the media's tenuous role in talking about the climate crisis and, in Prof Huq’s opinion, which country shouldn’t be at COP26. Find out more www.uea.ac.uk/climate-of-change

This week Aayushi meets Dr Esther Priyadharshini, Associate Professor in UEA’s School of Education, to ask what part activism can play in solving climate change, and whether individuals really can make a difference in saving the planet. They discuss Dr Priyadharshini's research into the school strikes on climate, what impact peaceful protest and writing to MPs can have and how acting individually can accelerate the collective preventative effort.

How do politics, economics and science work together to influence climate policy? In this week's episode, Aayushi meets Miles Perry, an economist, researcher and policymaker at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, and a UEA alumni (he studied Environmental Economics). They discuss the unique combination of politics, economics and science that contributes to the EU’s climate policies, the challenges of climate scepticism and fossil fuel dependency, and managing climate obligations to less developed states. Find out more at www.uea.ac.uk/climate-of-change

In episode 2 we found out what technologies we'll need to help us tackle climate change. But how will we pay for them? Karan Mangotra is a Senior Climate Change Specialist at the World Bank and addresses this question in episode 3. Aayushi and Karan discuss result-based financing, building resilience in the developing world, the power of the World Bank in bringing people together, the role of philanthropy and how we need somewhere between $1.5-3.5 trillion to limit temperature rise to 1.5-degrees. Find out more at www.uea.ac.uk/climate-of-change

Can technology solve all of our problems when it comes to climate change? Is nuclear a good alternative? And does carbon capture even work? In episode 2 Aayushi meets Dr Nem Vaughan to find out. They discuss Dr Vaughan's journey to the University of East Anglia and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, her work with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, using hydrogen fuel cells in different modes of transport, electric-powered flights, the argu for and against nuclear power, and Aayushi gets a definitive answer on which end of a cow produces the most methane. Dr Vaughan is Associate Professor in climate change in the school of Environmental Sciences at UEA and is interested in 'the different ways global society can respond to the changing planet.' Find out more at www.uea.ac.uk/climate-of-change

Aayushi speaks to Prof Corinne Le Quéré, Royal Society Research Professor of Climate Change Science at the University of East Anglia. She advises both the UK and French governments on climate change, and was recently named one of the world's most influential climate scientists by Reuters. They discuss a recent piece of Prof Le Quéré's research, which documented the drop in carbon emissions as a result of lockdown at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the control individuals have over their own emissions, how to tackle climate change from a range of perspectives, and the importance of sending a message to politicians and organisations to make change. Find out more at www.uea.ac.uk/climate-of-change You can watch Prof Le Quéré's Ted Talk, 'Inside the mind of a climate scientist', on ted.com