Sustainability & climate change podcasts: Which environmental sustainability & climate change podcasts are the best to follow in 2023?
Podcasts, unlike regular broadcasts, bring a different perspective to climate change and sustainability discussions. You can listen to and engage in conversations ranging from conservation, carbon footprint reduction, carbon offsetting and other pressing sustainability issues. So which of the numerous climate and sustainability podcasts should you follow in 2023? The Incredible Carbon team has compiled some podcasts worth following, just for you!
1. Costing the Earth
Costing the Earth podcast cover graphic
This BBC podcast is probably the best environmental podcast in the UK. Benefiting from the BBC’s technical expertise in media production, the sound quality is second to none. The contents are well researched, and they have access to world experts on whatever topic they are talking about.
Most of the time, it is hosted by Tom Heap, a man with impeccable eco credentials. (He also hosts a Sky News climate podcast called ClimateCast . If you are interested in climate change and sustainability, you really want to download BBC Sounds and binge on various Costing the Earth podcasts. One of the best episodes to listen to is one that discusses a question every eco conscious parent struggles with daily: How can I be a more sustainable parent?
2. CLIMATECAST
CLIMATECAST from Sky News
This is another top notch climate podcast. Anchored by a variety of presenters, most recently Tom Heap, who also appears on BBC Costing the Earth. This podcast covers the ground most eco podcasts cover. CLIAMTECAST has been going for a while, so there is a rich archive of topics to choose from. One episode you may find interesting is their very first episode. It was launched by Anna Jones, who was joined by an interesting guest to get CLIMATECAST started.
3. The Great Green Questions
Great green question podcast
The Great Green Question podcast, hosted and presented by climate scientist Juliet Davenport, features different guests in each episode. They tend to discuss the usual issues around climate change. Each episode also seems to feature a comedian, who brings a lighthearted angle to the conversation. This podcast does not seem to be going any further. There has not been a new episode in a while. The archives are worth listening to. One of the funniest episodes discusses why news about cats tends to get more attention in the media than news about climate change.
4. The Climate Question – BBC
The climate question
The Climate Question Podcast asks an important question: “Why do we find it so hard to save our own planet, and how might we change that? Being a BBC podcast, you can be sure of high quality production and content. One of the best episodes asks, “How is climate change affecting our mental health? It is worth a listen.
5. Sustainability Business Covered by Edie
Sustainable business covered
If you are interested in listening to sustainability from the viewpoint of big businesses, this podcast is for you. Three very knowledgeable hosts who are well versed in climate change topics host the show. The podcast asks very important questions, including challenging current models of how we do some of the things we believe we must do to get to Net-Zero. One of their most intriguing episodes is titled Sustainable Development Goals Special.
6. Outrage and Optimism
Outrage and optimism podcast
This podcast is hosted by giants in international sustainability circles. They are Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson. Their guests tend to be world-leading influential people from government, business, activism, religion, and culture. This podcast is so important in the climate discussion that it made it to this list, even though it is not a UK podcast per se. The conversation is of such international importance that it’s worth listening to.
7. Yikes
Yikes podcast
Yikes is an exciting podcast to listen to. They cover most of the climate discussion from a completely different angle. Climate is not the only topic they cover. Other social justice discussions do take place on Yikes. In their back catalogue they discussed human rights, diversity and more.
8. How to save the planet
How to save the planet
Coming from Friends of the Earth, you can be sure it is from a well-informed source. The podcast, however, does not stick strictly to climate issues. All the other issues discussed are, however, absolutely important. If you are looking for a strictly sustainability podcast, some of their back catalogue will delight you.
9. Sustainable(ish)
Sustainable(is) podcast
Sustainable(ish) is an awesome podcast. The title sums up what most of us are struggling with: being that perfect climate action person, which we miss most of the time. The host, Jen Gale, invites change makers to talk about the changes they or their businesses are making in sustainability. One of the must-listen-to episodes is the conversation Jen Gale had with Charlie Cotton, the founder of a business that measures the carbon footprint of businesses.
10. Incredible Carbon Podcast
Incredible Carbon podcast
Well, this has to be one of our favourite podcasts; after all, it is from the Incredible Carbon team. This podcast has the potential to contribute to amplifying and moving the climate change discussion forward. At its present state, it does not deserve to be on the list of the top UK sustainability podcasts, but hey, we included it anyway, in the hope that it will get some attention through its inclusion.