China introduces incentives to curb pollution -- Eye witness accounts about climate change – Sailing around the world raise awareness for whales and dolphins -- Artists and scientists come together to discuss climate change -- these stories and more in this edition of Living Planet.
Tune in via the live-stream or download the programme as a podcast. Send your comments and questions to features@dw-world.de.Chinese Government Cleans Up in Shanxi
China has topped the list of the world's worst CO2 emitters. Now the government is offering incentives in a bid to clean up some of its most polluted cities.
China has surpassed the United States as the world's biggest carbon emitter. That’s according to a new report released by the research consortium Global Carbon Project (GCP). Until 2005, rich countries emitted most of the world's man-made CO2. Today, however, developing countries, including China, account for 53 percent of the total. This is due mainly to a soaring demand for coal and a surge in cement production.
More than two-thirds of China’s power is coal generated. And while the skies over Beijing were generally clear for the Olympic period, smog still clouds the air in China’s coal capital, Shanxi province. Located in the country’s mid north, Shanxi is home to three of the country’s most polluted cities. For years, coal, and industrial pollutants have blackened the air and contaminated the water and soil. But now the central government is offering incentives to get Shanxi’s cities to clean up their backyard.
Report: Elise PotakaClimate Witness Series: India
In Living Planet's 'Climate Witness' series we hear first-hand testimony to the consequences of climate change.
While China tops out the list of the world’s largest carbon emitters, its neighbor to the south, India, comes in at number four and it is estimated that it will soon surpass Russia, which is currently in the number three spot.
India has a diverse landscape, with a long coast line, tropical rainforests in the south and glacier covered mountains in the north. All of these areas are feeling the effects of climate change. In part three of ‘Climate Witness’ we meet Nafisa DaSouza, convenor of the Network on Ethics and Climate Change in India.
Report: Andrew Zubiri / Irene QuaileRacing for Whales and Dolphins
Most major races involve heavy input from corporate sponsorship. And while that applies to the majority of the ships in the Volvo Yacht Race, there is one that has gone a different direction.
On October 11 in the Spanish city of Alicante the world’s longest yacht race will leave port, arriving in the Russian city of St. Petersburg nine months and 39,000 kilometers later. While most of the ships in the Volvo Ocean Race are sponsored by large corporations, the Russian team has formed a partnership with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, or WDCS, to highlight the urgent need for better protection of the world’s whales and dolphins.
The yacht’s mainsail is emblazoned with a large logo that says "We Sail for the Whale", and the crew has been trained by WDCS to recognize different whale and dolphin species that inhabit the oceans they will be sailing through. Living Planet speaks to Nicolas Entrup, head of WDCS Germany.
Interview: Mark MattoxArtists and Scientists Spread Climate Change Awareness
It isn’t often that art is associated with climate change. Living Planet takes a look at a group of artists and scientists which has come together to share the ideas on the subject.
A forum for spreading the word about the challenges our planet is facing has traveled from Great Britain to Germany. It’s called Tipping Point, and it’s aimed at bringing together scientists and artists to share their thoughts on climate change. Since 2005 this annual series, held in partnership with the Environmental Change Institute of the University of Oxford, has blossomed into events being held in an increasing number of countries.
The first `Tipping Point´ to be organized outside the United Kingdom was run in Germany at the renowned Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) last year. Last weekend the institute joined forces with The German Federal Cultural Foundation and the British Council to bring more than 100 participants together at the historic Albert Einstein Research Campus in Potsdam for their second `Tipping Point´ in Germany.
Report: Peter Zimmermann