Climate Curious

“It seems quite counterintuitive to wade in with our chainsaws, but we are replicating a natural process that we're missing,” says National Trust woodland advisor and author, Luke Barley. Whilst one side of the battle for our world's forests involves protecting trees from destructive deforestation, Luke shares that British woodlands are actually suffering from the opposite problem, being left entirely alone. For thousands of years during what some have called ‘The Wood Age’, humans didn’t just live alongside forests, but actively shaped them, echoing the activities of wooly mammoths and other large animals from prehistoric times. Luke busts the myths of untouched, pristine, dark forests, and reveals why responsible and active forest management is essential to revive Britain’s biodiversity, by reconnecting us to our woodland roots.Enjoyed this short? Listen to the full length interview with Luke Barley on Climate Curious here: https://youtu.be/Gm0c0KKiKFI?si=bt9tB5r8Ueq38J50National Trust plant a tree campaign: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/support-us/plant-a-treeFind Luke’s book ‘Ancient’ just won the 2026 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing and is available here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/ancient/luke-barley/9781805222231Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMALinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondonWebsite: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspodCreated by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper

A solar panel in Shanghai and a wind turbine in Brasília might sound worlds apart, but the people installing renewables around the globe are breaking similar barriers and achieving the same wins: cheaper bills, cleaner energy, and better jobs! After last week's trip to Oxfordshire's Westmill Solar and Wind Farm, TEDxLondon's Deesha Chandra sits down with three global renewable energy leaders to compare and contrast energy independence lessons from around the world. Featuring: Victoria Santos from Brazil's Institute for Climate and Society, Dr. Yongping Zhang from Energy Foundation China, and Sahele Fekede from the Africa Climate Foundation. Tune in to hear how local clean energy is going global, from Brazil to China and Ethiopia. Helping bring these people together is ReNew2030, building community to share learnings and spread the renewable from local to international. Listen to the Westmill episode on Climate Curious: https://tedxlondon.com/podcasts/how-a-community-can-build-its-own-renewable-energy-with-westmill-energy/ Learn more about ReNew2030: https://renew2030.org/Learn more about Westmill Energy: https://westmillenergy.coop/about/our-story/Institute for Climate and Society: https://climaesociedade.org/en/who-we-are/The Energy Foundation: https://www.efchina.org/ African Climate Foundation: https://africanclimatefoundation.org/about-us/Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper

Fancy making over a million quid for your community and beyond from shared renewable energy resources? Climate Curious spent a day in sunny Oxfordshire with the fine folks at Westmill Energy to hear how they took clean shared renewable energy generation into their own hands! 17 years, 3,000 members, and a flock of sheep later; discover how this pioneering energy co-operative got off the ground, and is inspiring communities all around the world to do the same. TEDxLondon's Deesha Chandra spoke with the founding farmer in question, Adam Twine, as well as the chair of the wind farm co-op, Mark Luntley, and ex-engineer turned volunteer tour guide, Nick Boulter. Tune in to get a closer look at how a group of determined locals set up a cooperative, took on opposition, and created a true home grown clean energy success story.Learn more about Westmill Energy: https://westmillenergy.coop/about/our-story/ How the community used its million pounds: https://westmillenergy.coop/news/westmill-1million-community-funding/Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper

“AI can do a lot of good things, but I'd like to see it out-drink a room of 30 people” jokes the founder of Small99 and People Planet Pint, Adam Bastock. From sleepless heatwaves to un-lit candles melting, Adam joins Climate Curious’s Ben Hurst to share  how saying cheers to the climate has helped galvanise thousands of people at hundreds of pub meetups to get involved with local climate action.  Encouraging folks to sip on solutions (as opposed to drown in doom), tune in to learn how Adam has cracked the code of connecting pub culture with climate community. Cheers to that!    Find a People Planet Pint meetup near you: https://peopleplanetpint.co.ukJoin the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper

"I literally took out my notes app, and I wrote an amendment," says 21-year-old climate activist and Director of the Federal Climate Amendment Institute, Lake Liao. Tune in to Climate Curious to hear how an AOC video he watched on a bus ride home changed everything, why court wins in Montana and Hawaii show what's possible locally when Washington won't move, and what's next for the student-led grassroots movement working to make a liveable planet a constitutional right. Find out more about FCAI: https://federalclimateamendmentinstitute.orgActBlue donation link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/climateamendmentJoin the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper

“The private sector entering the Amazon is most often flanked by soldiers, allowing the extractive companies to come in,” says impact investor Michelle Arévalo-Carpenter. But many of the Amazon’s new threats are also being driven by an illicit private sector, particularly illegal mining. Tune in for how private-sector tactics and market incentives make conserving the Amazon more profitable than exploiting it. Michelle’s impact investment fund is moving money directly to the people on the ground, ensuring responsible stewardship over the land and its rich biodiversity, as well as a sustainable and lucrative path forward in protecting the Andean Amazon. Recorded live at TED 2026 in conversation with TEDxLondon Director Deesha Chandra.For more on illegal mining check out Claudia Vega’s TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojfZMid20iAJoin the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website: https://tedxlondon.com/podcast/ All other links: https://linktr.ee/climatecuriouspod Created by TEDxLondonExecutive produced by Josie ColterProduced by Ben BeheshtyCurated by Deesha ChandraHosted by Maryam Pasha and Ben HurstCommunications by Tara Cooper