logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2021
18m 37s

Big tech and carbon

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Google pledges to be carbon free by 2030. Ahead of next month's UN Climate Summit, the company has come out with new targets to become greener than ever. But what does that mean? Is Google supporting the energy transition away from fossil fuels or just fuelling ever greater consumption? Ed Butler speaks to the company's Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt, about how this is just the latest step in her company's aim to be a world leader in sustainability. Ian Bitterlin, a Consulting Engineer & Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds in the UK tries to quantify the amount of carbon pollution that could reasonably be attributed to data centers worldwide. And Sonya Bhonsle, the Global Head of Value Chains at CDP, the world's leading climate NGO that helps companies and cities disclose their environmental impact, tells Ed that Google scores very highly in their ratings and that the company is sending out good messages to others in the industry.

(Photo: Google's logo adorns their office in New York, Credit: Getty Images)

Up next
Today
America's affordability question
In the second of two programmes, we look at Donald Trump's record on the economy one year into his second presidential term. Today, we are asking is the United States still facing a cost of living crunch?Its economy - the largest in the world - is still growing faster than most o ... Show More
17m 29s
Yesterday
Life after DOGE
Twelve months into Donald Trump’s second term as President, we examine what it’s meant for the US workforce.For government workers it has been a year of cuts, sackings and Elon Musk’s now disbanded DOGE - Department of Government Efficiency - group. Some sections of the workforce ... Show More
17m 29s
Jan 16
CEO of the Folio Society, Joanna Reynolds
We meet retail turnaround expert Joanna Reynolds, the woman behind the revival of the Folio Society, one of Britain’s oldest publishing houses. Ten years ago, the company was losing money and facing an existential threat from the digital revolution.Joanna explains how she transfo ... Show More
17m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
Climate Edition - Why is Google at Cop28?
<p>Climate talks often conjure up images of smokestacks, car exhaust, and even aviation contrails.</p> <p>There’s also the mental image of endless climate meetings hosted by prominent politicians and policymakers.</p> <p>But what about Big Tech? What about the companies that pave ... Show More
16m 2s
Apr 2021
Google’s circular economy | Kate Brandt
<p>To accomplish environmental change at the scale and pace we need, huge corporations have to make some fundamental changes. How will they do it? In this talk, the head of sustainability at Google, Kate Brandt, shows how one of the biggest companies in the world is aiming to tra ... Show More
13m 36s
Aug 2021
Unpacking Fashion’s Role in Slowing Global Warming
<p class="article-lead">The fashion industry is one of the world’s worst polluters, and this week’s grim report from the UN’s IPCC made clear that change needs to come quickly.</p> <p> </p> <p>This week, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href= 'http ... Show More
28m 35s
Aug 2023
Your carbon footprint should bring you joy
<ul></ul> <p>The concept of a “carbon footprint” began as a distraction from Big Oil: get people to focus on their own actions rather than the impact of large emitters. Oil companies come up with PR campaigns all the time, but the carbon footprint took off because it taps into a ... Show More
34m 57s
Dec 2020
Fossil fuel companies know how to stop global warming. Why don't they? | Myles Allen
<p>The fossil fuel industry knows how to stop global warming, but they're waiting for someone else to pay, says climate science scholar Myles Allen. Instead of a total ban on carbon-emitting fuels, Allen puts forth a bold plan for oil and gas companies to progressively decarboniz ... Show More
11m 12s
Dec 2023
Sustainability: Mixed Signals on Decarbonization After COP28
<p>The U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP28, delivered positive news around technology, clean energy and methane emissions. But investors should be wary about slower progress in other areas.</p><p><br></p><p>----- Transcript -----</p><p>Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Ste ... Show More
3m 40s
Nov 2023
Big promise, little success: The state of carbon capture
<p>The U.S. is spending billions on carbon capture as a climate solution, but is it realistic? The method has been around for 50 years and used primarily as a way to extract more oil. To find out how and if carbon capture can work as a climate solution, Akshat speaks with Emily G ... Show More
34m 45s
Nov 2021
Tracking the whole world’s carbon emissions -- with satellites and AI | Gavin McCormick
<p>What we know today about global greenhouse gas emissions is mostly self-reported by countries, and those numbers (sometimes tallied manually on paper!) are often inaccurate and prone to manipulation. If we really want to get serious about fighting climate change, we need a way ... Show More
10m 27s
May 2023
The Carbon Conversation
Don Davies is Co-founder of Davies-Crooks Associates, a mission driven consulting and adaptive re-use development practice focusing on lowering climate impacts on the planet. He is the past president of Magnusson Klemencic Associates and has worked on projects in 18 countries and ... Show More
25m 16s