Well our next well bring you planets s. O. S. From madrid in spain for the un climate talks for thousands of politicians and then to casey aging teams trying to agree on how to deal with the pressing issues of Climate Change. Principally altering the question how to cut Greenhouse Gas emissions and how to do it radically and fairly what assess whats been achieved and well look ahead to next year which is when the Paris Agreement that all nations signed up to 4 years ago kicks in. And well ask how much value there really is a huge coincidences of thousands of delegates all they. Especially when you consider the elephant in the ring the Carbon Footprint of this conference when nearly everyone flew in from across the world including. Welcome to planet says oh yes this is called 25 that is to say the 25th time in 25 years that thousands of scientists politicians n. G. O. S yes members of the press have congregated to grapple with this issue that threatens us all that is Climate Change things they move fast and climate politics on the agenda this time around some of the most politically charged leftovers from last time that theyre still trying to grapple with 1st up the rules on how the world trades in college and then theres the delivery of a climate fund to help the worlds poorest nations develop in a planet friendly way and then how to safeguard the worlds most vulnerable. People from the effects of Climate Change and finally and perhaps most importantly how to encourage nations to cut emissions that it driving up Global Warming theres a lot at stake here the last 5 years have been the hottest on record sea levels are the highest in human history. And a 1000000 species more than 12 percent of all known life on earth is on the brink of extinction. Weather patterns are changing very visibly floods in east africa have affected more than 3000000 people and it killed at least 280 well bizarrely 400 kilometers away the mighty Victoria Falls of dwindle to a trickle as intense drought bites well be hearing from our reporter nick hack on that in just a matter would prefer Sandra Thomas now reports on bushfires in australia and how theyre still burning. Its impossible to make a direct link between Climate Change and any particular sets of bushfires let alone the awful smoke that hit sydney for much of this week but what Scientists Say is that Climate Change is making bushfires more frequent and making them more intense australias government disagrees the Prime Minister has already downplayed any link between Climate Change and the bushfires he says to link the 2 would be to misconstrue the situation and he is called the smoke that hit sydney amir has something to be expected from time to time australias government is under real pressure over what many see as its lackluster approach to the environment and emissions reduction is Scott Morrison australias Prime Minister makes the point that overall australia only contributes perhaps one and a half percent to the global total of emissions theres little this country could do to make a practical difference to Climate Change but many say that really misses the point australia needs to show leadership in this area because as this week has showed this is a country affected by Climate Change in a pretty profound way. This is what remains of one of the waterways that lead to the zombies a river normally during this time of the year its overflowing with 8 metres of water above my head but look at it now a head is the Worlds Largest waterfalls Victoria Falls in some areas its a slow trickle this isnt just a tourist attraction its a lifeline for millions of people beyond zimbabwes border who depend on it for food and power. But Southern Africa is going through its worst drought in a century 14 countries and 45000000 people are need of help and are going hungry zimbabwe who depends on water and its hydroelectric plant to power it is going through sincere power blackouts in the traditional religious leaders gathered invoking. The spirit of the zombies the river calling for the rains to come again lets cross the murray on another for more on the issues facing the planet thanks nick our planet is heating up and fast what once took hundreds of thousands of years has happened in less than 200 most of it in just the last 50 levels of Carbon Dioxide have never been this high the Greenhouse Gases weve pumped into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution have lit the suns light in but stopped some of that he just skating and the global temperature has slowly ticked up around one degree celsius since 880 Scientists Say were on track to hit one and a half degrees and around 10 years 3 degrees by the end of the century many Scientists Say it could go much higher. Now those numbers may not seem like a lot but the consequences of just a half degree rise will for many of us be catastrophic for some parts of the globe it already is as the oceans hate they expand as they absorb more Carbon Dioxide the more citic they become underwater areas are becoming uninhabitable that hate is melting the worlds ice sheets and glassy is special like data shows losses from greenlands ice sheet have doubled each decade since the ninetys to an average now of 250000000000. 00 tons of ice lost each year that fresh water has to go somewhere and its pouring into our oceans the Greenland Ice sheet is today the single largest contributor to Sea Level Rise and thats why thats above the attention of the green and i said its a very dynamic ice contains the fastest glaciers and its the ice sheet that is melting the most. Sea levels have risen by at least 20 centimeters in the last 100 years if we do nothing that figure is expected to climb by around a meter by the end of the century or by worst Case Scenario a global Sea Level Rise above my heed coastal cities and communities will be swamped by the rising tide this is the city of miami as al planet warms even by conservative estimates many island nations will cease to exist our planets natural with the passions a shifting expected droughts floods hurricanes heat waves storms and wildfires to become more frequent and more intense all the while were burning through our planets resources and then there are the record levels of waste pollution and plastic that are choking our planet all of this makes a compelling case for action the most urgent being to have our Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2030 but in the years since every nation pledged in paris to do just that levels of Carbon Dioxide have effect gone up the years since paris have been volatile backtracking on climate pledges attacks on the Climate Science and resistance to climate action. But a Global Movement has also grown getting louder and more diverse 5 a day and calling on us all to think about tomorrow. Scientists say this is a Climate Emergency that there is still time to act but that window is closing record lee the consequences of doing nothing will be catastrophic for most of us this will happen in our lifetimes. So the next 12 months will be crucial in 2023 must deliver what the Scientific Community has the find as a must or we and every generation that follows will pay an unbearable price the head of the u. N. Antonio good taste there has been leading the charge for a new tougher climate pages that would slash emissions but i look at our data trekkie here and its clear that needs to happen quickly the World MeteorologicalOrganization Says levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere have hit another record high this year the safe level is around 350. 00 parts of c o 2 for every 1000000 in molecules levels are currently well above that as a result you can see the average global temperature has continued to rise and sea levels to the question is will we rise to that challenge back to you nick. Lets take a look now where this conference is taking place this is the fema Exhibition Center it is a pool that was provided by the Spanish Government when chile had to pull out because of ongoing protests and when i say colossal i mean just that it is going to be a kilometer from one end to the other. And here 25000 delegates go about the business of cop which includes of course Endless Supply of coffee and food as negotiations go from morning to late tonight. On any given day there are all sorts of activities going on not just negotiations but also of people pushing businesses green solutions. Most countries have the National Pavilions some pretty extravagant affairs. As you walk around schools theres all sorts of side of and people look at this is a Barack Obamas former secretary of state john kerry were not holding the force of the tension. This is. Were still at 3. 0 degrees. But another way of achieving change you know traction like this weve seen a lot of protests going on this Climate Change conference in 2095 year 2900 being the year of. Right around the world but its 2020 when the president really comes to facts and always comes into focus. This is talk about providing a springboard for next years crucial Climate Summit in glasgow where National Commitments to cut emissions must match the science otherwise many believe we face runaway Climate Change but the divisions there are huge theres this absolute disconnect between the 2 the 1st is that he ality of the outside the reality of climate impacts that i dont think theres a single country that can sit here and not say that theres been huge impacts. And then also that he ality of the science. The science has been extremely clear about what needs to be done and this is just and you know a complete disconnect between those realities and this reality inside the venue and we need to Civil Society movement. And hold our governments accountable and already be in a position to ensure that there are consequences for the in action because really talking about survival. This is a time with an agency and they just bond is in this environment is not adding up there is room for solutions for sure and the odd part for me is an analyst who studies the issues what would it cost how can we do this is that we could make the transformation at a tiny tiny cost and huge benefits most of the politicians are just ignorant they have no idea what the alternatives are they have no idea that it almost no cost or even savings we have so much when so much solar so much hydro potential geothermal other solutions that once you look at the facts you say are you kidding were going to let the planet go to ruin because were not doing these obvious things thats the ultimate reason for optimism but i could put it this way this is not hard to solve but we have to get these dyspeptic politicians out of the way you are teach them something send them back to school so that they understand what this is about. Now then the problem is that the Carbon Footprint of this conference here in madrid with thousands upon thousands of delegates flying in is absolutely astronomical but no ones yet come up with a way of conference calling all these people they were a 2 week period say in they fly in fact to transport accounts for a huge percentage of the global c o 2 emissions the 3rd in the United States and a quarter in europe the distance between london and madrid is 1735 kilometers as the standard petrol powered car on this journey would pump 347 kilograms of carbon into the atmosphere with diesel that drops to been a 300. 00 but thats still significant travel well thats fast but its also costly to the planet not counting travel to and from the airport an airliner on that route adds almost 120 kilograms for each passenger as many tons of c o 2 into the atmosphere from one flight in a train is a good option provided its powered cleanly in europe some trains run on gasoline diesel some are electric. To get to madrid with current capabilities the train adds a 45. 00 kilos of carbon per passenger not train travel can be expensive a cleaner option again is the bus but the cleanest of the mall is the electric car but theres a catch youll need to charge up along the way and that electricity has to come from somewhere in the u. K. About a 3rd of electricity comes from 0 emission renewables in france around 3 quarters of the energy is from 0 Emission Nuclear and in spain about 40 percent comes from Renewable Energy particularly wind in europe only driving across iceland could you be certain that your battery is charged 100 percent from renewables but thats not going to help you get from london to madrid i have to say in covering the story we did attempt to take the train we bought rail tickets from london to madrid but then the french rail strike going in the way and we couldnt come by train we had to fly but it is something we have to consider more more as we travel around the world as a t. V. Channel covering this important story of Climate Change and damage to the environment we really do have to think what is our Carbon Footprint as we book those air tickets but there are some who can make it work and do make it work and have made the decision not to fly to. I. Im ben i live in bristol and i choose not to fly im a wood recycler we collect wood waste from half is throwing it away we bring it back to our yard we clean up and we sell it and we make stuff out there in the workshop. I dont fly because its probably the heaviest Carbon Footprint that we create as individuals. Global warming and biodiversity loss are exacerbated by flying so ive chosen to minimize my flying over the years the journey im about to take our leave bristol to ny on a train from Bristol Temple meads to london ill travel across london stay with my brother in brixton tomorrow morning i will take a bus to london from pancras and ill get on the 540 train to paris i will change it paris to paris montparnasse ill get on the t. G. V. To i will i will change or agile and i will go to oshkosh and i arrive or ocean in the south of france at about 4 in the afternoon i dont have a problem with a long journey as long as its comfortable flights are so cheap and that maddens me so much cheaper to fly places and take the train i have some remorse about the fact that japan seems like a long way away these are also products of a culture where by we think its some kind of entitlement that we should be able to see all these places. More people are aligning with me i feel less alone than i did say a year ago i also recognize that there is a bigger issue within society of no one wants to take a step forward unless everyone takes a step Forward Together the actions of individuals have impacts beyond what we might initially perceive. What do i miss about air travel very little. So back in the conference and toward is the status of the talks with the truth is theyve stalled weve been speaking to Jennifer Morgan of greenpeace whos been following the arguments through the night well we are in this these final hours where theres different little groups of negotiators optimally trying to strengthen a tax that was put on the table a couple of hours ago with which was completely unacceptable. And so whats going on is you have actually incredibly brazil and the United States trying to weaken these tax and then you have the island nations the European Union trying to strengthen them and for me its incredible that the u. S. And brazil are even being taken seriously here one step down the Paris Agreement the other one clearly has no interest in saving lives. Now signs on the pins all the geisha actions here and just demonstrates what needs to be done not least and perhaps the most threatened of the worlds buzz for is the oceans i recently joined an expedition to a new discovered area of reef off the coast of French Guiana in south america. 135 kilometers off the coast of french guyana the Greenpeace Campaign ship esperanza for now floating the pirate tree and expedition h. Q. To find out more about the newly discovered machinery so the amazon river and the amazon mouth here the amazon reef presence was 1st revealed. Years ago off the coast of brazil here with the 1st greenpeace expedition in the area and a 2nd when this expedition in the area last year identified the reef presence also into french we are no watchers. Alexy rosenfeld is dived all over the world but