Explore every episode of the podcast Tipping Points: The Climate Podcast

Introducing... Season 3!

We have a great season in store for you, giving you the down low on which food choices really matter. This will cover food waste, plastic, food miles, meat, seafood and the rest...

We're really proud of this one, so fetch your favourite coffee and enjoy!

Episode show notes:

Calorie efficiency (the 7% statistic): LINK

Land use of food production (the 80% statistic): LINK

Food carbon footprints: LINK

Rocket calculation:

(1) McDonalds purchased 875,566 tonnes beef in 2024, divided equally across 365 days = 2,398,811kg beef / day

(2) 1kg beef produces 99.5kg CO2e of GHG emissions

(3) 1x Falcon 9 rocket launch produces 387 tonnes CO2e (FAA estimate)

...sorry not sorry... but we're taking another week before our Season 3 with some big (not so happy) news.

The UN announced this week that we will cross the 1.5 degree threshold, even under our best case scenario.

Is it the end of the world? Maybe. So let's do what well behaved citizens do and talk about how we feel about it...

We've hit 1,000 streams!! That probably sounds super small, but if you're reading this you're one of the few who know it's a big deal to us.

Now that people are listening, we're getting asked "Why are you called Tipping Points?" Who are we to keep you lovely people waiting on an answer...

A super quick wrap up of everything we spoke about in season 2... If you're just here for the takeaways - listen to learn the best ways you can travel.

In the last full episode of our series, we add public transport to the mix, and with that option added we rank all of the mainstream ways to travel from best to worst...

SHOW NOTES / SOURCES

"Taking the Eurostar instead of a short-haul flight cuts a journey's footprint by around 97%." Source: Our World in Data — Which form of transport has the smallest carbon footprint?

Cycling whilst fed by bananas or cheeseburgers – figures from: How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything, Mike Berners-Lee

A different episode today: we're taking a break from our no-blame encyclopaedia for the first of our bonus episodes. It's a more political and discussion-based experiment. We hope you enjoy...

*Small correction to the episode: It was UAE and not Saudi Arabia who has left OPEC.

This is the last of three episodes where we explore the best ways to power our cars... we put hydrogen in the same conversation as electric cars and biofuels and answer if it's the "fuel of the future" or just hype.

Today we answer the questions on everyone's minds:
Can my poop power my car? Are biofuels actually used today and where? Is any of this relevant to me as a consumer? Find out the answers and much more...

Is it better to buy a new electric car or keep my old petrol car?

Isn't range a big problem?

It's difficult to find charge points, right?

Will my battery just blow up?

These are some of the questions we answer today while unpacking the truths about electric vehicles...

Does it matter if I buy a ticket when the flight will take off anyway? In this episode we answer the questions: How significant is aviation for your personal impact, and what practical things can you can do about it?

Shownote sources:

“Flying accounts for around 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions, or around 4% of global warming when contrails are included.”
-- Our World in Data

“Around 2% of the world’s population take roughly 41% of flights.”
-- International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)

“Travelling the same distance by train produces around 8× lower emissions than flying, and Eurostar journeys can reduce emissions by up to 90–95% (around 15–20× lower on London–Paris).”

-- Our World in Data

“Aircraft have become around 80–90% more fuel efficient per passenger over the past 60 years, yet total aviation emissions have more than quadrupled.”

-- Our World In Data

"Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) are often claimed to be 80% better than the baseline, but this 'study' is drastically overstated: excluding emissions from burning the fuel and the warming impacts of contrails"

-- British Petroleum (BP), look out for what's not included ;-)

Welcome to season 2!

A super quick run-down of what we talked about in series 1. None of the fluff and all the important stuff in 3-mins. The efficient human's dream.

We've spoken a lot about fossil fuel companies. You could say we've painted them kind of negatively and haven't given evidence for our claims. We'd like to avoid spending most of our episodes criticising, so we're cramming that evidence into this episode.

In "The Playbook", we give the down low on many of the most common tactics used by fossil fuel companies - the ones used to gaslight you and keep themselves relevant. This one might make you angry.

Resources:

·       Renewable energy discourses of fossil fuel companies: obstruction and delay of climate action | Energy, Sustainability and Society | Springer Nature Link

·       Banking on Climate Chaos 2025 - Banking on Climate Chaos

·       BankTrack – European banks bonding with oil and gas expansion: an analysis of 2025 and beyond

·       Overview and key findings – World Energy Investment 2024 – Analysis - IEA

·       InfluenceMap reveals climate lobbying & greenwashing - Greenhouse Communications

·       Shell, BP, Exxon: Seized emails reveal 'deceptive' climate tactics and greenwashing | Euronews

·       Record number of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP undermines critical climate talks

·       New Joint Bicameral Staff Report Reveals Big Oil’s Campaign of Climate Denial, Disinformation, and Doublespeak | The U.S. House Committee on Oversight

“After leaded petrol was phased out, blood lead levels fell by around 90%.”

-- Our World In Data

Today we explore what the vibe is around climate change, both politically and across the population. We usually avoid politics, but it's important so we've crammed (almost) all of it into this episode. Enjoy!

Ressources:

1.      The world’s largest survey on climate change is out – here's what the results show | UNDP Climate Promise

2.      Climate change falls over 20% behind top global concern in 2025 new Ipsos survey reveals | fsc.org

3.      Pakistan: Flood Damages and Economic Losses Over USD 30 billion and Reconstruction Needs Over USD 16 billion - New Assessment

4.      Spain hit hard by rising price of olive oil as climate change takes its toll on production

5.      Off-grid Solar Could Provide First-time Electricity Access to Almost 400 Million People Globally by 2030

6.      Are Companies Actually Scaling Back Their Climate Commitments?

7.      pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2415324122

8.      Peoples' Climate Vote 2024 - World | ReliefWeb

9.      Low-cost flights up to 26 times cheaper than trains - Greenpeace European Unit

10. IMF Fossil Fuel Subsidies Data: 2023 Update

11. American Petroleum Institute | API | API Kicks off Summer Driving Season with Ad Series on America's Energy Advantages

Today we look at the current state of the planet, and where we are in the fight against climate change. We'll give you the unfiltered predictions, some memorable sound bites and the things that scare us the most...

Shownote sources:

“The UK intelligence-backed report warned of national security threats including ecosystem collapse, food insecurity, mass migration, NATO conflict and nuclear war.”

-- Business Green, Gov.uk

“The global economy is already committed to around a 17% income reduction by mid-century because of climate change.”

-- Forbes

“At current emissions, humanity has roughly 2–4 years of the remaining carbon budget for a 50% chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C.”

-- Earth System Science Data

“Crossing 1.5°C doesn’t mean falling off a cliff; each additional fraction of a degree increases the risk of triggering climate tipping points.”

-- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

“Estimates suggest up to 1.2 billion people could be displaced by climate change by 2050.”

-- Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)

“Current extinction rates are estimated to be around 100–1,000 times the natural background rate.”

-- Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

“Global investment in clean energy is now roughly double investment in fossil fuel supply.”

-- International Energy Agency (IEA)

In Season 1 Episode 2, we define the term "carbon footprint," covering the nefarious origin story of the term, asking if they're even useful, defining what "good" looks like, and discussing what the biggest offending habits are...

Find us on instagram @tippingpoints.podcast

Link to carbon footprint calculators:

1. United Nations online platform for voluntary cancellation of certified emission reductions (CERs)
2. WWF Footprint Calculator

Resources:

• What is the greenhouse effect? - NASA Science
• 2003 BP Carbon Footprint add
• NPR | How Big Oil helped push the idea of “carbon footprint”
• There are huge inequalities in global CO2 emissions - Our World in Data
• Consumption-based CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita, 2023
• Analysis: Stark Inequalities in CO2 Emissions of Rich & Poor Nations
• Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change     

In Season 1 Episode 1, Chris and Natalie take us back in time to answer the question: What is climate change?

We cover terms like greenhouse gases, net zero, and the 1.5 degree Paris Agreement limit, and give an idea of how it might affect humans today...

This episode is part of a first (more intense) series where we give a background idea of climate change before the next few series help you understand how to take action.

Find us on instagram @tippingpoints.podcast

Shownote sources:

“The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum happened around 56 million years ago and saw global temperatures rise by around 5–8°C.” [IPCC]

“During the PETM, some deep-sea species experienced extinction rates of around 30–50%, while mammals became significantly smaller.” [palaeontologyonline]

“Current rates of warming are estimated to be around 6–20 times faster than during the PETM.” [climate.gov]

“Species are currently going extinct at roughly 100–1,000 times the natural background rate.” [IPBES]

“Yields of major staple crops such as maize and cereals are projected to decline by around 10–24% under future warming scenarios.” [IPCC]

“Around 85–90% of global cropland is projected to experience at least one climate-related stress by the end of the century.” [IPCC]

“Mark Carney described climate change as ‘the tragedy of the horizon’.” [Bank of England]

Welcome to the podcast! We start by introducing ourselves and talking through the "two truths" that are fundamental to how we deal with climate change... we'll also give an idea of what each series will be about.

Find us on instagram @tippingpoints.podcast

Shownote sources:

“In late 2022, Shell spent nearly twice as much on marketing and advertising as it did on its renewable and low-carbon business.”

[Globalwitness]