Climate Watch
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Climate Watch delves into the pressing climate tipping points that loom large on the horizon. We deliver the latest updates on the climate change landscape and shed light on the urgent need for collective efforts in tackling climate change. By talking to locals, experts, and activists from across the world, we aim to inspire and empower listeners to be part of the solution. Join our weekly journey into the heart of climate change for a sustainable future for generations to come.
117 Episodes
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Xinjiang’s Taklamakan Desert, one of the largest sand seas on Earth, is gaining a new identity. Once known only for its shifting dunes, it’s now surrounded by shelterbelts of trees planted through China’s Three-North afforestation program. And alongside this green belt, a new landscape is taking shape — solar farms glinting under the desert sun and wind turbines rising against the horizon. In this episode of Climate Watch, Fei Fei speaks with Jason Smith, host of The Bridge to China Podcast, about his journey to Xinjiang and how the desert is being transformed into a frontier of forests and clean energy.
You can find Jason's podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bridge-to-china/id1600232246 or https://www.youtube.com/@thebridgetoChina
At the UN Climate Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled new climate targets for 2035, pledging to cut economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10% from peak levels, expand wind and solar to 3,600 gigawatts, and grow forests and carbon markets. Beyond the numbers, what message is China sending to the world? In this episode, Fei Fei speaks with Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, to unpack the ambition, challenges, and global implications of China’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions.
Chinese and Brazilian institutes and universities are intensifying cooperation to jointly address climate change impacts, including on agriculture and food. With agriculture being one of the most solid pillars, the two countries are complementary in advantages and demand in further boosting food security while protecting the environment. In this episode, Zhou Fang spoke with André Guimarães, executive director of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute to dig deeper into their cooperation with China Jiliang University. We explore how the new partnership aims to identify risks, propose adaptation strategies, and provide solutions. We also discuss how China and Brazil are shouldering their responsibility to lead Global South efforts in climate action.
We often think going paperless is eco-friendly—but is our digital life as green as we believe? Every email, file, and cloud service relies on data centers, and together they produce significant carbon emissions. This hidden impact is called digital pollution. In this episode of Climate Watch, Fei Fei explores how our everyday online habits affect the environment and speaks with Ian Chew, founder of Greenie Web, a Singapore-based startup working to clean up the digital world.
Are data centers just energy hogs — or the future of smart grids?
https://radio.cgtn.com/podcast/news/5/Are-data-centers-just-energy-hogs-or-the-future-of-smart-grids/2716184
China has released its first central government roadmap for the national carbon market, marking a turning point in the country’s climate policy. The plan sets out milestones to expand coverage across major emitting industries by 2027 and build a fully functional cap-and-trade system by 2030. In this episode, Fei Fei sits down with carbon market analyst Qin Yan to unpack what these targets mean in practice. We explore how China can boost the vitality of its carbon market, what challenges industries may face, and how the system could align with global carbon trading under the Paris Agreement.
In Quanzhou, oysters are more than food — they’re part of the local history. For centuries, oyster shells have been used to reinforce bridges, build storm-proof homes, and shape coastal life. This episode explores how 11th-century engineers employed oysters in the construction of the Luoyang Bridge, with insights from historians. We also hear from Professor Cai Lizhe of Xiamen University and Lin Jianyi from the Chinese Academy of Sciences on how oyster shells are used today to restore soils, filter water, and even cut carbon. From ancient ingenuity to modern climate action, discover how the humble oyster has sustained people and places.
Many extreme weather events are now occurring in ways that defy traditional understanding.
This year, extreme weather events have come one after another: record-breaking torrential rains, unprecedented heatwaves reaching 50 degrees Celsius and devastating wildfires raging in many parts of the world.
In this episode, Zhou Fang spoke with Professor Gao Xiaolu from Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture on these extreme weather events and China’s resilience in building against natural disasters.
We take a closer look at how China has been addressing these extreme weather events through early warning systems, urban planning and technological innovation among other areas.
We also discuss how the public can better respond to these events by raising awareness and taking more solid action.
What if the secret to protecting cities from floods, boosting biodiversity, and improving livelihoods was right outside our door? In this episode of Climate Watch, Fei Fei explores how China’s “Two Mountains" concept plays out in real life, visiting Quanzhou Bay — home to centuries-old ports and thriving mangroves, and beyond. Meet the researchers, fishermen, and city planners restoring these wetlands and discover why they’re vital for climate resilience. How can “lucid waters and lush mountains” truly be worth gold and silver? And what lessons can they offer for building greener, more resilient cities?
Subscribe for more stories from Quanzhou City.
What are the most promising technologies driving global decarbonization—and what’s holding them back? In this episode, Fei Fei speaks with Professor Wang Can from Tsinghua University about mainstream solutions, emerging innovations, and the roadblocks slowing progress. We also explore China’s strategy for cutting carbon emissions and where it still needs to catch up. This episode is part of The Climate Thinkers, a special series of conversations with leading researchers to explore the latest in green innovation—starting here in China and expanding outward to the world.
Climate has sounded new alarms this summer.
In just seven days, Beijing and Hebei were drenched by a year’s worth of rain. Meanwhile, temperatures in Henan, Sichuan, and Xinjiang have repeatedly soared past 40°C.
In today’s episode, we speak with Ma Jun, Director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, about what these weather events reveal about climate change—and how we should respond.
As global temperatures rise and extreme weather becomes the new norm, climate cooperation between major powers is more crucial than ever. In this episode of Climate Watch, we focus on the latest China–EU summit held in Beijing—where climate stood out as a rare bright spot in a complex geopolitical agenda. Fei Fei speaks with Antoine Oger, Executive Director of the Institute for European Environmental Policy, to unpack what this high-level meeting means for global climate action. From carbon markets and methane emissions to new EU climate laws and China’s green innovation efforts, the conversation explores how the two sides can manage their differences and collaborate more deeply. Can China and the EU truly lead the world toward a low-carbon future?
China and the EU have been conducting green cooperation for two decades, with many notable achievements. In this episode, Zhou Fang spoke with Wu Changhua, the President of the Global Climate Academy and Chair of the Governing Council of the Asia Pacific Water Forum, about how the two sides are expanding and deepening green cooperation. We discuss how Chinese new energy companies contribute to the EU’s green transition by utilizing its advantages. We take a closer look at how Chinese enterprises can navigate possible impacts from the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act and an upcoming tax policy.
Smart water systems are playing a crucial role in addressing intensified extreme weather events caused by climate change. In this episode, Zhou Fang spoke with Cao Ying, Professor of Water Resources and Hydropower from Sichuan Agricultural University, about how China’s innovative practices, such as forecasting, early warning and simulation are empowering its water management systems. We also take a closer look at how the country utilizes precision simulation systems for global climate change assessment and other high technologies to enhance its flood and drought prevention and control as well as raising water management efficiency.
While carbon dioxide gets most of the climate spotlight, methane is the stealthy super-pollutant warming our planet—fast. In this episode, Fei Fei explores why methane emissions are one of the most urgent and solvable climate challenges today. She speaks with Marcelo Mena, CEO of the Global Methane Hub and former environment minister of Chile.
Main topics covered:
· Where methane emissions come from (hint: it’s not just cow burps)
· Why methane accounts for nearly half of today’s warming
· How countries and companies can cut emissions using existing tools—often at low or no cost
· Why global cooperation on methane is gaining real momentum
As AI models grow bigger and data centers become more energy-intensive, China faces a critical question: How can this digital boom align with its clean energy goals? In this episode, Fei Fei visits a data center in Guizhou, a pivotal hub in China’s digital network. She also explores how data centers—often seen as energy guzzlers—might evolve into key players in a flexible, renewable-powered grid. From repurposing server heat to shifting computing loads to match solar and wind output, we look at big ideas from Associate Professor Wang Yongzhen of the Beijing Institute of Technology.
What happens after planting millions of trees? In this episode, Fei Fei speaks with Lei Xiangdong from the Chinese Academy of Forestry about what effective forest management really means- and why it's about much more than tree-planting. This episode explores how China's approach has evolved over decades, what the "four treasures" of forests (referring to the four functions that forests can play) are and how today's focus is shirting toward forest quality, biodiversity and long-term resilience. Tune in to learn how managing forests widely is just as important as planting them.
We also have an episode dedicated to China's efforts in combating desertification — feel free to check it out via the link. https://radio.cgtn.com/podcast/news/5/How-China-fights-desertification/2714141
AI is working as a catalyst and bringing unprecedented transformation to different industries. In this episode, Fei Fei spoke with Xiao Ma, professor of Entrepreneurship and Management at Nottingham Business School, about how AI technologies are empowering different industries and assisting them in contributing to climate and sustainability goals. We also discuss the potential ways to optimize and maximize the use of AI technologies and how personal data can also contribute to sustainability.
The world produces over 400 million metric tons of plastics each year. Annually, an estimated 11 million tonnes, equivalent to the weight of roughly 2,200 Eiffel Towers, end up polluting lakes, rivers, and oceans. At the same time, plastic pollution is exacerbating the crisis of climate change globally. In this episode, Zhou Fang spoke with Zhang Yimo, a blue-economy project coordinator from WWF, about some of the effective solutions at hand.
Pacific island nations are among the most vulnerable in the world to climate change, facing rising seas, stronger storms, and the real threat of losing their land. In this episode, Fei Fei speaks with Professor Patrick Nunn, a geographer and climate expert with the University of the Sunshine Coast, about what meaningful support looks like for these island communities. From migration plans to resilient infrastructure, and from foreign aid to indigenous knowledge, we explore how Pacific nations are fighting to survive—and thrive—in a warming world. What does good help really mean? And who’s stepping up to provide it?
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's recent visit to China spotlighted climate cooperation and clean technology. As the two countries go ahead with their climate cooperation, along with Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) , they also vowed to uphold multilateralism. In this episode, Fei Fei digs into why multilateralism took center stage this week in China-Brazil partnership and China-CELAC relations. What does this mean for global climate governance? Our guest this week is global governance expert Xu Feibiao. He is the director of the Center for BRICS and G20 Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
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