live from washington. this is bbc news. earth day marked with protests in major cities across the world, calling for more action on climate change. we look at climate pledges made by world leaders, including the us president. and, a new coral reef, teeming with life, is found —— and with more harvests veiling with global warming we look at how scientists are revolutionising one of our most important crop. hello, i'm carl nasman. we start the program around the world as today many are celebrating earth day, which marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern

environmental movement in 1970. it's a chance to focus on some of the biggest challenges, and possible solutions, for addressing environmental issues. it's been marked in different ways across the globe. in peru, shamans from all over the country gathered to make an offering to mother earth, in preparation on friday. the ancestral rituals, whose origins lie in the indigenous cultures there, are made to thank the earth and to build an awareness of the planet. there were also protests in cities around the globe. in southern france, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of toulouse today to denounce plans to build a new 30—mile highway they say will cause pollution, worsen global warming and threaten biodiversity. and here's the scene in london where thousands of climate activists gathered at a rally organised by the extinction rebellion group, to draw attention to the climate crisis and encourage more people to act. in the us capital, washington, dc, climate activists rallied to end the use of fossil fuels.

the march was followed by a concert outside of the white house. and in new york city, mayor eric adams volunteered at an earth day event in queens this afternoon, planting trees with the new york city department of parks and recreations. he had this message: a thing over and over again, we have two mothers, one gave birth to us, the other sustained us. the same love and nurturing that we show the mum that gave birth to us, we show to the one that sustains us stopping mother earth is here, is going to continue to be a part of who we are and we have two ensure that we give it the treatment that she deserves. in the us state of florida, earth day was celebrated a little differently. two rehabilitated green sea turtles named larry and moe were released back to their ocean home in the florida keys.

the two reptiles were rescued by a marine treatment team last year off the lower keys and diagnosed with a debilitating tumor—causing disease. here's one of the team members describing the excitement. sea turtles are a symbol for our marine ecosystem, helping to save sea turtles makes people aware to protect our oceans and there is no better time to think about than on earth day. these celebrations and protests show the complexity of issues facing the globe. a new report released this week by the world meteorological organisation showed 2022 was full of climate extremes. here are some of the key findings rom its annual "state of the panet" report: global sea levels hit a record high last year, due in part to melting glaciers and warming, sea levels are rising twice as fast compared tojust three decades ago. the planet continues to heat up, in fact the last eight years were the warmest since reliable records extreme climate events, from droughts to floods, have led to some 95 million

people being displaced around the world. to discuss this report, and what needs to be done to fastrack climate action, i spoke to jay inslee, governor of the state of washington and longtime leader on climate issues in the us. thank you so much forjoining us and taking the time. i want to start with the new report coming from the world meteorological organisation. it is essentially a report card and it seems the world is failing as populations around the world are gravely impacted by extreme weather, among other things. what is the most urgent change that the us should make right now that it is not doing? well, on a great beautiful earth day i will focus on some of the things that are going on and then i will answer your question. i think america is in the game now. i am so delighted we have a vigorous federal response. we have $360 billion of clean energy investment. our states are moving forward. i lead a group of 23 states who are even going faster than the federal government

so if there is a lot going on but we have to put pedal to the metal. the meteorological report is very clear. the world has to dramatically accelerate this transition to a non—fossil fuel based economy and that is a massive transition. the whole world needs to go faster and there are many places we need to go faster. starting with the electrification of our transport system. thankfully many of our states are going faster, mine included, which have made a commitment to rid ourselves of fossil fuel based automobile and buses and we are moving in that direction very rapidly. but we have to move faster in every regard. in residential heating, industrial heating, transportation infrastructure — all of those things need to go faster because there is no other option. it is a beautiful earth day and i want to keep it that way. some of the things that can be

done on a state level but first on the national level. presidentjoe biden announcing a $1 billion pledge, requesting another $500 million to protect the amazon ra i nfo rest. however, he is also approved a couple of big fossil fuel projects as well. it is the president living up to his campaign promises on climate change? again, i am going to focus on the positives. our nation is finally in the game under this presidency. i mean finally. i've been working on this for over a quarter of a century and for the first on the united states really is leading the world in my view it

the carbonisation and a point to the act which has $360 million of investment which will translate to millions ofjobs in new industries from electric cars, solarfarms, batteries. my state has two of the leading battery manufacturing companies in the world. we have just flown the first battery powered commercial air plane in world history in my state. what we're doing this built federally is accelerating dramatically that transition all across our platforms... sorry to interrupt. you mentioned the inflation reduction act but is that enough to get the us to these very lofty goals about having emissions and cutting them by 50% by the end of the decade? no, we need to be faster but the good news is we have 23 states that are moving faster. i started with governorjerry brown some time ago, 23 states moving faster than the federal government requires.

we represent 60% of the us economy. the beautiful thing of our democracy that we can have states that are the laboratories of democracy and each one is moving faster. our state, for instance, has a much more rapid decarbonisation in our transportation package, we have a clean cap and invest bill, we are generating billions of dollars of money through our investment system which is going to help people, create jobs and help people get electric cars, electric charging stations. over 60% of the us economy is going faster. you get a lot of news out of washington, dc but there is better news coming out of washington state. so yes, we need to go faster but we have states leading the way and i am proud to say my state is in the van in this regard. you mentioned some of these

massive changes in order to move the us in that direction in terms of cutting emissions. critics would say as we push electric vehicles, those vehicles are more expensive for many people. some of these changes are bringing big changes in our economy and people losing theirjobs if they are working in coal mining, for example. what would you say to those critics who say part of the country could be left behind by these changes? i think the whole nation has economic opportunities in this regard. look at what is happening in the south we have huge new investment in manufacturing plants for electric vehicles, wind power across the united states in a lot of rural areas. in my state i cannot turn over a rock whether it's in urban or rural areas, without finding a newjob developed

in clean energy. i was in a rural area east of seattle previously great one of the worlds best apples and we are putting people to work with a new solar farm. in moses lake, washington, another small community, we have the leading silicone battery companies going in. two huge companies. it's a light manufacturing base that never existed before so i think these opportunities across the state of washington and the united states... of course, governor, so to interject. you are a democratic governor in a very democratic state in washington. what about the south and politically across the board, as well. the inflation reduction act did not get a single republican vote. how can and should democrats be working across the aisle to get bipartisan support because, as we saw, president trump came

in and undid all kind of climate protection president 0bama had put in place. how do you get the republicans and democrats working together? first off, do it the easiest way by replacing republicans with democrats. that happening in the last midterm which was supposed to be this big red tide. we replaced republicans with democrats. i predict that will happen again in the next election cycle. in part because other areas of the state are now seeing the job creating opportunities. republicans are struggling to catch up. i look forward to the day when the republican party will get on the bandwagon but until that happens democrats are going to get elected on this issue. i got elected, one of the first governors running on climate change and i think that is happening across the united states. but i also predict over time, eventually, the republican

party, when they have thousands ofjobs coming in welding electric cars, someday they will figure this out. until then, we need to be replacing them with democrats who understand the economic opportunity of this. let's take a broader look at climate action in the us. on friday, presidentjoe biden announced a new office of environmentaljustice while signing an executive order placing more focus on the effects of pollution and climate change on disadvantaged communities. and on thursday, he pledged $1 billion to the fight against climate change. the announcement came at a virtual meeting of the world's biggest economics, and biggest polluters. the money will go to developing nations adapting to the effects of global warming. he also pledged $500 million towards protecting the amazon rainforest, pending approval by congress. all of you know as well as i do, the impacts of climate

change will be felt the most by those who have contributed the least to the problem, including developing nations. as large economies and large emitters, we must step up and support these economies. and the new york times reporting saturday the biden administration is set to anounce stronger regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from us power plants. the proposed regulation would force plants to capture their pollution, which would be the first time the federal government has enacted such restrictions. us power plants account for about 25% of planet—warming pollution produced in the country, according to the times. sources tell the news outlet that most coal and gas—fired plants would have to cut or capture nearly all the carbon dioxide emissions they produce by 2040. the new rule, if enacted, will almost certainly face legal challenges as well as opposition from republicans, the fossil fuel industry, and its allies. for more on the united states�*

role in tackling climate change, my colleague sumi somaskanda spoke to two experts — samantha gross from the brookings institution, and dr kim cobb from brown university. you seem to agree, i saw you nodding. you do not see this as a setback but rather a trade—off? i don't and an important thing to think about is you hear people talk about this project and they talk about the overall emissions that will come from this project approved in alaska. but those emissions are not necessarily additive. oil is plentiful in the world. there is plenty of oil and gas in the world and as long as there is oil demand, someone is going to produce that oil. when i see the emissions associated with that project, i do not necessarily see them as emissions that would not have happened at all if the project was not built, i see them as emissions that might have happened somewhere else if the project wasn't built. i am not sure it makes much of a difference from the climate perspective. what we need to do is work on oil demand. and like kim said, the inflation reduction act

does that. but samantha, just to follow up on that, is it important for the us, as one of the world's biggest polluters, to set an example for the rest of the world to not move forward with these big fossil fuel projects? it is a really tough question. i see your point on setting an example. i also know that we are likely to have greener, cleanerfossil fuel production than some of the other places that oil would come from. i think we need to phase out fossil fuel production over time. do we focus on the supply or demand side? i think it is more effective to focus policies on demand because that really eliminates emissions rather than transferring them somewhere else. speaking of demand, we saw the un secretary general during the summit today pointing to the fact that the ukraine—russia conflict has changed the energy supply, the energy market. how much has it shifted climate goals as well? i think it is a little early to say at this point.

we are still digesting the full geopolitical landscape of our new reality under the sustained fossil fuel and also of course food—related war that we have ongoing, and its implications for especially the eu, but also for our own energy landscape here in the united states, many communities reeling from higher energy prices, they have contributed to historic inflation, so these are really important issues that are rippling through the global economy as we speak and i think it's far too early to say what kind of impact it will have going forward in terms of national contributions to emissions reductions and of course the appetite within these countries for actually translating those commitments into laws in the books. i think it is quite notable that here in the united states we met the threat of rising energy prices and rising inflation with the inflation reduction act which makes clear that in the long—term, a transition away from costly

energy sources related to fossil fuels that are tied to this geopolitical tension is in our best interests from the national security perspective as well as from a longer term economic perspective, so that's what was embedded in part in the messaging around the bill, and i think the fact that it passed is a real vote of confidence around the world that we can actually move away from these interdependencies, these risky national... if i could justjump in, the question is if we really have time for that term because scientists are predicting that the world could reach a new average temperature record this or next year. what would that look like for us in our day—to—day lives? it's really important to remember it doesn't take a new global temperature record to find ourselves reeling on our heels from the modern—day impacts of fossil fuel emissions and global warming. we just have to remember what has gone on in the uk over the last year, 2022, not a record global temperature year, was actually the warmest

year on record for the uk and you all know the sufferings that occurred during the summer heatwaves and of course the winter heatwaves also, smashing records in the last several months, and while we might laugh at the images of frolicking swimmers in the uk seas, we also know that these have devastating economic impacts, for example, the alpine industry and winter tourism industries, so this is a pressing reality and not just a global temperature peak that is going to be of deep concern, it's also those off years, but also with an el nino event on the horizon this winter projected to be even a weak one will likely to the planet into a record global temperature year, superseding 2016. that's a dire picture but there is some good news. one last question for you, samantha. what is still needed to have emissions by the end of the decade? it's a difficult task but i think some of the new things you are seeing are helping. analysis showed the inflation reduction act might get us

to about a 40% reduction off 2005 levels for emissions, our promise to the paris agreement is a 50%—52%, you have seen since the ira passed, you have seen the biden administration propose new vehicle efficiency rules designed to push efficiency and electrify the us vehicle fleet, transportation is our largest sector of emissions, so that will help us get to 50%, so we will keep adding and adding and chipping away at that 50%, but we're getting closer all the time. that's at least a positive message to close our conversation on. samantha gross from the brookings institution and dr kim cobb from brown university. thank you very much both forjoining us on our programme tonight. so, as global leaders tackle how to address climate change, millions of people continue to feel its very real effects. countries like india, china, laos and thailand are sweltering through what's been called the worst april heatwave in asian history, with many experiencing record—breaking temperatures.

thailand's temperatures in the capital city bangkok reached 45 degrees celcius, or 113 degrees fahrenheit, for the first time in history last weekend. people were warned to avoid going outdoors because of the heat. temperatures have exceeded a0 degrees celsius for much of the month. this is happening across south east asia in recent days. laos recorded 42.7 degrees celcius, nearly 109 degrees fahrenheit, believed to be the highest. six cities in north and east india saw temps above 44 degrees celcisus, that's111 degrees fahrenheit, the bangladeshi capital dhaka soared above 40 degrees celcisus, 104 degrees fahrenheit, the hottest day there in 58 years. the bbc�*sjoao da silva has more. in recent days we have been seeing scorching heat in parts of china as well as many parts of south and southeast asia. april and may are usually

the hottest months of the year in this region, before monsoon rains begin and really bring some relief, but the fact is it's unusually hot right now, as you mentioned. we are seeing temperature records being broken in many parts and it's causing serious problems, it has already caused a number of deaths in india, a lot of people being hospitalised due to heat—related problems, there are reports of people being hospitalised due to respiratory problems in thailand where besides record temperatures, we are seeing pollution levels that are pretty high because of forest fires and crop burning, but these reports are not limited to these countries. like you mentioned, some people are describing this as the worst april heatwave in asia's history, and it's very limited as to what governments can do in terms of mitigating the impact of such a widespread phenomenon as the weather. of course in india we have heard schools have been shut in parts of the country, we also heard the authorities are advising local governments

to ensure that workers, especially workers exposed to the elements like miners, farmers, construction workers, to ensure the conditions are in place to make sure they are safe, but again, it's very limited, what governments can do to tackle this kind of problem. heatwaves, like the one in asia, droughts, and changing weather can all have drastic impacts on farming. and as the climate crisis worsens, experts fear millions more people could face food insecurity and even famine. in response to this, scientists in the philippines are developing varieties of climate—resistant rice. 0ne variety would carry genes enabling rice to survive for weeks with minimal water. other types could survive floods, lasting up to two weeks longer when submerged in water. some of the crops are already being planted by farmers in india, nepal and the philippines. here's one scientist's assessment. what we hope is that these ideas would lead to improved

stability, reduced risk in rice cultivation, so the farmers can earn better, have less cost of production, and will eventually lead to their income and other aspects improving in their lives. now a look at some other climate news making headlines around the world. western balkan nations are seeing a boom in solar energy investment. new solar plants in north macedonia and bosnia could help ease a looming power crisis brought on by a shift away from coal. but some officials warn the region's electric grids are not prepared to handle the new surge in daytime—only power. europe's newest and largest nuclear power station has started generating electricity in finland. the plant will produce 30% of finland's electricity. it's over budget but is expected to provide electricity for the next 60 years and generate around 14% of the country's electricity, reducing the need for imports from sweden and norway.

the last three nuclear power plants in germany have shut down after 60 years. there had been a 2022 deadline, but kept running longer than planned because of the energy crisis caused by russia's invasion of ukraine. before we end tonight, a bit of good news. a team of scientists has discovered a previously unknown coral reef off the coast of ecuador�*s galapagos islands. the reef is around two kilometres long and teeming with marine life. experts say the coral is thousands of years old. bbc�*s tim allman reports on the new discovery. the waters off the galapagos islands have always been full of wonder and mystery. it seems there are always more secrets to be revealed. this is a coral reef that no—one knew even existed. 400 metres below the surface, almost pristine, sitting on top of an undersea mountain.

translation: it's a pleasure to share that we have - discovered an old and vast coral reef. we have never found such extensive and developed coral reefs at this depth, and they are at their original state. which is more than can be said for other coral reefs. climate change and pollution is having a terrible impact on sea life. this mission in the pacific ocean, funded by a foundation named after charles darwin, is about exploration and protection. translation: it's important because we are talking - about pristine ecosystems that have never been studied before. our commitment is to preserve the ecosystems and the biodiversity we found here. last year ecuador expanded the marine reserve, a special protected area around the galapagos islands by 60,000 square kilometres. the authorities have

discovered a new coral reef. they are determined to keep it. tim allman, bbc news. thank you for watching today on earth day. i am carl nasman in washington. stay with us on bbc news. hello there. i think it's fair to say the weekend started on a very mixed note. now, there were some areas of rain across the uk, but other places that stayed entirely dry and sunny. look at this band of rain in southern scotland. underneath that drumalbin in lanark only got to eight degrees. while, it's not that far away — in stirlingshire, basking in the sunshine, tyndrum, had a high of 17 celsius, so a massively different feel to the weather on saturday over a relatively short distance. sunday's chart still has low pressure firmly in charge. there will be more rain around. that low moves eastwards. and then early next week, we'll get northerly winds. and look where those winds come from — pretty much the north pole. so needless to say, the weather

will be getting quite a bit cooler over the next few days. now, over the next few hours, we've still got a bit of rain in northern ireland that's turning lighter and patchier in nature. northern scotland turning wetter with some stronger north—easterly winds developing. and we've got some heavier rainjust skirting along the south of england. so there are some areas of rain, other areas stay dry, but a lot of cloud around. temperatures, 4—10 degrees as we start off sunday. now we've got that fairly persistent rain that's going to be with us most of the day for northern scotland. it will feel chilly here on account of those gusty northerly winds. heavy rain across southern england extending into east anglia and then into the afternoon we see showers break out. and i think the showers, particularly across england and wales, will turn heavy with some hail and thunder. temperatures across the board below average for the time of year, and it's set to get colder. those northerly winds really start to arrive through monday and on into tuesday as well. now we're looking at some rain across england and wales. further north, it's a day of sunshine and showers. there'll be some hail mixed in with some of these showers, a little bit of sleet across the far north

of scotland and over the highest scottish mountains, yes, you could even see a little bit of snow, but you have to go pretty high up for that above 400 or 500 metres�* elevation temperatures dropping highs of seven to 11 degrees, feeling chilly, particularly for northern scotland. then monday night we see a widespread frost develop and it's something that gardeners will certainly want to take note of. this is not a good news situation, really, for those tender plants. you might need to bring them back inside. tuesday, still cold, still a few wintry showers across northern scotland. showers with us for much of the week head, with temperatures for the most part staying well below average. bye for now.

does that.

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