0:04

Hello, how are you? Welcome along

0:06

to episode five of Call of the

0:08

Wild, the podcast from WWF

0:11

with yours truly, Cel Spellman, where

0:13

I find out about the threats to our planet, and

0:15

more importantly, how we can

0:17

fight back. Now, friends,

0:20

this month it's the big one. Oh

0:22

yes, it is all about

0:25

climate. Now, it is no

0:27

secret that climate change is happening.

0:29

It is a fact, and it is destroying

0:32

our world. If you sat there listening

0:34

and go, " That comes as a bit of a surprise," I do

0:36

not know where you've been hiding over the last

0:38

10, 15, 20 years. Here's a

0:41

fact for you: there's more carbon dioxide

0:43

in our atmosphere now than at any

0:45

other time in human history. In

0:48

just a single lifetime, we've

0:50

seen and continue to see important

0:53

forests be wiped out, unpredictable

0:55

weather patterns, the air become filled

0:58

with harmful emissions. And all of this

1:00

is creating a hotter and increasingly

1:02

unstable planet. Transport

1:05

plays a big role in this. It

1:07

is the single biggest source of UK

1:09

emissions. Get this, but only

1:12

6% of the global population has

1:14

ever stepped foot on a plane and only 50% of

1:17

the UK fly in any given

1:19

year. So in this

1:21

episode, I'm going to be joined by singer

1:23

and songwriter Birdy on her efforts

1:26

to live and work more sustainably.

1:28

Just being in lockdown actually and not being able

1:30

to travel has made us all more

1:32

aware of how much maybe we don't really need

1:34

to for a lot of things.

1:36

I'll also be chatting with the brilliant Gareth

1:38

Redmond- King, former head of climate at WWF-

1:41

UK, to find out the extent of the problem.

1:43

We've seen increasing levels of extreme weather.

1:46

As the climate system becomes more unstable,

1:48

we see storms happening not

1:50

just every year, but several times

1:52

a year.

1:53

Plus, we'll be finding out how to cut

1:55

our carbon footprint and discovering green

1:57

ways to travel. The

2:04

thing that is really driving the climate

2:06

crisis is carbon dioxide emissions,

2:09

or you might've heard the term as greenhouse

2:11

gases. These are heating up our

2:13

planet. These emissions are behind almost

2:16

everything in our lives, not just travel,

2:18

from our internet usage to our

2:20

banks. Now, when I was at school,

2:23

we talked about global warming.

2:25

Then it was all about climate change, but

2:27

now it's a climate crisis.

2:30

But what does that actually mean? It

2:32

was a question that I asked Gareth Redmond-

2:34

King, the former head of climate at WWF-

2:37

UK.

2:39

The really striking fact that we've moved

2:41

from one area into another quite recently,

2:43

that humans on this planet, we've lived

2:45

in a sort of stable Garden

2:47

of Eden for 12, 000 years when

2:50

temperature has gone up and down

2:52

only within one degree centigrade. And then within

2:55

the last 100 years, because

2:57

of things that we've done as humans, that

2:59

temperature change has gone up by more

3:01

than one degree. So it's the rate

3:04

at which we are driving change that is what's pushing

3:06

us towards this being a crisis. It's

3:08

just how much the planet is heating

3:10

up, the threat that that's posing to

3:13

species and to people around the world,

3:15

the fact that we're not acting fast enough

3:18

yet, and the fact that ultimately

3:20

this becomes existential for us as a species.

3:22

Those are the things that, for me, make

3:24

this a crisis.

3:25

I feel now it's widely accepted,

3:28

thankfully and finally, that this

3:30

is an emergency, including by

3:32

the UK government. One thing that summed up

3:34

that for me was the Paris Climate Agreement in

3:36

2015, a commitment

3:39

from 197 countries to

3:41

get emissions under control. Here's

3:43

what it's all about.

3:45

Our home, Planet Earth, is on

3:47

fire. If carbon emissions

3:50

continue to rise, things will only

3:52

get hotter and life and the planet,

3:54

as we know it, will continue to change

3:56

at an ever- faster and more dangerous

3:59

rate. In 2015,

4:01

global leaders met in Paris and

4:03

reached a landmark agreement to fight

4:05

climate change. And so, the Paris

4:08

Agreement was created. But

4:10

what does it mean?

4:12

The Paris Agreement's central aim is

4:14

to significantly reduce the risks

4:16

and impacts of climate change by

4:18

keeping a global temperature rise to

4:20

well below two degrees Celsius by

4:22

the end of the century. Thus,

4:25

nations need to pursue efforts to limit

4:27

the temperature increase even further to

4:30

1. 5 degrees Celsius.

4:32

So by the year 2100,

4:35

we need to stop the global temperature

4:37

from increasing by more than 1. 5

4:40

degrees Celsius. And that starts

4:43

with cutting carbon emissions right

4:45

now. We can't wait

4:47

until 2030 or even 2025.

4:50

Greenhouse gas emissions, of which carbon

4:52

dioxide is the biggest and perhaps best

4:55

known, come from burning fossil fuels.

4:57

That's coal, gas, and oil. These

5:00

greenhouse gases act like a blanket

5:02

around our planet. They're essential for life

5:04

to exist, but the more and

5:06

more greenhouse gases we pump into the

5:08

atmosphere, the thicker the blanket,

5:11

making Earth hotter and hotter.

5:14

We already see serious impacts now,

5:16

including threatening extinction for

5:18

one in six species globally. And

5:21

if we go beyond 1. 5 degrees, and especially

5:24

beyond two degrees Celsius, then we'll

5:26

experience some severe impacts.

5:30

Extreme weather, for example, and some

5:32

countries will experience extreme drought,

5:34

leading to crop failure and even making

5:37

parts of our planet uninhabitable. It's

5:39

not a pretty picture, but we can all

5:41

make a positive difference. Even

5:44

if all of the commitments under the Paris Agreement

5:46

are delivered, we're currently on track

5:48

for a rise of three degrees by

5:50

the end of the century. Countries

5:52

are making stronger commitments now and

5:54

stepping up ambition, but we've

5:56

still got some work to do.

5:59

Well, safe to say, we most certainly do.

6:01

So that's what went down in 2015.

6:05

Now, have we stuck to everything

6:07

we said then? I'm not entirely sure.

6:09

I think if you were to go away and maybe do some

6:11

digging, you'd maybe see that

6:13

not much has happened since then. But

6:15

we've got something coming up called COP26, and

6:18

we're hosting it in the UK this

6:20

year, in Glasgow to be precise.

6:23

Now, COP26 will be the biggest

6:25

summit the UK has ever hosted. It's

6:27

likely going to be the most significant

6:29

climate event since the 2015

6:32

Paris Agreement. Now we'll find

6:34

out about the progress that's been made since

6:36

the Paris Agreement and, hopefully,

6:38

there will be some new and much- needed

6:40

vital decisions on how to cut carbon

6:42

emissions and turn the tide on

6:44

the climate crisis. I don't know about you,

6:47

but I, for one, definitely

6:49

want to avoid going beyond a rise of 1.

6:51

5 degrees. Gareth,

6:53

it's pretty bleak if we don't

6:55

stick to the targets from the Paris Agreement, isn't

6:57

it?

6:57

As we've seen in recent years in this

7:00

country, in the US, in all parts

7:02

of the world, we've seen increasing levels

7:04

of extreme weather. As the climate

7:06

system becomes more unstable, we see

7:08

storms happening not just every

7:10

year, but several times a year. We're

7:13

seeing impacts on species.

7:15

As some animals and birds and

7:17

insects move to find food

7:19

or the temperature in the landscape have changed,

7:22

so it affects their ability to

7:24

breed and to survive. We're seeing,

7:27

and we'll increasingly see, sea

7:29

level rises as ice sheets

7:32

at the Poles melt. But we talk about

7:34

it now because it's not

7:36

doom and gloom. It's not a

7:38

given that this has to happen. We

7:40

have the time. We have the means.

7:43

We also need to be galvanized by the hope

7:45

that we can still tackle

7:47

this, we do still know how to tackle this, and we do still

7:49

have time.

7:50

Tell you what Gareth, you're made for this podcast.

7:53

Travel, I'm guessing, is one of the biggest

7:55

contributors to these carbon

7:57

emissions and greenhouse gases that we're talking about.

8:01

Yeah, I mean, here in the UK, transport

8:03

emissions, it's the single biggest contributing

8:06

factor. It's about 28% of the

8:08

emissions of the greenhouse

8:11

gas emissions here in the UK. Globally,

8:13

it's a bit lower, but it's still pretty high. It's 14% globally.

8:17

It's because in order to move most

8:19

of our means of transport, we

8:21

burn oil. The troubling thing with this

8:23

as well here in the UK is that we've been

8:25

getting to grips with emissions from power

8:27

generation here in the UK, but transport

8:29

hasn't been falling in the way it needs to.

8:31

So big one this, because it feels

8:34

like the minute this conversation is raised, we

8:36

go straight to the aviation industry. And

8:38

then everyone's saying, " Well, you shouldn't be flying."

8:41

Is there a balance that can be found?

8:42

One thing to say about that 28% is

8:45

actually very little of that is flying. That's

8:47

mostly our surface transport. Because of

8:49

the way that we count emissions

8:52

under the Paris Agreement, we actually only include

8:54

domestic aviation. But thinking

8:56

of many of the people who might be listening to this,

8:58

I don't think it's fair to say we all have

9:00

to stop flying. 1% of

9:03

people globally, 1% are

9:06

responsible for half of the aviation

9:09

emissions.

9:09

What?

9:10

So that means that there is a small number

9:12

of people doing an awful lot of flying,

9:15

flying very routinely, whether that's domestically

9:17

or internationally. And it's not

9:20

people going on one holiday

9:22

a year or one holiday every couple of years.

9:25

That is mad. Yeah. I mean,

9:27

as far as on a broader sense then when it comes

9:29

to our traveling and also aviation comes into

9:31

that, are the solutions out there

9:33

for us maybe to move towards

9:35

a more sustainable way of travel

9:38

as a country as a whole?

9:40

Firstly, it would be good if we had fewer cars on the roads

9:42

at all, because actually they take up a lot of space

9:45

and carry very few people. We need

9:47

to replace those cars with electric vehicles,

9:49

where we do need vehicles on the road. And we need them

9:51

to be powered by renewable electricity

9:54

because it's obviously no good putting coal- powered

9:56

electricity into your car. That's still emissions.

9:59

So, yes, we know what you

10:01

need to do to make a town or city

10:03

welcoming and safe for people to

10:06

walk and to cycle more. We could do with

10:08

getting smaller cars. Would

10:10

you believe, last year, globally,

10:12

SUVs, sports utility vehicles, these great

10:15

big tanks that people drive around

10:17

towns and cities, globally they were the

10:19

second biggest driver,

10:22

if you'll forgive the pun, behind the increase

10:24

in carbon emissions last year?

10:25

Wow.

10:26

Only the global power sector was a bigger

10:28

driver of the increase in emissions last year.

10:30

So yeah, we've got the solutions for surface transport,

10:32

much harder for aviation.

10:34

Who would you say mainly the responsibility

10:36

falls on to implement these

10:38

things that we've talked about, Gareth? Because speaking

10:40

from experience, and this was very recently, I

10:42

needed to get a new car. It was so

10:45

expensive for me to have an electric

10:47

car. I was looking at minimum 20 to 25

10:51

grand. I've tried to make the responsible decision

10:53

as the consumer, but the framework,

10:56

so to speak, wasn't in place for me to

10:58

make that decision. So where does the responsibility

11:01

fall?

11:02

It's a mixture. To some extent, obviously,

11:05

it falls to government to drive this

11:07

at the start. And then

11:09

business picks up the baton and

11:11

runs with it, and these things become affordable.

11:14

That's the pattern we see over and over.

11:16

We've seen it with renewable electricity.

11:18

So if we were having this conversation

11:20

just even a decade ago, there would have been people

11:22

scoffing at the idea that we would have had

11:24

a third of our electricity being generated from

11:27

renewables here in the UK. Actually,

11:30

what government did was it provided subsidy.

11:32

It provided the regulatory framework

11:34

and the policy. It sent really important

11:36

signals to the market that this was something that

11:39

was committed to. And that's what we

11:41

need to see with electric vehicles.

11:43

And hurray, we've just had one by government

11:45

saying, " We're going to ban the sale of

11:47

petrol and diesel cars in 2030. That's a huge signal

11:50

to the market to say, " Get your finger out,

11:52

make these vehicles, make them affordable

11:54

because otherwise, you haven't got a market in 10 years' time."

11:57

They need to do more of that to make it cheaper,

11:59

easier, and more

12:01

accessible.

12:01

What else can we be doing

12:04

as individuals, do you think? When

12:06

it comes to travel, what choices can we be making

12:08

to help make a difference?

12:10

The answer to any question of what we can do as

12:12

individuals comes down to our choices and

12:14

our voices. We have to raise our voices

12:16

to politicians about all of this. But yes,

12:19

there are choices we can make around

12:22

driving less. Cycling, walking,

12:25

that's a nice, easy solution if you live in a city,

12:27

particularly a city that is doing good stuff around

12:29

putting infrastructure in to make it safer.

12:31

Obviously, that's a lot harder out in rural areas

12:34

where there are much bigger distances. But

12:36

that's when it comes down to voices as well. You shouldn't

12:38

have to rely solely on owning

12:40

a great big car to get from A

12:42

to B because you don't live in a city.

12:44

There should be decent public transport provision.

12:47

And that's where it comes to our voices. But

12:49

not just raising your voice to

12:51

government and to businesses. The people who

12:53

are most influential in

12:56

our lives are our friends and family. So

12:58

talk to your friends about it, talk to your family about

13:00

it. That's how you have

13:02

a knock- on effect as well and help other people

13:05

to make changes and help other people to raise their voices

13:07

and to make their voices heard to politicians and to

13:09

businesses.

13:10

Thank you so much to the brilliant Gareth

13:12

Redmond- King from WWF- UK.

13:15

Now, I say it a lot here on Call

13:17

of the Wild and, actually, generally in my

13:19

day- to- day, but I say it because I wholeheartedly

13:22

believe in it: people power. Now,

13:24

we'll have more carbon- conscious tips for you at the end

13:26

of the podcast. And coming up,

13:29

don't forget, I'm going to be speaking to singer- songwriter,

13:31

Birdy, about her sustainable journey.

13:36

The climate crisis isn't something that's

13:38

happening in a few decades' time. People

13:40

are living through the changes and

13:42

the impacts of those changes right

13:44

now, for instance, those who rely on

13:46

regular seasons and weather, whether that

13:49

is for work or for the indigenous way of

13:51

life. This is having

13:53

devastating effects all around the

13:55

world. Here on Call of the

13:57

Wild, we reached out to people whose lives

13:59

have been directly impacted by the changing

14:01

climate. Now, I would like to introduce

14:04

to Call the Wild Martina Fjällberg,

14:06

who is a 21- year- old student studying

14:08

biology and geoscience and is

14:11

also a Sámi reindeer herder.

14:14

The Sámi people are indigenous to

14:16

Norway, Finland, Russia,

14:18

and Sweden, which is where Martina is

14:20

from. Now, I've learned, herding reindeer

14:23

is very much dictated by weather patterns.

14:25

But they are proving harder and harder to predict

14:28

for Martina and her family as she explains.

14:31

I grew up in a reindeer

14:33

herding family. It's been in my family for

14:36

centuries. Reindeer herding is a big

14:38

part of not only my

14:40

life but my whole family's life. First of

14:42

all, the reindeer, it's

14:44

an Arctic animal. During the winter,

14:46

this reindeer is down at the mountains

14:49

and gathering foods and stuff because there's more

14:52

food down in the forest.

14:54

But when it gets warmer and the

14:56

snow starting to melt, they move up to mountain

14:58

because they want to get relief from the heat

15:00

because, in the forest, it's much

15:03

more warmer on the treeless parts

15:05

of the mountain. And we can actually

15:07

see a difference in moving

15:09

patterns than we did. Because of the

15:11

seasons changing, because of climate change,

15:14

we see that the reindeer, when it

15:16

moves up the mountain or down it's

15:18

changing. So now, because

15:21

our lives revolve around

15:23

the reindeer, it's harder for us

15:25

to plan out.

15:28

For example, during the summer,

15:30

we gather the reindeers, and

15:33

we mark the reindeer calves. We

15:35

usually do this in the summer around

15:38

beginning of July. But now

15:40

we don't really know with as much

15:42

certainty as we did before when it's going to be

15:45

because of the seasons changing because of climate

15:47

change. So for most

15:49

of the reindeer herders, we have

15:51

different jobs and we do different things

15:54

because having reindeer herding as a sole income

15:56

is really hard today. So

15:59

when we're marking the reindeer calves, we have to

16:02

take time off work. And

16:04

that usually is something that

16:06

you have to say months in advance

16:08

when you're going to have to have time

16:11

off. But because we don't really

16:13

know for a week

16:16

in advance when we're going to mark the reindeer calves,

16:18

we can't do that. The reindeer calves are

16:21

born in the spring, in around May,

16:24

beginning of June. Because

16:26

of last year, it was really, really

16:29

cold in May, a lot

16:31

of reindeer calves didn't make it. A lot

16:33

of them died because it was so cold. I

16:36

felt quite down last year because

16:39

I had a significant amount

16:41

of less reindeer calves than I usually

16:44

do. The changes that I would like to see,

16:46

first of all, the biggest one is that people

16:48

actually start taking climate change seriously.

16:52

It's something that's happening now

16:54

and affecting me as a person now. I hear

16:56

a lot of people talk about it like it's

16:58

a future problem, but it's not.

17:00

And then one of the other things that's really

17:03

important in Sweden is

17:05

so ridiculous that it's 2021

17:08

but we still haven't gotten our rights

17:10

as an indigenous people in Sweden. The

17:13

message I would like everyone to listen

17:15

to is listen to indigenous people.

17:17

We have lived with nature for thousands

17:20

of years, and we are the

17:22

national caretakers of the land. We

17:24

know it like no other people

17:27

do. And we are so

17:29

deeply connected to the

17:32

nature that if nature is

17:34

hurting so are we as a people.

17:38

Massive thank you to Martina for sharing

17:40

her experiences. We have so

17:42

much to listen and learn from

17:45

indigenous communities like Martina's

17:47

all around the world. Alongside

17:50

slashing our emissions, nature

17:53

has a key role to play in our fight

17:55

back. Leading scientists estimate

17:57

that the Amazon rainforest absorbs over

18:00

one billion tons of carbon dioxide

18:03

per year. That's three times

18:05

the UK's emissions in 2018.

18:08

Clearly, we need to keep forests around

18:10

the world standing. But it's not just

18:12

forests and trees. For example,

18:14

it's estimated that seagrass could capture

18:17

carbon up to 35 times faster

18:19

than tropical rainforests. So

18:21

by restoring seagrass, we can help absorb

18:23

carbon and tackle climate change as

18:26

well as benefiting wildlife. And WWF

18:29

are already well on their way in doing this. They

18:31

are working to restore nature and tackle

18:33

the climate crisis. In the Amazon,

18:35

they have equipped communities with drones and other

18:37

equipment to monitor and protect land,

18:39

to help halt deforestation. They're

18:42

also working with partners to restore seagrass

18:44

around the UK. Plus,

18:46

they're putting pressure on governments and businesses

18:49

to cut greenhouse gas emissions and build

18:51

a greener future. And

18:53

we can help do the same. I'm

19:00

now joined by the talented singer and songwriter

19:03

Birdy. Birdy grew up in the countryside,

19:05

surrounded by nature, and it has been a huge

19:07

inspiration to her music. Recently,

19:10

she started to take steps towards living

19:12

and working more sustainably. So

19:14

my first question to Birdy was, when

19:16

did she first realize that we were living

19:18

with a changing climate?

19:20

I mean, obviously, at school that was something

19:22

we were taught about a little bit. We're taught

19:24

to recycle and to not create too

19:27

much waste.

19:27

Global warming.

19:27

Yeah, exactly. That's what it was. Pretty much that was it. But I feel like

19:31

it's been very recent that it's felt more

19:33

like a crisis. For me, it was

19:36

Greta Thunberg becoming this public figure

19:39

and suddenly realizing how urgent it is.

19:42

I guess more things, changes that have been happening

19:44

like plastic straws being banned, having

19:47

to pay for plastic bags, little things like that

19:49

that start to make us all be more aware. I think you

19:51

can start to feel really guilty when you feel

19:53

like you're not doing enough, and that almost

19:55

can have a negative effect because you just feel like, " Oh, well,

19:58

I don't know what to do, so I won't do anything." So

20:00

I think just doing small things like making

20:02

sure you're recycling or like I always do,

20:04

a lot of my shopping in

20:06

vintage shops. I prefer that anyway because

20:09

you get more interesting stuff, but I just think small things like that are

20:12

really good.

20:13

Yeah. Our last episode

20:15

was actually on fashion and fast fashion,

20:18

so you'd have been ticking a lot of the boxes

20:20

for our experts on the vintage shopping and

20:22

second- hand shopping. We're here talking

20:25

in general around climate but in particular focus

20:28

on travel. I guess the

20:30

elephant in the room, I feel for both of us,

20:33

you in particular as a touring musician, travel

20:36

is a big part of your work. Do

20:38

you feel that bit

20:41

of a battle particularly where you've maybe

20:43

become more understanding within this space

20:45

of going, " Gosh, that

20:47

is not great for the planet? I want to

20:50

be doing my bit, but I have to do it." It's

20:52

a tough place to find yourself in, I can imagine.

20:55

Yeah. I mean, I think just

20:58

being in lockdown actually and not being able to

21:00

travel has made us all more aware

21:02

of how much maybe we don't really need to

21:05

for a lot of things. I mean, I remember

21:07

for my first record, I traveled so

21:09

much, go to Paris a lot

21:12

just for a few interviews, which just is something

21:14

that you could definitely do from home.

21:16

Yeah.

21:17

With touring, obviously, it's really difficult because you have

21:20

to be flying and that's one of the

21:22

worst things that you can be doing. But I

21:24

think as long as you're planning your

21:27

routes a bit more carefully. That's something I'd

21:29

like to look at when I'm next touring is just

21:32

making sure you're not going back and forth too

21:34

much and making the most of your trips,

21:37

but it's really difficult. It's something we're all

21:39

starting to learn. It's hard because

21:41

we live in this world where we're so dependent

21:43

on flying and using plastic.

21:46

I think it's just adjusting and using

21:48

your time better and just

21:50

being more conscious, I think.

21:52

And I guess as well as compromising

21:55

in a little bit, and you said there about maybe

21:57

doing unnecessary trips

21:59

back and forth. Have you

22:01

found or looked at or found

22:03

within the last year any other places

22:05

in which maybe there can be compromises

22:08

made that aren't actually going to still impact though on

22:10

you releasing an album or going on tour?

22:13

Actually, last month, we did this live stream

22:15

concert, which was really

22:17

amazing. I mean, you don't get

22:19

the same energy from...

22:22

When you have an audience, that's the best feeling

22:24

ever. But it was really

22:26

fun to do something that was quite cinematic

22:29

and a bit different. And it showed

22:32

me that you can do other things and

22:34

maybe doing a little bit

22:36

more of that would be a good thing. Definitely, things

22:39

are starting to change. Even now releasing

22:41

this record or the merch, we had recyclable

22:44

vinyl, which is really cool. I've

22:47

been hearing about Billie Eilish touring and

22:49

how she won't allow any plastic on any

22:52

of her tours, which is so cool I

22:54

think. I

22:56

haven't actually toured for five years

22:58

now, but when I am going

23:00

to be touring again, I'd love to look into

23:02

doing a bit more of that.

23:04

Another one, which I think was probably one of the biggest

23:07

and boldest statements I've seen a musician make,

23:09

was about Coldplay saying

23:11

that they're not going to tour now until they can tour.

23:14

And it's going to be carbon neutral. I guess

23:16

if you've got someone like Coldplay making

23:19

a stance like that, that will

23:21

then inspire, do you think, not just the musicians,

23:23

but actually the management and the staff within

23:25

labels to maybe take note

23:27

and follow suit? Do you think they're also forthcoming

23:29

to the conversation willingness

23:32

to, " Yeah, we can all play

23:34

our part here."?

23:35

Yeah. I mean, I think we could be doing more, but

23:37

I think, yeah, it's got to be a group

23:39

effort and everybody's got

23:42

to be on the same page. But I feel

23:44

like there is change happening and definitely,

23:46

everyone's more aware, I think, which is great.

23:48

When you say that we feel that

23:50

they could do more, what little areas do you think

23:53

possibly there could be looking to improve

23:55

on?

23:56

I think stuff like with the merch, making

23:58

sure that's a standard thing. Also

24:01

with Billie Eilish, she did something really amazing

24:03

at her tours. I think she had eco domes

24:06

where people could come and her

24:08

fans could go and educate themselves

24:11

about the climate crisis, which is amazing.

24:12

Great.

24:13

Just cool ideas like that, that

24:15

we could be doing would be amazing.

24:18

I feel like with Birdy though, I think we'd be missing a trick if

24:20

we didn't do something around like maybe aviary, like

24:22

an aviary part-

24:23

Yeah that sounds good.

24:23

... or something. Just a load of birds around.

24:25

I love that idea. I'm definitely going to do that.

24:29

Yeah, I love that. If anyone on your label's listening

24:31

to this conversation now, make it happen. For

24:34

yourself, Birdy, you've amassed

24:36

such a following, and rightly so for your

24:38

music. Do you feel that responsibility

24:40

of wanting to almost

24:43

lead by example a bit or try

24:45

and inspire change to your followers?

24:47

Yeah. Well, I think we're all responsible

24:50

in doing that and just talking

24:52

to our friends. I do more and more, and it's

24:55

quite a recent thing for me. And that's something I'm still learning

24:58

and educating myself on how

25:00

to do that and making

25:02

the changes with myself first.

25:04

But I think, yeah, it's good to have a conversation about

25:06

it.

25:07

Are there any other kind of things that interest you or you

25:10

think, " I'd maybe like to give that a go to reduce

25:12

our carbon footprint."?

25:13

Well, I'm a bit guilty because I have

25:15

this old vintage car, which I

25:18

don't drive very much, and that's why I feel like it's okay

25:21

for now because I'm such

25:23

a nervous wreck. I literally would just drive to the

25:27

nearest town and back, and I'm like, " That's enough for

25:29

one day." But I would like

25:31

to maybe look at having an electric car if

25:34

I am driving more or just getting rid

25:36

of my car because I probably don't need it. I'm not

25:39

a good enough driver. But yeah, I think that's something I

25:42

could look at.

25:43

When looking to the future,

25:45

do you still feel quite hopeful and optimistic

25:48

about the future?

25:48

Yeah. Yeah, I do. That

25:52

didn't sound very convincing I'm sure.

25:52

The slight

25:54

quiver.

25:56

I mean, even this conversation is not

25:58

something that would have probably been happening a few years

26:00

ago, which is that's amazing.

26:03

The rise of people like Greta and

26:05

just to spread the message, especially to the younger

26:07

generation, just for it to be a subject

26:10

that can be talked about and

26:12

that people want to talk about is really

26:15

great, I think. It's gradual, but it is happening.

26:19

Thank you to the brilliant Birdy there.

26:21

What are the tangible things we can

26:23

do to cut down on carbon now?

26:26

As you know, if you've listened to earlier episodes,

26:28

WWF's app, it's called My Footprint, is

26:30

a great place to start if you're looking for some

26:33

inspiration to make a difference, to find

26:35

those tangible things that are well within

26:37

our power and means to do so. When

26:39

it comes to carbon, you

26:41

could calculate your footprint. Literally, check

26:43

your carbon consumption and find out about

26:45

the lifestyle changes you can make to

26:47

stop climate change and decrease your

26:50

footprint. You could go vehicle- free,

26:52

try traveling somewhere by bike, on foot,

26:54

or by scooter. Remember to turn

26:57

off. So simple, but so obvious,

26:59

wasting energy means more has to be produced,

27:01

which means burning more fossil fuels. So

27:03

one easy thing to do is turn off TVs,

27:06

charges, lights. Any electrical

27:08

item, when you're not using them, switch

27:10

them off. And that's not all, let's

27:12

hear from you, lovely lot, about your simple

27:15

but sustainable tips.

27:17

I'm a flexitarian. So when I do want to eat

27:19

meat, I go to my local butcher with my

27:21

own containers to avoid any packaging.

27:24

I limit myself to one international

27:26

flight every year.

27:28

Unfortunately, because I live in a flat, I can't

27:31

install things like solar panels. But

27:33

what I did do is make sure that my

27:36

energy provider provides my

27:38

flat with 100% renewable

27:40

energy so that I can play my part.

27:42

Thank you for sharing those. And remember,

27:44

if you're listening and going, " You know what, Cal? I've

27:47

got a top tip I'd like to share," send

27:49

it our way. It's very simple. You can just

27:51

voice note and send that voice note

27:53

to callofthewild@

27:56

wwf.org.uk. So please keep them coming

27:58

in. And you never know, you might just hear your

28:00

voice on Call of the Wild. And

28:05

there we have it. We've arrived at the end of

28:08

another episode. Thank you for

28:10

listening and joining me on this journey. And

28:12

a massive thank you to our guests, Gareth

28:15

Redmond- King, Martina Fjällberg,

28:17

and Birdy. Now, next time, I'm

28:19

sad to say it's our last episode

28:22

of the series. We're going to be looking at

28:24

rewilding, how we can put our green fingers

28:26

to the test. And of course, I'll

28:28

be joined by another special guest. But

28:31

if you can't wait that long, do not forget, there

28:33

is a bonus episode in two weeks'

28:35

time. It features more of my chat with

28:37

Birdy, which we couldn't fit into this episode.

28:39

So please do check out. It is well worth

28:42

your time. And if two weeks

28:44

is still too long, then don't worry, Cel's

28:46

got you covered. Just head over to YouTube because

28:49

WWF have a channel that is full of content

28:51

about the awesome work they do to combat

28:53

these issues we talk about in the Call of

28:55

the Wild. It's WWF- UK's YouTube

28:58

channel, and on there, you're going to find a playlist

29:00

of extra content called Call of the

29:02

Wild. This is a Fresh Air Production

29:05

for WWF. And please

29:07

do subscribe so that you don't miss an episode.

29:09

Plus, it really helps the podcast. The

29:12

wild is calling, it's time to act.