Q+A: The carbon footprint of your tech and AI

From The Climate Question by BBC World Service

May 10, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the carbon footprint of technology and AI, featuring a panel that answers listener questions.

What’s the carbon footprint of streaming your favourite shows or doing an AI search? How vulnerable are river estuaries to climate change? Plus, are you a climate optimist or pessimist? Graihagh Jackson and her panel answer your questions. The panel are Justin Rowlatt, BBC climate editor; Akshat Rathi, senior climate reporter for Bloomberg News and host of Bloomberg's Zero podcast; and Caroline Steel, presenter of BBC CrowdScience. Got a question or comment for the next listeners' show? You can email us at theclimatequestion@bbc.com or leave a WhatsApp message at + 44 8000 321 721 Production team: Diane Richardson and Grace Braddock Sound Engineers: Ben Andrews and Tom Brignell Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Simon Watts Picture Credit: ljubaphoto via Getty Images

People in this episode

Host: Graihagh Jackson

Guests: Justin Rowlatt, Akshat Rathi, Caroline Steel

Topics covered

carbon footprint
technology
climate change
streaming
AI
environmental impact

Keywords

carbon footprint
streaming
AI search
climate change
river estuaries
climate optimism
climate pessimism

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC, Bloomberg News, BBC CrowdScience