How can rewilding help combat climate change?
From The Inquiry by BBC World Service
March 17, 2026 · 24 min
About this episode
The episode explores how rewilding can contribute to combating climate change and its effects on biodiversity.
Rewilding, or letting nature take care of itself, can restore stability to damaged ecosystem components which support life on earth, like fungi, bacteria, vegetation, insects and animals. But there's now a wider discussion to discover what it’s capable of on a wider scale. International agreements for reducing the impact of climate change tend to set global targets. However, individual governments decide how to work towards meeting those goals at a national level. Some rewilding initiatives improve biodiversity, but it can have negative impacts too. This week on The Inquiry, we’re asking ‘How can rewilding help combat climate change?’ Contributors: Carolina Soto-Navarro, head of Wilder Nature at Rewilding Europe Brendan Fisher, professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, at University of Vermont, US David Nogues Bravo, professor in biodiversity, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Steve Carver, professor of rewilding and wilderness science, University of Leeds, UK Presenter: Charmaine Cozier Producers: Jill Collins and Daniel Rosney Researcher: Evie Yabsley Editor: Tom Bigwood Technical Producer: Cameron Ward Production Management: Phoebe Lomas and Liam…
People in this episode
Host: Charmaine Cozier
Guests: Carolina Soto-Navarro, Brendan Fisher, David Nogues Bravo, Steve Carver
Topics covered
- rewilding
- climate change
- biodiversity
- ecosystems
- environmental science
Keywords
- rewilding
- climate change
- biodiversity
- ecosystems
- environment
- nature
- sustainability
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Rewilding Europe, University of Vermont, University of Copenhagen, University of Leeds
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