Poonam Bahal
Assistant editor, BBC South

As programme producer, I have overseen all of the coverage for our Earth Week special and it's been a real eye-opener to see just how many aspects of our everyday lives contribute to our carbon footprint.

The team has really embraced the challenge to reduce their carbon use and we have held many meetings to check that we've chosen the most sustainable option when gathering content for our programme.

I was determined to support the team. I walked to work today, I’ve made a vegetarian lunch and I'm wearing my favourite shoes from a local charity shop.

At home, we’ve been focusing on our water by having shorter showers - even the teenager! We walk to school and back and are having three meat-free days this week.

Gordon Adamson
Outside broadcast technical manager

On the face of it, this is one of the simplest outside broadcasts we’ve ever done. I mean, it’s only in the car park - it’s barely outside at all!

But don’t be fooled. Managing the engineering side of things has been complicated.

The tricky thing, when you’re consciously trying to reduce your carbon footprint, is being aware of the environmental impact of all the normal things you do. Every decision has to be scrutinised and justified, learning and adapting to eliminate that impact as much as possible.

The biggest challenge for us today is powering all the equipment needed to get us on air.

Through some careful planning, we’ve reduced our energy requirements to the absolute minimum for the day, switching off kit that we can manage without and doing things more efficiently, such as squeezing all the operations into one space - the director, production assistant, sound engineer, vision engineer and VT playout operator are all housed inside our modest satellite truck.

But the biggest saving comes from operating a hydrogen fuel cell system to provide all of our on-site power. This runs the truck’s technical equipment and charges the batteries for our cameras and lights. Its only by-product is water.

We haven’t got everything right today but what we’ve learned from this experience is a great starting point, helping us to be a much greener programme in the future.

Sue Paz
BBC South

BBC South Online's team leader Sue Paz is working from her home office in Dorset today.

When the shifts and schedule allow, a number of the team work from home to try to reduce our carbon footprint.

Katharine Da Costa
BBC health correspondent

Reducing food waste has been a big focus for us in our household.

We try to freeze things to help them last longer – even brown bananas are frozen and then used in cakes and smoothies.

I’ve switched to a hybrid car to help reduce my carbon emissions – I’d love an electric one but that’s still out of our price range for now.

I work from home a couple of days a week, which helps to reduce journeys to Oxford and back.

And we’ve decided to stay in the UK this year rather than flying abroad for our family holiday and have chosen an eco-friendly campsite which uses solar panels to heat the shower block.

We’re currently building an annexe at home and have been looking at ways to reduce our carbon impact like re-using roof tiles and investing in high-quality insulation.

We’re considering installing an air source heat pump when we renovate our main house and make use of the government’s boiler upgrade scheme.

We’d also love to install solar panels – but again it all comes down to money.

Image source, Getty Images

Human activities are causing world temperatures to rise, with more intense heatwaves and rising sea levels among the consequences.

Things are likely to worsen in the coming decades, but scientists argue urgent action can limit the worst effects of climate change.

Climate change is the long-term shift in the Earth's average temperatures and weather conditions.

Over the last decade, the world was on average around 1.2C warmer than during the late 19th Century.

It has now been confirmed that global warming exceeded 1.5C across the 12 month period between February 2023 and January 2024.

That followed 2023 being declared the warmest year on record.

The temperature increase was driven by human-caused climate change and boosted by the natural El Niño weather phenomenon.

Check out the BBC’s really simple guide to climate change here.

Simon Marks
BBC South

Image source, Simon Marks

I’ve fitted a solar panel to my camper van and it generates up to 280 watts, depending on the sun, of course!

That charges a battery, which powers all the lights in the living area of the van plus the fridge, which keeps my food and drinks cold.

I can charge my phone and laptop and listen to music on my bluetooth speaker.

In the three years since I fitted the solar panel I haven’t needed to plug into an electric hookup at all, which saves me money at campsites as well as doing a bit for the environment.

Image source, Simon Marks

Emily Ford
BBC South

Meet Bertie Biscuit - the friendly sprocker spaniel who is totally obsessed with water.

His latest favourite thing to do is drink straight from the water butt tap.

Last year, Southern Water paid me a visit to install this garden feature as a way to collect rainwater ahead of the summer.

It's proved a big hit with the dogs and is also very handy for watering the plants.

Of course, with all the wet weather we've been having it's pretty full right now, so bring on the sunshine!

James Ingham
BBC South Today

I’m loving my new water butt in the garden and I'm hoping it will reduce the amount of water we use this summer.

Climate scientists say there’ll be more heatwaves and drought here in future and, with a growing population, there will be more pressure on our water supplies.

In fact, by 2040 we’re predicted to need an extra 1.1 billion litres a day in England.

Water companies need to get better at reducing leaks, of course, and we’ll need to store more in reservoirs but there are things we can all do to reduce the pressure on supplies with wider benefits for the environment.

The water piped to my home comes from precious wildlife-rich chalk streams and they get stressed when too much is abstracted.

Reducing how much is pumped and treated will also help. My 140-litre water butt filled up in one day in March so there’s a ready supply of water I can use to keep my garden looking good this summer.

And I’m told plants much prefer rain water to anything that comes out of a hose so, green fingers crossed, my garden will be happy!

Dr Sam Mudie
University of Reading

Dr Sam Mudie, from the University of Reading, has been helping us look at ways we can all reduce our carbon footprint.

She explains how reducing our meat consumption could have a significant impact:

If you are an average meat-eating citizen of the developed west, it’s likely the food you eat is around 25% of your personal carbon footprint.

Its impact can’t be ignored - 14% of all emissions come from dairy and meat production, external.

Cutting down in this area can also save you money. It’s straightforward but it does take willpower - giving up or cutting down beef is a much tougher and more emotive issue than many others on today’s list.

But any action you take to reduce meat consumption is a good one for the planet and one of the most impactful you can make.

If you can’t bear to go strictly plant-based – just cut it down. Substitute pulses and beans to make your meat go further. Weight for weight, beef has 90 times the carbon footprint of peas.

Katharine Da Costa
BBC health correspondent

Changing what we eat and the way our food is produced, could help lower our carbon footprints, according to experts.

Here are Cherwell Collective founder Emily Connally's top tips for a climatarian diet.

Sophie Law
BBC Radio Oxford news

I decided to join the BBC’s salary sacrifice EV scheme towards the end of last year.

It was pretty easy to navigate the website and, within a week or two, I had ordered a Mini Cooper in gorgeous British Racing Green.

Extra special for me as it was built here in Oxford, the home of the Mini.

It arrived in January and I have loved every minute of getting used to driving and charging an EV. I’m saving at least £260 a month in fuel - and also saving those fumes from going into the atmosphere.

As I present the Breakfast Show, we got the listeners to christen it. It’s small and green… so it’s now called Petit Pois!

Jon Cuthill
BBC South Presenter

When it comes to reducing the size of my carbon footprint, it’s becoming clear time is not my friend.

Cutting the car out of the school run is fast turning the mornings into absolute chaos.

And throw in a 10-mile cycle into work, as the whole team endeavours to cut out as much carbon as possible ahead of tonight’s South Today, it’s all been a bit full on.

I arrived 10 minutes late for work and missed the morning meeting!

Here at BBC South, our camera crews have been particularly dedicated to the cause of reducing their carbon footprint - even when it comes to making a brew.

Cameraman Ian Da Costa used his electric car to boil the kettle so our team could stay cosy with a cuppa during filming.

Marcus Gaines
BBC South operations manager

The logistics of making this all happen has proved challenging, and enlightening.

From the fine detail of ensuring camera crews and reporters get to their locations in the most sustainable way, to working out how much energy the studio typically uses, it really has proved food for thought on how we can reduce our carbon impact.

Bafta had a rigorous application process in order for us to be Albert certified for sustainability, and it’s a testament to the whole team’s buy-in that we’ve obtained the award.

The Albert certification score for the special broadcast worked out at 83%, compared with a usual score of 76% for a typical South Today programme.

That equates to a 0.06 tonne reduction in carbon emissions.

The main studio at BBC Broadcasting House in Southampton will be switched off for tonight's live transmission - along with much of the broadcast gallery.

Instead, a satellite truck and a support van will provide the majority of the technical facilities used to broadcast the programme.

It means that rather than using an electricity-sapping video server, reports will be played off a laptop.

The only waste emission from the hydrogen generator the programme will use is water. While hydrogen itself is considered a clean fuel, the process of making it usable also requires energy.

This energy can either use renewable sources like wind, water or solar, known as green hydrogen, or natural gas, with the resulting carbon emissions captured and stored underground, known as blue hydrogen.

Staff have been travelling by bike, on foot or used Electric Vehicles (EVs), and some production staff have been able to work from home, reducing carbon emissions from vehicles.

The programme will feature an overview of the issues surrounding climate change, as well as offering ideas on simple, inexpensive changes individuals can make in their everyday lives.

South Today had already taken steps to improve its impact on the environment - including using rechargeable batteries for items such as radio microphones and presenter talkback units.

Good afternoon and welcome to our BBC South low carbon Live Page.

South Today is broadcasting a special edition this evening, focusing on reducing its own carbon footprint.

The programme's outside broadcast segment will be powered by a hydrogen, rather than diesel, generator.

The show's production methods have been awarded Albert certification for sustainability.

The Bafta-run scheme offers a carbon calculator used by broadcasters and media organisations, including the BBC, in a bid to help the industry tackle climate change.

Stay with us as we bring you updates from the programme and a behind-the-scenes look at what TV, radio and online staff across BBC South get up to reduce their own carbon footprints.