We will all bear the brunt of climate change without a rapid transition to renewables. But as we move through the energy transition, communities hosting new power generation facilities will see the landscape around them change. To ensure that the benefits of the energy transition are shared by all, the Scottish government worked with wind…
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The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) has a 100 year history of mapping the world’s oceans. John Nyberg, technical director, explains how the organisation’s role in understanding our oceans is evolving. Now, rather than just recording ocean depths for mariners, the organisation is setting standards for how we record environmental data. In Italy, this approach is…
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TreVaughn Ellis is a recent graduate of American University, and winner of the Scott A. Bass Outstanding Scholarship Award. During his studies, he interned as a researcher with the National Marine Fisheries Service, part of NOAA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in Alaska. In this episode, he describes his research in Alaska, where…
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Young people have the most to lose from climate change, but are not given a voice or a vote in how the crisis is tackled. In this episode, Jon Baston-Pitt speaks to three young women, Raina Ivanova, Chloe McKenna and Paula Garcia Rodriguez, who are taking action to make sure their voices—and those of their…
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How will innovation impact the future of the offshore industry? In this fourth episode of the Planet Beyond IPF mini-series, recorded live at the IPF conference in New Orleans, we discuss the cutting-edge innovations shaping the burgeoning offshore wind industry in the US. Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by guests Deanne Hargrave of Atlantic Shores Offshore…
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In this final episode of our Ocean Decade mini-series, released on World Oceans Day, we focus on the last of the Barcelona conference’s five plenary sessions, Resources and partnerships for the Ocean Decade. In the plenary, Alfredo Giron moderated a panel discussing collaborations in support of the Decade’s goal of promoting ‘the science we need,…
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How can we map, model and analyse the impacts of climate change and mitigation actions on oceans and coasts around the world? In this episode, a supplement to Planet Beyond’s Ocean Decade miniseries, Jon Baston-Pitt talks to leading marine scientists about the development of ocean forecasting, and the more recent development of The Digital Twins…
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In this second full-length episode recorded live at the UN Ocean Decade conference we hear from participants in the second plenary session of the event, on Science and Solutions for a Sustainable and Resilient Ocean Economy. In the session—and in their conversation with Jon Baston-Pitt—Claire Jolly, from the OECD; Sergi Tudela, from Catalonia’s regional government;…
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The UN Ocean Decade conference took place in Barcelona in April 2024. The Planet Beyond team was there, recording episodes at our on-site studio. During the conference, we released three short episodes looking at each day’s agenda. And we recorded interviews for five long episodes that will run every fortnight, up until Ocean Day, June…
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What will be the future of our planet? Dakota Peebler, an 18-year-old leader in ocean conservation, emphasises the crucial role of collective youth action in shaping a better future for our planet. Dakota, co-founder of Heirs To Our Ocean, shares her incredible journey from childhood fascination to leading a movement for ocean preservation. She discusses…
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This week, the Planet Beyond team are recording live at the 2024 Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. At the event, delegates will focus on delivering essential science for sustainable oceans. This episode is the first of three shorts to be released during the Ocean Decade Conference, to bring you the sounds and ideas from the…
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In a little over a week, Planet Beyond will be recording live at the UN Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. In the run up to the event, we’re considering the value of oceans. In our last episode, we looked at the value of the ocean as a way to store carbon and mitigate the effects…
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We need to manage our coast lines to reduce the impact of climate change. But coastal areas, and mangroves in particular, also offer one of the most effective naturebased mechanisms for capturing carbon. At COP 28 in the UAE last November, the importance of the oceans to climate change was a key focus, and the…
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Jeff Richardson is an experienced Remote Operations Centre Manager however, we spoke to him for this episode not about his job but what it is he does in his spare time: he is a dedicated volunteer Coast Guard rescue officer. He shares with us his experiences, and explains what drives him to take on two…
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As we travel through the energy transition, we must rapidly develop new forms of propulsion that reduce or eliminate carbon emissions. This has been a key driver of research and development at vessel builder SEA-KIT International. Jon Baston-Pitt first spoke to SEA-KIT CEO Ben Simpson almost two years ago, for Episode 16 of the Planet…
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Helen Stewart is a hydrographer in the coastal resilience and ocean science division at Fugro. In this shortcast we talk about her recent keynote for the International Hydrographic Review which focuses on the importance of soft skills when working in a scientific field. Developing these skills isn’t something that always came easily to Helen but…
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Hydrography as an industry emanated from the wellspring of naval research, and ever since it has been a male dominated field. The field studies and describes the physical features of oceans, seas and other bodies of water and often requires work offshore. Attitudes surrounding women working offshore have historically restricted opportunities for women to gain…
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Denise Swanborn is an expedition manager with Nekton. She recently completed her PhD in marine science, at Oxford. In this episode, recorded on International Women’s Day, she talks to Jon Baston-Pitt about her own path to marine exploration, and describes the excitement and wonder of a career spent exploring the depths. Denise’s work has taken…
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The best preparation is often to make ourselves as adaptable as possible, to be resilient to changes in circumstance. That is a mantra to Mark Sinclair, better known as Captain Coconut, who we last spoke to in Episode 4: Learning from Adventure. The intrepid Coconut thought he had failed to traverse the globe in his…
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Good intentions alone will not secure the future of our seas. More than 90% of trade moves across the ocean, and the global population eyes the marine environment as an increasing source of food. Added to this, a range of new activities are forecast to increase the ocean economy from $1.5 trillion in 2010 to…
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For much of history the seas have loomed impossibly large and untouchable. This perception is at odds with the vulnerability of ocean environments. Now, following decades of abuse by a growing human society, a realisation has been reached. The degradation of the world’s oceans has led to several looming crises: plastic pollution, warmer waters and…
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This is an episode about filling in the gaps. Gaps in our knowledge of the largest environment on the planet, the ocean. Although it is not quite true that we know less about the ocean floor than outer space, it is still the closest thing we have to an alien environment on Earth. And that…
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From the US and Korea to Scotland and Portugal exciting things are happening in the world of wind energy. Instead of building offshore wind farms close to shore, the successful deployment of floating platforms for turbines is opening the vast ocean to renewable energy development. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) predicts commercial deployment of…
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An adventurous spirit in people has made many successful organisations what they are today. To be truly great, we often find these people are guided by a moral compass, possessing core values that provide that relentless pointer to the right way, even when all plans have turned on their head. Fugro’s hydrographic director Mark Sinclair…
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