Depending on who you ask, AI could usher in a green utopia – or the apocalypse. Between those two extremes is a much less hypothetical reality: the technology’s huge impact on our environment now. But tech leaders like NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang suggest it's all worth it, because AI can solve climate problems in the future. So when it comes to emissions cuts, what’s AI done for us lately? And what’s at stake for the climate as more and more chatbots come online?

Guest names:

Ketan Joshi, climate writer, analyst and advocate

Another What On Earth? episode you might like: Will Alberta data centres really curb their water use?

Background reading:

Could AI really 'kill all humans'? Breaking down the dire warnings about the technology's existential risk

What's behind the growing backlash toward AI data centres?

Have you got something to say about this episode? Email us at earth@cbc.ca

This episode includes a clip from the Ezra Klein Show, published by the New York Times, September 2026.

When a meteorologist took a job in Iowa, he was excited to make his forecasts matter to viewers by bringing in climate impacts that were relevant to their lives, like rising costs and energy independence. But then the backlash began, escalating to a death threat.

He's not the only one. At climate week in New York City, a group of meteorologists gathered to share stories about speaking to often polarized audiences. When facts become political, how can climate change's frontline communicators stick to the science?

Guests:

John Morales is the Founder & Lead Meteorologist at ClimaData, a weather consulting firm

Chris Gloninger is a meteorologist and senior climate scientist with the Woods Hole Group

Background reading:

The Weatherman Who Tried to Bring Climate Science to a Red State

I’ve Been a Meteorologist for 40 Years. Here’s Why I Got Emotional About Hurricane Milton.

Other What On Earth? Episodes you might like:

Is it going to get harder to forecast hurricanes in Canada?

Have you got something to say about this episode? Email us at earth@cbc.ca

As parliament gets back in session, there’s a lot going on: a trade war, talk of Alberta separation, and international alliances being redrawn. Prime Minister Mark Carney has been clear: he doesn’t think the old climate plan he inherited from the Trudeau government holds up to Canada’s new reality.

So, where does climate fit in what Carney calls the next “world order?” Two of our political journalists break down what we know so far, and what they’re watching for next.

Guests:

• David Thurton is a senior reporter with CBC’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa
• Aaron Wherry is a senior writer with CBC’s parliamentary bureau in Ottawa

Video:

Are Canada’s climate plans cooked?

Other What On Earth? episodes you might like:

Critics say the math isn’t mathing on Ottawa’s climate plans

Is Canada really a climate leader?

Background reading:

Liberals remove layer of review process for energy projects, backing off bypassing at-risk species protections

Canadians should prepare for a 5 C hotter future, report warns

Carney says Trudeau-era climate plan was 'too expensive' and 'divisive'

Have you got something to say about this episode? Email us at earth@cbc.ca