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The Next Climate Challenge – Turning Pledges into Policy

It’s been dubbed 'a health insurance policy for the planet' by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, but will the promises made in Paris amount to real changes worldwide?

It’s been dubbed 'a health insurance policy for the planet' by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, but will the promises made in Paris amount to real changes worldwide? 48 hours after the COP 21 agreement, some prominent green activists have voiced their scepticism. Dieter Helm is Professor of Energy Policy at Oxford University - we asked him to weigh up the diplomatic successes and the challenges still to come.

For many months, China has been building new artificial islands in the middle of the South China Sea, causing tension and controversy in the region. The Spratley Islands are contested territory and China’s new land contains runways and military facilities. So far no journalists have succeeded in visiting the area or filming what is going on there - until now. Our correspondent Rupert Wingfield Hayes used a small civilian aircraft to fly into China's new self-declared security zone.

Are you worried about how your charity donations are spent? A report this week claimed that one in five of the biggest British charities spend less than half of their donations on good works. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations tells us this is simply not the case.

As the world prepares for the launch of the latest Star Wars instalment, our reporter Elizabeth Hotson has been finding out how much people are willing to pay for memorabilia from the films.

Joining us for a special chat is Melanne Verveer, US Global Ambassador for Women and author of the book ‘Fast Forward: How Women can Achieve Power and Puropse’. We’re also joined by David Moser, Academic Director at the CET Chinese Studies programme at Beijing Capital Normal University.

(Photo: The Earth surrounded by smoke to illustrate global warming, at COP 21 in Paris. Credit: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images)

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50 minutes

Last on

Tue 15 Dec 2015 01:06GMT

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  • Tue 15 Dec 2015 01:06GMT

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