Business Daily

Greenhouse gas levels have never been higher. If we're to limit global warming, businesses have a crucial role to play because they operate in sectors that need to radically change, like energy, transport and finance.Thousands of company bosses are touching down in Dubai for this year's COP28 climate change talks. But environmentalists claim many businesses are not acting fast enough. They're increasingly concerned about the growing number of fossil fuel companies attending these summits. Are they right to be worried?(Picture: COP28 venue ahead of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Expo City Dubai. Credit: Getty Images)Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Lexy O'Connor

It’s the world’s largest user of coal fired energy, and the biggest polluter. However, China is also the world’s biggest producer of green energy. How can it reconcile the two and keep its next zero promises?Presenter: Rahul Tandon Producer: Lexy O'Connor(Image: Thermal power and solar power in Shanghai. Two power generation methods in one photo. Credit: Getty Images)

It’s the week of the Climate Change Conference or COP28, and as leaders from around the world meet in the UAE to talk about how to tackle global warming, we take a look at one urgent issue: air pollution. According to World Health Organisation data, nearly seven million lives are lost prematurely each year due to harmful air. In this edition. Devina Gupta explores the air problem affecting major cities in Asia - to the cities of Delhi, Lahore, Taipei and Jakarta - to find out how lives and livelihoods are being impacted, and what can be done. (Picture: The Swaminarayan Akshardham temple under a thick layer of smog in Delhi, India. Credit: Harish Tyagi/Shutterstock)Presented and produced by Devina Gupta.

Spain is trying to position itself as the centre of renewable energy production in Europe, particularly in green hydrogen. The country already boasts one of the first centres worldwide where green hydrogen is produced. But while it rushes headlong with several projects in the pipeline, we examine the economic viability and the impact of producing green hydrogen.(Image: A green hydrogen manufacturing facility. Credit: Iberdrola)Presented and produced by Ashish Sharma

We find out why he's a controversial appointment for the COP28 presidency.Sultan Al Jaber’s appointment has been widely questioned because he’s also the boss of Abu Dhabi’s state oil company Adnoc. But supporters point to his work as founder of the green energy giant Masdar.Is he compromised or uniquely qualified?We speak to people who’ve interviewed him, worked with him, and can give us the inside track.Presenter: Sam Fenwick Producer: Lexy O'Connor(Image: Sultan Al-Jaber. Credit: Getty Images)

They are the cables that run along the sea bed to move power where it’s needed for a cheaper price. Business Daily’s Rick Kelsey goes to the site of The Viking Link - the longest one ever built - just before it goes live between the UK and Demark. We’ll be hearing what these cables may do for our electricity costs and how safe they are from sabotage. Rebecca Sedler Managing Director for NG Interconnectors tells us how it will save people money, and engineer Oliver Kitching spent four weeks on the cable laying vessel at sea. We also here from the Danish engineers who often have too much power available, plus Dhara Vyas from Energy UK discusses concerns around sabotage.Presented and produced by Rick Kelsey.Image: The Viking power cable. Credit: National Grid)

Kimchi, the tangy fermented vegetable dish, is now being made and sold around the world.South Korea’s kimchi export value has risen dramatically in the past few years, going far beyond Asia. And it's consumed by not only overseas Koreans but by the locals too.While kimchi remains a distinctly Korean dish, in recent years, those with little to no connection to the country have been producing and selling kimchi.What is behind the rise?In this edition, David Cann looks into the growing popularity of the dish; speaking to kimchi experts, traders and producers.Presented and produced by David Cann.(Picture: Kimchi being made at a traditional market in Seoul, South Korea. Credit: Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji)

When is a diamond really a diamond? When it’s been formed miles underground a billion years ago, or when has it been created in a laboratory, under temperatures close to the heat of the sun? The answer is – both are true. They look and behave exactly the same, but they are very different in price. The lab-grown diamonds are marketed as kinder to the environment, and they are far cheaper - and that’s led to concern about whether the two kinds have been mixed together, with man-made stones passed off as natural. So, what is the industry doing to give consumers confidence? (Picture: Close up of man putting engagement ring on girlfriend. Credit: Getty Images)Presenter: Lesley Curwen Producer: Barbara George

A few years ago you could have assumed all diamonds had been dug out of the ground – but now it’s true that some of them have been created, at unbelievably high temperatures, in just a matter of weeks. In the first of two Business Daily programmes about the evolving diamond market, Lesley Curwen heads to the glamorous jewellery district of Hatton Garden in London – to see how the jewellery world is being re-shaped by the mass production of laboratory-made stones.We hear from India how they’re created in temperatures as hot as the sun - and talk to one of the world’s biggest jewellery brands about why they are using only man-made diamonds. We also look at claims that man-made diamonds are the green and ethical choice.(Picture: Tweezers holding a diamond. Credit: Getty Images)Presenter: Lesley Curwen Producer: Barbara George

The South African former pro rider set up his cycling team in 2007. As MTN Qhubeka they became the first-ever African registered team to ride the Tour de France.He talks about the challenges of putting together a team from scratch - and the steep learning curve he faced moving from cycling to managing.After a successful stint on the world stage, a combination of financial and sponsorship problems lead to the team, which by then had gone through multiple name changes, being disbanded in 2021.Doug Ryder has now put a new team together – we catch up with him at the Q36.5 Pro Cycling HQ in the Netherlands.Produced and presented by Matthew Kenyon(Image: Doug Ryder. Credit: BBC)

There are two candidates: one is the current economy minister who has a wealth of experience in power; the other is a maverick libertarian economist who wants to ditch the country’s currency, the peso, and strip the central bank of its ability to print money.We speak to his senior economic advisor, and also to a wine producer from the western province of Mendoza, who tells us about the challenges of doing business in a country with two exchange rates, severe restrictions on imports, a heavy tax burden and a shrinking economy.And we speak to voters in Buenos Aires about what they want from their next president in a nation which seems to lurch from one economic crisis to the next.Picture: Composite image of Javier Milei (Credit: Luis Robayo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) and Sergio Massa (Credit: Tomas Cuesta/Reuters) in front of an Argentinian flag (Credit: Carl Recine/Reuters)Presented and produced by Gideon Long

We’re looking ahead to the meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in San Francisco – the first time the two leaders will have met in 12 months. Diplomatic ties between Washington and Beijing have deteriorated this year, with tensions rising over Taiwan and the South China Sea. Meanwhile, there’s been a tit-for-tat trade spat over semiconductors and raw materials. As the presidents meet on the side lines of the APEC summit, Vivienne Nunis takes stock of the relationship between the world’s two largest economies.Produced and presented by Vivienne Nunis.(Image: US President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping meet at the G20 Summit in Bali on November 14, 2022. Credit: Getty Images)

Some owners are converting their vehicles into EVs. The idea is to boost the performance of these cars and make them ready for a green future. The process is not cheap - it requires specialists who can retain the vintage value of these cars while fitting them with a modern electric engine. Critics feel that such a transition takes away the emotional and engineering legacy of these vehicles. So we travel across the UK to find out about the challenges and the future of this niche business that is helping classic cars go electric.Produced and presented by Devina Gupta.(Image: 'Isetta', owned by Aleks Hughes which has been converted to electric. Credit: Richard Heeley, Bite the Hand)

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 saw millions of Ukrainian women and children flee to safety; causing massive upheaval and hitting the economy hard.For the women who have stayed, their lives have been transformed; many have taken on new roles, like Tetiana, who is now working underground in a coal mine, and Evgeniya, who is now a sniper on the frontline.Others, like Alina Kacharovska, have managed to grow their businesses; in this case, shoes and accessories, or are stepping into leadership positions, like Yulia Burmistenko, in the crisis group at energy company D-Tek.In this edition of Business Daily, we also hear from Iryna Drobovych from the Ukrainian Women’s Congress, and Yuliya Sporysh, founder & CEO of NGO Divchata, on how the war could change things for gender equality in Ukraine.(Image: Tetyana Ustimenko, manager of underground installations at DTEK. Credit: DTEK)Presented and produced by Clare Williamson

The Argentinian-American tech entrepreneur moved to the US in 1997 and carved out a career in the corporate world before breaking free and setting out on her own. In late 2020, the remote working company TransparentBusiness, which she co-founded 12 years earlier, achieved a $1bn valuation. Now she continues to push for gender and racial equality in the workplace, is an investor on the TV show Unicorn Hunters, and has also established a new asset-backed cryptocurrency. She explains her journey, the setbacks she’s faced along the way and opens up about what keeps her motivated.Presenter/producer: Sam Clack(Image: Silvina Moschini. Credit: Dasha Horita)

Fears are growing for the future of the country's bars - especially in rural areas.In less than 20 years almost a quarter of Irish pubs have closed, many of them businesses which have been run by the same family for generations. RRussell Padmore travels across the Emerald Isle to hear how the closure of pubs is a setback for rural communities, but also a worry for the country’s tourism industry. We hear from owners of pubs in County Donegal, a beer brewing company and a hospitality sector expert in Dublin, and a tourism marketing advisor.Presenter: Russell Padmore(Image: A closed pub sign. Credit: Getty Images)

There is a growing debate in the US about the caste system - an ancient social ranking system where the community you are born into determines what kind of job you do, who you marry, and much more. The caste system in India dates back over 3,000 years and divides Hindu society into different social strata. In many South Asian countries, it is outlawed. But members of the South Asian diaspora in the US say this type of caste bias persists, and there is often very little protection at workplaces against it.For the community, opinions are divided. Seattle in Washington was the first city to ban discrimination based on caste. But the fight continues for activists in California, where a bill that sought to ban discrimination was vetoed in October. Opponents called it a "divisive bill" that "implicitly singles out" South Asians.In this edition of Business Daily, Devina Gupta speaks to workers who have experienced such discrimination, and explores some of the challenges for lawmakers seeking to ban it.(Image: A grou

We travel to South America to meet the Chinese migrants who are making their way to the United States using an unexpected route - the established migrant trail through South and Central America to the southern border with Mexico. Citing economic challenges at home - and using inspiration from social media - a growing number are making this perilous trek. Reporter Shawn Yuan travels along the route speaking to migrants about their journey and their aspirations for the future. Presenter: Shawn Yuan Producer: Shawn Yuan, with additional production from James Graham(Image: Chinese migrants wait to get inside a bus to continue their route to the US. Credit: Getty Images)

The Saudi Pro League has attracted some of the top players from around the world - with transfer fees and salaries amounting to millions of dollars.We travel to Saudi Arabia to look at the country's ambitious plan to become a global football powerhouse - is it an economic move or simply sportswashing?With Saudi Arabia now it's looking set to be confirmed as the host of the World Cup in 2034, we look at its relationship with football.Presenter: Sameer Hashmi(Image: Saudi football club Al Hilal welcomes Brazilian football star Neymar with an introductory ceremony at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on August 19, 2023. Credit: Getty Images)

Have you tried learning a language online? We explore the growth of language learning platforms with Babbel CEO Arne Schepker, and how the Covid pandemic lead to an increase in learning digitally.Mr Schepker explains how more international working and personal relationships has led to an increase in demand. And how smartphones and the internet have changed that age-old aspiration of gaining fluency in another language.Presenter: Dougal Shaw(Image: Arne Schepker. Credit: BBC)