21st Century Challenges

The Thames Barrier

Find out more about the Thames
Barrier, which protects over 1.2m
people from the risk of tidal flooding
in London

Meet the panel for ‘Britain’s population time-bomb’

Read the biographies of the panel for 'Britain's population timebomb' event in June 2009. Angela Eagle MP, George Magnus,and Samira Ahmed

Increasing cloud reflectivity

Professors John Latham and Stephen Salter have designed a fleet of ships that could pump fine particles of sea-water into clouds

Meet the panel for ‘Engineering our climate’

Read the biographies of the panel for 'Engineering our climate' event. Prof David Keith is an internationally renowned environmental scientist, based at Calgary Univeristy, Canada and Dr Paul Johnston, Head of Science Unit for Greenpeace International

Britain’s ageing population

Read an introduction to the challenges and benefits of Britain's ageing population.

Why low migration levels threaten the UK’s economic and social health

The falling fertility rate and an ageing population mean too little immigration may turn out to be a bigger problem for the UK than too much migration.

Majority are resigned to working longer after pension collapse

The majority of Britons accept they will be forced to work beyond 65 after watching the value of pensions collapse. Six in ten said they realised they would have to stay in jobs longer to save up more money, a poll shows.

Carbon capture technology tested

New carbon capture technology is being tested for the first time in the UK on a working coal-fired power station.

Rebound effect will raise fossil fuel use

Terry Barker, director of the Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research, predicts that by 2030, half the carbon emission savings gained from more fuel-effi-cient transport, buildings and industry will be cancelled out by a corresponding rise in consumption of fossil fuels.

Baby-boom workers become pension aristocrats

Workers over 50 in white collar, management roles have the most valuable pensions, paying two-thirds of their final salary

The pros and cons of geoengineering

Geoengineering solutions to curb global warming may offer advantages in combating temperature rise, but could also significantly damage the earth’s eco-systems, climate scientists say in a new study published recently in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Britain’s population time-bomb? The challenges and opportunities of an ageing society

Polish ‘exodus’ grinds to halt

It is five years since EU enlargement brought a wave of Poles and other eastern European migrant workers to a Britain that was booming. But the recession has not resulted in a mass exodus.

800,000 homes face flood risk, warns climate change report

Twice as many British homes will be at risk of flooding than previously thought because of the impact of climate change on sea levels, according to a report by government-appointed experts.

More will need to work beyond 65 as Wales’ population ages, suggests expert

Wales has to wake up to the challenge of an ageing workforce with more than 40% of the population likely to be aged 50 and over by 2031.

Every British home to be powered by offshore wind

Every home in Britain will be powered with electricity generated by 7,000 new wind turbines around the coast, under government plans.

No 10 denies ‘housing cash row’

Downing Street has denied reports that there is no agreement over funding for Gordon Brown's plan to build an extra 20,000 affordable homes in two years.

The end of retirement

Demography means virtually all of us will have to work longer. That need not be a bad thing

Just add lime (to the sea) – the latest plan to cut CO2 emissions

Putting lime into the oceans could stop or even reverse the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere, according to proposals unveiled at a conference on climate change solutions in Manchester today. Cquestrate is one of a number of so-called "geo-engineering schemes" that have been proposed to intervene in the Earth's systems in order to tackle climate change.

The Manchester report

The idea is one of 20 radical solutions to the threat of global warming to be proposed during presentations at a conference in Manchester this weekend

End of retirement age signal

The government has brought forward by a year a review of the default retirement age of 65.

Government to map low-carbon road

A huge expansion of wind power, home insulation and "smart" electricity meters are among measures being planned to build the UK's low-carbon future. Ministers hope their Carbon Transition Plan will help them meet 2020 targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and expanding renewable energy.

Social care green paper: reaction in quotes

The government has set out its blueprint for reforming care for older and disabled people. Key figures in the social care sector give their response

Four sites to become ‘eco towns’

The locations of four new "eco-towns" have been announced as part of scaled-down government plans. They are Rackheath, Norfolk; north west Bicester, Oxfordshire; Whitehill Bordon, East Hants; and the China Clay Community near St Austell, Cornwall.

Digital divide in the UK?

Importing goods, exporting drought?

October 2009

George Alagiah chairs a discussion with Robin Farrington, WWF and Andy Wales, SAB Miller on the scale of global water consumption needed to produce what we use and consume and the dramatic impact it has around the world.

Watch the talks

Martha Lane Fox: fixing the holes in Britain’s net

As the Digital Inclusion Task Force's 'champion', web entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox is charged with taking the disconnected online. But is it the right solution?

Government opens data to public

An ambitious new website that will open up government data to the public will launch in beta, or pilot, form in December. Data.gov.uk has been developed by Sir Tim Berners Lee, founder of the web, and Professor Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton.

Ageing Britain: number of 85-year-olds will more than double

Official population projections show the number of people aged 85 will rise from 1.3 million last year to 3.3 million by 2033. The Office for National Statistics figures also show that that on current trends, there will be soon be fewer than three people of working age to each pensioner.

The internet and the ‘e-solated’

A decade ago most of us had never used the internet – now we can't imagine life without it. Actually, some of us can: there are 10 million people in the UK still without a connection. Are they, Tim Adams asks, losing out economically and culturally? Below, we ask four web refuseniks to go online to see how their lives would change

People may have to go vegetarian to save planet says Lord Stern

Meat wastes water, creates greenhouse gases and could become as socially unacceptable as drink-driving

UK to embrace nuclear says Ed Miliband

Ed Miliband has said the UK cannot afford to "say no" to nuclear power as he prepares to announce plans to fast-track a new generation of reactors.

Swindon to give all its residents free wireless access to the internet

The Wiltshire town of Swindon is to become the first in the UK to provide free wireless internet access to all its residents. A "Wi-Fi mesh" would give blanket internet coverage for 186,000 citizens, the council said today.

Tackling climate change with technology

Scientists have been looking for ways of modifying the Earth's environment to control global warming - it's known as geo-engineering.

Care for elderly a priority say Prime Minister

Improving the care available for the elderly will be Labour's domestic policy "priority" should it win the next election, Gordon Brown has said.

3/4 children admit secretly visiting social networking sites without their parents knowledge

Three quarters of children admit secretly visiting social networking sites like Facebook and Bebo without their parents knowledge, according research by Professor Tanya Byron.

Digital Divide in the UK?

December 2009

Martha Lane Fox, government's Digital Inclusion Champion, author and broadcaster Professor Tanya Byron and BBC Technology Correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones discuss the digital divide in Britain and the risks and benefits of a digital society.

Watch the talks

MPs urge ‘70m population cap’ in party manifestos

A cross-party group of MPs and peers have called on the main parties to make a manifesto pledge not to allow the UK's population to exceed 70 million.

Radical sea defence rethink urged

Rising sea levels and an increase in the frequency of storms could leave many UK coastal areas vulnerable to extreme flooding, a report has warned. The project's findings, which include sketches and details of the proposed "new cities", will be presented in a exhibition that will visit London, Portsmouth and Kingston-upon-Hull.