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Can we have a climate-friendly death?

We spend our lives caring for the climate, but what about our funerals? Funeral rites are steeped in culture, tradition and faith, but now climate-friendly options are available.

Funeral rites are steeped in culture, tradition and faith, with most of the world opting for cremation or burial. However, with new research now revealing the carbon impact of established funeral choices, more people are questioning their cost to the climate.

With alternatives such as ‘water cremation’ and ‘eco-burials’ becoming available, will people start to consider another way?

Presenter Jordan Dunbar hears about initiatives in India to modify traditional funeral pyres, calculates the climate cost of the most common choices, and hears from Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s daughter, Rev. Mpho Tutu van Furth, about her surprise at her father’s final act on earth.

Producer: Osman Iqbal
Researcher: Octavia Woodward
Series Producer: Simon Watts
Editor: China Collins
Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell
Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill

Available now

27 minutes

Last on

Wed 2 Aug 2023 19:06GMT

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  • Sun 30 Jul 2023 13:32GMT
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  • Wed 2 Aug 2023 19:06GMT

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