The UK, France, Ireland and Canada have already taken the symbolic step of declaring a climate emergency, but many believe that the actions of these and other countries do not yet match the boldness of their rhetoric. In this episode of the Physics World Stories podcast, Andrew Glester speaks to Will Cook of Extinction Rebellion – a movement that wants governments to accelerate their response to the climate crisis – about the need for politicians around the world to commit to meaningful action.

Glester also explores how academics and physicists are taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint. He speaks to Anna Lewis, the sustainable labs officer at the University of Bristol – the first UK research institution to declare a climate emergency – who explains how the university plans to meet its pledge of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Lewis point out that science labs can be some of the biggest users of energy, and Glester talks to Caroline Jarrett, technical manager for the university’s school of science, about the practical measures that researchers can take to make their labs more sustainable. Finally, Glester tackles the thorny question of air travel, not least to academic conferences, and speaks to Matthew Tulley from Solid Carbon Storage about an innovative way to offset your carbon emissions on the occasions when you do need to fly.

• You can find out more about efforts to make science labs and research facilities more sustainable in the article “Leading by example: going green in the lab”