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On this week's episode of ClimateCast, Sky News Climate Change Correspondent Hannah Thomas-Peter and her team travel to the West African country of Gabon for a very special report.

Gabon is the second most forested country on earth, and forms part of the great Congo Basin rainforest that stretches across central Africa.

It is also one of a few nations on the planet that absorbs more carbon than it emits, taking in over one hundred million tons of carbon per year - about a quarter of the UK's annual emissions.

One of the reasons Gabon has avoided destroying its forests for economic gain so far is that it is an oil-rich nation and has traditionally relied on that revenue stream.

But that won't be the case for much longer.

The world is moving away from oil, prices are plunging and production is dwindling.

Now Gabon is asking the international community to pay it to protect the rainforest instead of the easy option of allowing commercial deforestation, the selling of valuable tropical hardwood timber and widespread agriculture.

And, we speak to Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta from the University of Cambridge about the economics of biodiversity.

The Dasgupta Review, commissioned by the Treasury in 2019 describes Nature as “our most precious asset,” says it must be at the heart of economics, and claims that humanity has collectively mismanaged its “global portfolio”.

Professor Dasgupta says his "overarching aim is the reconstruction of economics to include Nature as an ingredient", and states that humanity would need 1.6 Earths to maintain our current way of life.

And Climate Reporter Victoria Seabrook will brings us the week's latest climate news.

In 2021, Sky News is marking some of the century’s biggest news events through the personal stories of lives defined by unforgettable moments from the last 21-years.
Taking down Saddam is episode 14 of the 21-part series StoryCast ’21

From Pauls Valley in Oklahoma, USA, Miles Hill always dreamed of joining the US Marine Corps.
Growing up, family life was coloured by US military history - his grandparents served in World War Two and Korea. So when al Qaeda terrorists attacked the US on 11 September, 2001, it set in motion a chain of events that brought Hill to Iraq in 2003, as part of the Marine Corps.
An idealistic 19-year-old, Hill had little understanding of geo-politics, but it was his absolute conviction that the world would be a better place without the Saddam Hussein. The Iraqi dictator had been a destabilising influence in the region since the 1990 Gulf War. Now accused of stockpiling weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) as well as forging links with al Qaeda terrorists, Hill and his fellow Marines were tasked with leading the ground invasion and deposing Hussein. On the morning of the invasion, military leaders warned of the bloodiest urban battle in US Marine Corp history. By the end of that day, Miles Hill would find himself at the centre of one of this century’s most iconic moments.

CREDITS

‘Taking down Saddam’ was produced and written by Rob Mulhern.
Recordings and digital Tom Gillespie
Special thanks to Miles Hill and David Chater.
Presented by Jayne Secker
Sound Design, Rob Mulhern
TV treatment, Victoria Hudson-Grant
Archive, Simon Windsor
Head of Radio, Sky News, Dave Terris
Design and graphics, Brian Gillingham
Social media, Chris Scott
Press and Marketing, Alexandra Horton
Email: storycast@sky.uk
For more on this story go to www.skynews/storycast21
#StoryCast21

The law change on 1 September has divided opinion and raised many questions about the future of women's rights in America.

On the Sky News Daily podcast, Sarah Hewson speaks to legal scholar Melissa Murray, plus we hear from two women, Kat and Robin, who have been directly affected by restrictive abortion legislation in the United States.

Daily podcast team:
Senior podcast producer - Annie Joyce
Podcast producer - Nicola Eyers
Podcast producer – Chris Scott
Podcast researcher - Rosetta Fourlagawo
Interviews producer - Tatiana Alderson
Archive - Simon Windsor
Archive - Rob Fellowes
Archive - Nelly Stefanova
Music - Steven Wheeler

Earlier this year, we brought you an episode of the Sky News Daily podcast with Dermot Murnaghan looking at how men cope with the loss of loved ones.

Our digital producer James Lillywhite talks about his documentary on cultural differences around the world, plus Rhian Mannings and Paul Yarwood share their personal journeys.

Daily podcast team:
Senior podcast producer - Annie Joyce
Podcast producer - Nicola Eyers
Interviews producer - Tatiana Alderson
Interviews producer – Alys Bowen
Podcast researcher - Rosetta Fourlagawo
Archive - Simon Windsor
Archive - Rob Fellowes
Archive – Nelly Stefanova
Music - Steven Wheeler

Until July this year, most of us had never heard her name before - she was a Wimbledon wild card just after finishing her A-levels. Two months later, Emma Raducanu won the US Open women's singles title.

In this episode, host Dermot Murghan speaks to US correspondent Martha Kelner about how Raducanu became an overnight sporting superstar and what the future holds for her.

Two decades on from the deadliest terror attack on US soil, the effects on air travel, surveillance and anti-Muslim sentiment continue to be felt.

On the Sky News Daily podcast with Dermot Murnaghan, we are joined by Nick Aldworth, a former police counter-terror national coordinator, and Imam Usama Hasan, who talks about being a young Muslim man at the time and the importance of dialogue to combat extremism.

Daily podcast team:
Senior podcast producer - Annie Joyce
Podcast producer - Nicola Eyers
Podcast researcher – Rosetta Fourlagawo
Podcast researcher – Faye de Silva
Interviews producer - Tatiana Alderson
Interviews producer – Alys Bowen
Archive - Simon Windsor
Archive - Rob Fellowes
Archive - Nelly Stefanova
Music - Steven Wheeler