大象传媒

Claims that Russia is using the high gas price as a political weapon are "drivel", according to President Vladimir Putin. His comments come as there is intense focus on the energy markets. Energy prices in the UK, Europe and Asia have hit record highs in recent weeks triggering inflation concerns. The International Energy Agency says that targets to limit global warming are in very real danger of not being met. Their chief energy economist Tim Gould explains what's going wrong and we get reaction from Simon Harrison, head of strategy at consultancy Mott MacDonald, which advises governments and businesses on how to move to cleaner energy sources. Also in the programme, China's banning of Bitcoin mining has prompted what some have called the great mining migration. Alex De Vries, who runs the Digieconomist blog, explains where the miners are going and how much energy are they consuming. Plus, the 大象传媒's Frey Lindsay reports on what's being called a housing affordability crisis in Australia, where the cost of buying a home has risen sharply relative to what people earn. And our regular commentator Stephanie Hare makes the case for actively using our senses to transform our experience of the world of work.

All this and more discussed with our two guests throughout the show: in Taiwan, Samson Ellis, Taipei bureau chief for Bloomberg News and Takara Small, technology reporter for CBC News in Toronto, Canada.

(Picture: Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russian Energy Week plenary meeting in Moscow on October 13, 2021. Credit: Getty Images.)