To go travelling again. Fewer planes flying over the last year did some environmental good, but, more flights are scheduled, what further damage are we going to be doing to our climate . This is another area where scientists and policymakers may not be on the same page. Will this crisis be discussed at the upcoming G7 Summit being held in the uk . And are there any signs that we are prepared to suffer inconveniences, or sacrifices, if you like, to avoid a global Warming Catastrophe . Agnes, let me start with you. How well do you think European Policymakers have followed the science when it comes to vaccinations . Well, its a Balancing Act if youre a head of State Or Head of a government. Of course, theyve been listening to scientists. They must be feeling as if that is all they have been doing for 18 months. But there is science and theres politics. And you have to make, in The End, political decisions. And actually, its interesting to look at the different countries in europe, because theyve gone about their lockdowns in very different ways. With sometimes very good results, but different methods. But im very happy to report to dateline that the Vaccination Roll out in continental europe, in france, italy, germany and spain, is doing extremely well. After of course the catastrophic first two weeks, first two months, i would say, and yesterday, the french president announced that anyone from the age of 18 was now able to get vaccinated in france. And surprise, surprise im sure you remember the french were leading in anti Vaccine Feeling in the western world, but its not the case any more. Perhaps because at first they were denied their vaccine, and as you know, they are we are quite contrarian and as soon as there was no vaccine for them, they wanted it. Now the latest Poll Yesterday showed that 70 of french people want to get a vaccination. It was only 40 last summer. So, good news all round. I wouldnt dream of calling the french contrarian, but you may jef, i was reading today about the rather different Infection Rates between the different states of america. I think north dakotas still got pretty high Infection Rates, whereas vermont, a really tiny state in comparison, has much lower rates. How much of this is down to Vaccination Uptake . Some of it is Vaccination Uptake. Some of it is Vaccination Uptake. The residue of the different mask wearing policies and General Public Health Awareness and interest of the state governments, which were, especially in the trump administration, fundamentally in charge of what happened. All the states now, at least according to the best knowledge, can get essentially all the vaccines they want. So, its not any longer a question of supply and demand, or supply it is a question of demand. There are regional differences, even political difference, in uptake. There is an anti Vax Stronghold among republicans. There was a period when 50 of republican men said they would not get a vaccine. Were now down to 20 of republicans saying. They will not get a vaccine, as opposed to 29 a month ago. Again, i think as more and more |peoples neighbours are getting| it, and some states are offering lottery prizes of 1 Million to people who get vaccinated. The public enthusiasm is kind of building. I think it will even outi over time, and really, what is remarkable is how good these vaccines are. Unlike Flu Vaccines and other sorts of vaccines, the possibility of reinfection, the possibility of going to the hospital or death, i its almost a magic bullet. I think the success of the science is leading people to understand that this is a very good thing to do. David, there were some environmental benefits, certainly, to the lockdown. Far fewer flights going round the world, but how much of that are we going to hold onto once the planes take off . The new figures that have come from china show that their emissions have shot back right up again, and this comes at a time when the science has never been clearer, that by 2030 to have the best chance of avoiding the worst effects of Global Warming emissions globally need to come down by nearly half in the next nine years. Well, theyve been going in the wrong direction. I think where the ground has shifted dramatically, just in the last, really, couple of months, is that suddenly, youve got one big economy after another declaring they will try to cut their own emissions by roughly half by 2030. Joe biden with the states, the eu, japan and korea, likewise, the uk has set a target of 78 cut by 2035. This changes the calculations about Global Warming, but it does mean that all these governments are now under massive pressure to deliver these pledges. Its one thing to declare a promise, another to get into Shape And Position the policies that get you there. And i think the big difference now is that suddenly, you have a timeframe which makes it very difficult for the current crop of politicians to wriggle out of. If youve got a target for 2050, you wont be in power by the time that comes around. If youve got a target of 2030, well, whatever happens right now could rebound on you. Is this going to be then that we all start to change our habits because were on that very edge of the Cliff Edge . Or is it going to have to be legislated to make us change . I think itll be a mix of everything. I mean, some of the changes that have reduced emissions already have happened without us noticing. So, all our electric appliances, our fridges for example, use far less power than they used to ten years ago. Electricity demand has fallen as a result of that. Without really realising, we put on the light switch, our power in the uk is more and more renewable, rather than coming from coal. But the harder things remain to be tackled how we heat our homes, how we get around. These are going to be much tougher to sort out. Agnes, how willing are people in france, generally, if you can be that general, to embrace the idea that life is going to have to change, our choices are going to have to be different in future . Well, it takes two to tango. Basically, i dont know if youre aware, but a month ago, there was this momentous decision that french mps passed as law. It is now a law. France has banned domestic flights on short routes that can be travelled by train in under three hours, but thats momentous. Its the first time any major economy has actually prohibited domestic flights or short routes, if you like, and that could have an impact straightaway. It represents about 15 of all french domestic flights. I was looking at figures, for instance, in the uk. Every year, there are half A Million flights between london and manchester when actually, it only takes two hours by train. I think what weve learned as citizens but also as consumers during the pandemic is that mass Tourism And Mass airtravelling, perhaps weve reached our limits. And we have to be ready to take the train. In europe, its so enjoyable anyway. And at least in countries like france or in italy, its heavily subsidised, it doesnt cost much, and thats the way we used to do it why not do it on short routes . Luxembourg introduced free Public Travel Last Year for everybody, which is something almost unimaginable to us here. Jef, we knowJoe Biden has a very different view of climate change, Global Warming from mr trump, from donald trump, but how easy is it going to be getting stuff through congress . Well, nothing is easy for him. Hes got a Split Congress and i hes going to have to be lucky. And if he tried to, for instance, impose a carbon tax, we would see a lot of difficulty. I think, though, the interesting thing is how much the ground is changing in renewables in particular. The technology is really, really advancing quickly. J biden this week and drove an electric Ford F150 Pick Up Truck. This is not a car for harvardl professors who eat granola. This is a Pick Up Truck for red| State People who herd cattle, and he said this sucker moves fast1 its actually going to be perhaps the first Mass Market Electric Vehicle thats going to be a success in places outside the coasts. And its cheap, relatively, and this is the way that Energy Efficiency is going to happen. People dont mind more efficient buildings and better cars, and we Cant Change it from just not ridingj on aeroplanes. The international energy association, the group set up after 0pec, for consuming states, has a Path To Energy by 2050, a path to carbon neutrality. They say that only 4 of the reduction has to come from Lifestyle Changes from us. The rest of it can come from Big Structural changes that, with intelligentl governments, should be actually quite straightforward to implement. I know the politics are hard. Perhaps especially in the us. But i do think its a period of optimism for climate change. How lovely to have some optimism at this point. Lets turn our attention then to the Middle East and the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after 11 days of violence, with both sides claiming victory. But israel clearly doesnt think it has diminished hamas enough, and hamas still has rockets aimed at israeli targets. There is also the major bombing this time of violence betweenjews and arabs, something not seen in the region for many years. The truce faced an early test on friday when fresh clashes broke out at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied eastjerusalem. David, the casualties on each side are starkly different. At least 2a3 people killed in gaza. In israel, 12 people killed, according to their medical service. Likewise, their military capabilities and where they get them from. Asjeremy bowen has been saying, during his coverage of this conflict, its an asymmetric war. You have a wealthy side on one side and an impoverished force on the other. One of the things that goes towards levelling that imbalance is rockets. Weve seen that in the second world war, in the first gulf war. If one side can fire rockets from mobile launchers that are hard to detect until the launch happens, there can be an advantage. And i think right now, just purely in military terms, the hamas commanders will be trying to make an assessment that of all the rockets they launched, 90 were intercepted by the israeli iron dome system, but 10 did cause fatalities and injuries. Theyll be trying to work out how many remaining rockets they have, how quickly they can get back into the business of making more. And of course on the israeli military� s side, theyre going to be doing those assessments as well to try to work out how much of a threat hamas remains with its rockets. And interestingly, Isaw A Report earlier today that the mayors of two of the israeli towns hit hardest by hamas rockets object to the Cease Fire, because they say the threat remains. Sderot and ashkelon. Indeed. For them, theyre very alive to the option that the hamas commanders have of potentially continuing this. And of course, we understand that iran supplies hamas, they build in tunnels, and alsoJoe Biden has offered to replenish what israel has used during this recent conflict. Yes, to bolster the standard of israeli protection, and then within gaza, from what we understand from whats been reported, it seems that the rockets are assembled within gaza, probably with components smuggled in, almost certainly with iranian guidance and help. The extent to which the attacks on the tunnels have disrupted that process, well have to wait and see. There were Clashes Injerusalem and other parts of israel, agnes, as well. You must remember that 20 of the population of israel are arab israelis. These clashes, though, are civilian against civilian, not hamas against the state of israel. A very different dynamic. Yes, and thats quite new. I think in the last 11 days, theres been some reasons to be optimistic, but also many more to be pessimistic about the future. The slight ray of hope is that diplomacys back. But we can also see Joe Biden is quite stuck in his approach to the crisis. He was quite hesitant, and there are many voices in the Democratic Party who want him to be much tougher with israel. Of course, the un could actually come back on the World Stage and be much more dynamic and participate much more than it did in the last four years of trump. And indeed, france pushed for a resolution under the un Security Council. France and germany were really behind Egypt And Jordan and the ceasefire. Of course, europe is very concerned. Every time there is tension in the Middle East, we can see pro palestinian protests in the streets of paris, berlin or london, as weve seen last week, turning ugly. The Interior Minister in france had to ban protests, which took place anyway. We saw some very anti semitic slogans, but also attacks. And this is becoming more and more recurrent in europe, and thats a great concern. Now, the problem is the two State Solution is dead. I think thats the next step for World Diplomacy what next . Something that struck me which is very sad is that only a couple weeks ago, three weeks ago, there were talks of a new government in israel with, for the first time, the participation of a new independent arab party. Now, this is also dead in the water. We are going to have netanyahu who is here to stay. There have been four elections in the last two years. There might be another one. Israeli democracy is in tatters. Really, what is the next solution . The two State Solution is a thing of the past. We know as well, jef, thatJoe Biden has a very different approach to his Foreign Policy from donald trump. But, the us vetoed the french Cease Fire proposal while at the same time putting forward one of his own. Can you explain that . Yeah, i think this is the traditional role of the us in Middle East policy making, or israeli palestinian fighting this actually reminding me of times on the aeroplane i with the previous secretaries of state going to Tel Aviv and jerusalem. What bidens people are saying about this is he has a long relationship with netanyahu. He has said proudly he once sent netanyahu an autographed picture with dear bibi, i dont agree with a damn thing you say, but i love you. And he thought that softly, softly, not ratcheting up. The pressure publicly on netanyahu, not as John Kerry did during the last israeli foray into gaza, actually going in and failing to get a Cease Fire, he thought that doing it quietly Behind The Scenes and showing the traditional relationship might work. Netanyahu has fences to Mend He was essentially a subcontractor of the republican party under both 0bama and the trump administration. So there was some leverage that biden had to play against netanyahu. And whether they had any real movement possible, i i mean, the two State Solution does seem dead, they do seem to be making. Progress towards an iran deal, which will of course require israel not to blow it up. Maybe theres some room for things to expand after this little bit of peacemaking. Im not optimistic in. This case, but you have to start somewhere. Just quickly, how likely is it, do you both think, just very quickly if you could, that there will be more nations around the world that are recognising palestine . The momentum has been with the israelis getting l to make peace with the gulf states rather than the other way round. I dont think the us will be i as against it as it used to be, i think the landscape is changing there in congress and in public opinion, so maybe theres more room, without irritating the americans, to do so. Its inflammatory to the israelis as well, isnt it, agnes . But do you think its more likely that palestine will get more recognition . Well, theres a problem with discriminating against palestinians and them being second rate citizens, so this will have to be addressed. But of course, israel doesnt listen to europe, it listens only to washington. So the ball is in bidens court. Before we go, ijust wanted to ask each of our guests about a subject that we all ought to be talking about, perhaps, but were not. Lets askjef first. This is where you get to stretch your legs, go off piste. Its like a Jam Session for news, isnt it . Well, i mean, this is not| exactly not talked about, but ijust want to register my fury at bitcoin, which i think is a scam,. Its a Ponzi Scheme where it goes up 30 and down 30 a day. The mining of bitcoin now is using half the electrical output of great britain every day in order to produce these coins that have no value for anybody but terrorists and drug dealers, and regular currencies are perfectly effective | to do what you need. So, theres my screed for the day. And theyre not underpinned by something old fashioned like gold. But i was talking to one of our close protection officers outside this building only the other day, david, about how you can buy environmentally friendly bitcoin. Well, its alleged you can. It all depends where the power is generated. That powers the servers, thats all it comes down to. You have to do your homework if you want to be environmentally friendly in your purchasing of it. I dont understand it enough, agnes, do you . Sorry . Bitcoin, do you understand it well enough to invest . I know nothing about bitcoin, so i would not approach. I wouldnt come close to bitcoins. No, stick to the euro. So what about you, agnes, whats the story that youd like to draw our attention to . Well, its like bitcoins, we talked about it a bit, but it was such a joy to go back to a museum and an Art Gallery this weekend. It was the same in france, in britain, all over europe, they are reopening. And, you know, we learn. 0ne Lockdown after another, we learn things, and during the first lockdown in france, book shops, for instance, were not deemed essential, but a few months later, a decree was passed and they were deemed essential, and the second lockdown was so much better because book shops, wine shops, Chocolate Shops and florists were deemed essential, and that changed. And now, for the next lockdown, if or when there is one, i would really urge governments in europe, in britain, to open museums because they are nourishment. I think it would actually do a lot of good for Mental Health of our different nations. And youre surrounded by beauty, you dont have to buy stuff and they are big places, so you can open the windows and be socially distanced, and its essential to me. So ive been very happy this week because ive returned to big museums in london. Just very briefly then, jef, what did you miss . In lockdown . Yeah. People, mostly. And i agree about museums and culture. It gets forgotten too easily, and it is fantastic to see the blood getting backj into Circulation System of cultural life. Im sure you missed coming into new broadcasting house, david, is that what you missed most of all . Well yes, of course, its the camaraderie, its the banter. I think actually ive been more efficient working at home. You can get on with things, but i do miss the social contact. If i canjust say, ive got a Jef Style Rant about something we should do more on plastic waste. Weve forgotten about it with covid and with climate change and all the other questions, but the plastic Waste Problem is getting worse, not better. And im withjef, having a little fume about that. Im sure, though, thats partly, isnt it, because weve been using single use plastics more and masks that you find everywhere. Yes, you find everywhere. Theres actually a website that gathers pictures of discarded masks. Theyve been found on Coral Reefs in bali, but thatsjust part of the problem. The bigger problem is the whole system of retail and of production and of the petrochemical industries and the way we have a throw away culture. Which has been talked about, and David Attenborough has sounded off about this for some time. There have been some changes, but i think weve perhaps taken our eye off the ball a little bit. And Thats Something i think we need more focus on. Rant over. Well, not very ranty at all, and very wise words. I know this is probably a little unorthodox, but i would like to tell you all about a story that i think deserves far more attention. Its a story about the town of northampton and the city of peterborough, both in the east of england, if youre not sure where they are. They have settled, those two places, a long Standing Disagreement over pronunciation of the name of a river. The river is spelled N E N e. If you live in northampton, they say the river nen. In peterborough, its the river neen. How did they settle this dispute . Via a game of croquet. And northampton won, so its the river nen, well, for now, anyway, until they have a rematch. Isnt that a civilised way to. Until it escalates until it escalates, yes, and then its mallets at dawn that brings us to The End of Dateline London for this week. Thank you to our guests, Agnes Poirier and jef mcallister, and our Science Editor David shukman. And thank you to you of course, as well, for watching. Do join Shaun Ley next week. I survived it same time, same place. Bye bye. Hello. Its a bit of a day of mixed fortunes, weather wise. Many places started the day on quite a chilly but bright note with some sunshine and some of us, particularly in the east will keep some Sunny Spells through the course of the day, but there is rain in the forecast. Its moving its way gradually from west to east, so all part see some wet weather by The End of the day. Its all down to this area of low pressure, which is moving in from the atlantic. Quite an active cold front, so some heavy rain we have already seen across Northern Ireland, into the afternoon, pushing into wales and the south west of england, western Scotland And North West England as well. So this rain quite heavy with some squally winds associated with it, too. Whereas further east you will hold onto some spells of hazier sunshine for much of the day. 13 or 14 degrees in the brightest spells in the east, but Nearer Ii With The Rain and squally winds further west. Some heavy showers for Northern Ireland into the evening and then overnight we will see showers coming in across parts of england and wales. That main band of rain clears off the east coast, so clear spells with a few showers around. Still quite damp across the north of scotland and temperatures down into mid single figures. So another cool night, but not quite as cold as it was last night. Now, Mondays Weather driven by low pressure which is sitting right overhead through the day tomorrow. That could bring us some fairly slow moving, heavy and potentially thundery showers, particularly across parts of england and wales. Now, some of these showers could bring some hail, Thunder And Lightning and they could well be slow moving. Just a little breezier, so they are moving through quicker along the south coast. Cloud and outbreaks of patchy rain for northern scotland which will push into Northern Ireland at times through the day. Perhaps some sunshine for southern Scotland And Northern england. Temperatures just 13 or 14 degrees. Still rather cool this time of year. Into tuesday, Sunny Spells and scattered showers once again. Most frequent i think for scotland and eastern england, but nowhere immune to catching a Passing Shower and still only about 12 14 degrees for most of us on tuesday. But do bear with the weather. Theres a hint that things will change a little bit as we head through midweek onwards for this coming week and towards the bank holiday weekend. Some warmer and drier weather eventually on the cards. We could see 20 degrees, especially towards the south. And thats down to the fact that this area of high pressure sitting close to the azores will start to build across the uk towards The End of may. So certainly still a few more days of showery weather, but it does look like more settled weather is eventually going to be on the way. Goodbye. This is Bbc News with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk highly effective against the indian variant of the virus. Government ministers deny claims, by the former downing Street Adviser dominic cummings, that they pursued a policy of Herd Immunity in dealing with the coronavirus in the early part of last year. The former Bbc Journalist Martin bashir defends his Panaorama Interview with princess diana, but apologises to Princes William and harry. Homes have been destroyed and at least five people have died as thousands fled in panic after Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic Of Congo exploded. The un Security Council stresses that israel and the palestinians should fully adhere to the ceasefire as the pause in violence enters a third day. The queen visits the royal Navy Flagship hms Queen Elizabeth as it begins its first