What is the role of citizens in Europe’s shift to a sustainable future and how do we make it inclusive? Transitioning into sustainability will be challenging and calls for creativity and the full involvement of all sectors of society, including citizens, to make it a success, according to a European Environment Agency briefing published this … Continue reading New EEA briefing on why a thoughtful approach to participation is needed for sustainability transitions
Category: environment
The new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: “We do not want to be crushed and knocked out” by burdensome regulations, say French SMEs
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive would extend the scope of companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting obligations to inform investors, banks and insurance companies better. The new rules would also apply to SMEs. In an article on the EURACTIV website, Théo Bourgery-Gons discusses how French SMEs argue that new regulations are so onerous that … Continue reading The new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: “We do not want to be crushed and knocked out” by burdensome regulations, say French SMEs
Summary of UN Summits Week 2023
Last week, the UN Headquarters was busy with the General Debate of the 78th session of the General Assembly together with summits on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and on climate change. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) does an incredible job … Continue reading Summary of UN Summits Week 2023
At midpoint of SDG implementation, the SDGs are in peril
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the UN summit this week: “Yet today, only 15 per cent of the targets are on track. Many are going in reverse. Instead of leaving no one behind, we risk leaving the SDGs behind.” Cameron Allen, Research Fellow, Monash University and Shirin Malekpour, Associate Professor in Sustainable Development Governance … Continue reading At midpoint of SDG implementation, the SDGs are in peril
Europe is facing a “severe public health crisis”, with almost everyone across the continent living in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution
A Guardian investigation has found that 98% of Europeans breathing highly damaging polluted air linked to 400,000 deaths a year. Matthew Taylor and Pamela Duncan discuss the results. Revealed: almost everyone in Europe is breathing toxic air Europe is facing a “severe public health crisis”, with almost everyone across the continent living in areas … Continue reading Europe is facing a “severe public health crisis”, with almost everyone across the continent living in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution
British PM and the net zero transition – lessons from history about flip-flopping on the environment
This has been a very interesting week in climate policy in Britain, with the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, defied official advice and rolled back on the net zero timetable. Marc Hudson, Visiting Fellow, Science Policy at the University of Sussex writes on The Conversation website giving us a history lesson on the experience of … Continue reading British PM and the net zero transition – lessons from history about flip-flopping on the environment
Lessons from China for making developers pay compensation for their ecological impacts
In an article on The Conversation website, Shuo Gao, Eleanor Jane Milner-Gulland, Joseph William Bull and Sophus zu Ermgassen from the University of Oxford explain how the compensation scheme works in China. What are your views? China makes developers pay compensation for their ecological impacts – here’s how this unique scheme works In 2017, … Continue reading Lessons from China for making developers pay compensation for their ecological impacts
The world’s poorest countries, mostly in Africa, are effectively priced out of the clean energy action by a global lending system that considers them too risky for investment
Max Bearak writes on the New York Times website about the lack of access to needed financing. A big obstacle is the lack of loans, a subject of intense disagreement between richer and poorer countries. But in Congo, where Mr. Bearak is writing from, a hard-fought solar investment shows a possible path forward. Clean … Continue reading The world’s poorest countries, mostly in Africa, are effectively priced out of the clean energy action by a global lending system that considers them too risky for investment
Generational divide in supporting nuclear energy
Young climate activists in Europe are calling on Greenpeace to drop its "old-fashioned" stance against nuclear energy. Scientists say the generational divide not surprising, as nuclear disasters are distant memories for some. Sheena Goodyear discusses in an article on the CBC news website. Greenpeace opposes nuclear energy. Young climate activists say that's 'old-fashioned' Young … Continue reading Generational divide in supporting nuclear energy
The resistance of rural women: “Energy is not just a technical issue, it’s a political issue to do with life, territories, sovereignty and the right to community self-determination.”
From the Akbelen forest in Turkey to northern India to Brazil, rural women are standing up against the power of the corporate chainsaw. The Turkish-British novelist and political scientist, Elif Shafak, writes a powerful article on the Guardian website about what local women are doing to protect fragile ecosystems. In the battle to save … Continue reading The resistance of rural women: “Energy is not just a technical issue, it’s a political issue to do with life, territories, sovereignty and the right to community self-determination.”
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 