Opinion polls show Germans worried about the climate crisis and in favor of more climate action. The fallout of global warming is one of their most pressing concerns, indeed as it is across Europe. And yet, when it comes to modifying lifestyles or paying higher prices to curb emissions, most say they’re not willing, or only as much as it doesn’t sting. Paul Hockenos reports. Read More
Year: 2024
Sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture in Uganda through renewable energy resources
African countries together are responsible for only 4% of global carbon emissions, but will suffer heavily from the consequences of climate change. In Uganda, agriculture is already hit by the changing climate, prompting loud calls for a switch to renewable energy sources in the all important sector. Sarah Helen Rüdenauer gives the lowdown. Read More
Rivers can be Europe’s first line of defense against climate breakdown
The recent floods in France, Belgium, the UK and Germany remind us again of the danger of the climate crisis. Europe’s rivers however can be key components of both climate mitigation and adaptation. Cleaning them up and restoring them is an expensive undertaking – but it’s worth the price. Paul Hockenos reports. Read More
The illusion of small nuclear reactors undermines climate protection
Nuclear energy proponents say that smaller reactors are the climate-saving technology of the future. Yet, if these plans ever see the light of day, their shortcomings are no less egregious than the dinosaur models of the 20th century. Paul Hockenos reports.
Anatomy of a mess: the cautionary tale of the US’s last mega nuclear reactor
The expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Burke County near Augusta, Georgia, stands as the only new atomic reactors built in the US in the last 30 years – and the most expensive power plant ever built on Earth. The story is one of chaos, broken promises, cost overruns and blown deadlines. So off the rails is this fiasco, it is most probably the last large-scale pressurized water reactor that will ever come online in the US – when it finally does. Indeed, no others are currently planned. Paul Hockenos reports. Read More
Fossil free KAZA vision
The world is at crossroads. Global warming and biodiversity loss is increasing by the hour. Wars are raging while the planet is burning. There’s no way to deny the obvious. Or the looming doom at the horizon. It’s easy to lose hope. It’s hard to find the needed daily energy to fight for a better world. But hope is not dead and there are positive developments which show that not everything is lost yet and that the fight is worth fighting. Andy Gheorghiu outlines in this blog his vision for a fossil free KAZA region in sub-Saharan Africa and explains why it could develop into a global lighthouse project for a better world. Read More
In Biden’s climate legislation, nuclear is clean energy
But even this won’t propel the nuclear industry into a vibrant, climate-saving era, writes Paul Hockenos. Read More
Atomic fission without borders: the looming threat of Germany’s nuclear neighbours
Germany’s citizenry now no longer lives with the threat of a nuclear accident happening within its own borders. But five of the nine states – France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the Czech Republic – along its periphery host nuclear power plants. And Germans, many of whom still remember the radioactive cloud from the Chernobyl meltdown wafting over central Europe in the spring of 1986, know that a mishap at one of these aging stations would imperil them as well. Paul Hockenos reports. Read More
Germany’s Springer media gets the climate crisis so wrong
The new evidence that the German CEO of Europe’s largest media publisher, Axel Springer, (mis)uses his flagship tabloid, the arch-conservative Bild, to advance his personal views on the climate crisis and climate activism is hardly surprising, as the Springer Media group has been mixing right-wing politics and public information for decades. But 2023-leaked emails and text messages have exposed Axel Springer chief executive and part owner Mathias Döpfner’s unvarnished personal views on these issues and others. Paul Hockenos reports. Read More
For Greece’s clean energy collectives, it’s all about energy democracy
Greece has transposed into law EU directives that stipulate the conditions for forming energy cooperatives and communities, much like those in Germany that kicked off its Energiewende in the 2000s. The first such non-profit solar farms will begin generation in early 2024. The hope is that they’ll set off a prosumer boom across the country. Paul Hockenos reports. Read More