After a long time of being either ignored or seen as a Western luxury topic, the state of the environment has begun to occupy a broad space in Polish public debate. From the threat of air pollution to the climate crisis, sustainability is now more visible than ever in the media and the campaign ahead of parliamentary elections on October 13. But will this shift produce a real change in direction for the good of both people and planet?
Archives
Fail: Merkel’s market-friendly Climate Plan banks on fairy tales
After months of deliberations, in late September Germany’s ruling coalition, made up of the center-right CDU/CSU and the Centrist SPD unveiled their new climate action strategy—to near universal disappointment. Now approved by the government, the plan’s architects hope a weak plan is better than none at all. L. Michael Buchsbaum summarizes
A New Approach for Electrifying Africa with Clean Energy
The leading lights of wunderkind firm Mobisol, a Berlin start-up, left the company to found their own research institute. They still believe that the private sector has a key role in bringing solar power to Africa and the developing world. Paul Hockenos reports
In US, Community Solar is the Next Big Thing
Americans in some states are realizing the benefits of renewables. Better than in Europe: it saves low-income people money. But its overall numbers are still comparatively small. Paul Hockenos takes a look at the development
Fire in the holes: Transforming mined out lands into solar plants
While most post-mining plans, especially for surface mines, calls for pits to be redeveloped into lakes or farm land, an increasing body of research and evidence shows that these ripped-up landscapes can be successfully transformed into clean energy gold mines—whose solar PV resource potential, unlike coal’s, is infinite. L. Michael Buchsbaum reports
Look to Europe to Improve the Green New Deal: Why Laws Matter
The Green New Deal (GND) pact embraced by scores of US Democrats is chock- full of vibrant ideas and urgent policy considerations. It’s right that with the climate crisis accelerating faster than scientists predicted and our window to curb it narrowing, we have to think big – indeed something at least as sweeping in scope as the New Deal recovery program of the 1930s. Paul Hockenos reports
Sound and fury: Merkel’s Climate Cabinet and its shortcomings
Despite increasing public pressure, both coalition parties within Merkel’s so-called Climate Cabinet favor taxes or market based trading schemes to tackle the climate crisis instead of new regulations to increase renewable energy or hard measures to phase out fossil fuels. L. Michael Buchsbaum takes a look
New trains for old tracks – how Guatemala City aims to tackle its traffic chaos
Sometimes clean and efficient energy solutions do not require rocket science or fancy buzzwords, such as block chain or other digital jargon. When it comes to reforming public transportation in urban areas the City of Guatemala is now retrieving old train tracks – put in place in the late 1800s to aid the country’s growing banana exports – to solve its mounting traffic nightmare. Rebecca Bertram reports
Can Ireland get the definition of community energy right?
The EU’s Renewable Energy Directive of 2018 requires member states to provide special support for “community energy.” Doing so requires a definition of “community renewables” that is eligible for that special support. Ireland may be the most interesting case at present. Craig Morris takes a look.
Energy transition ‘happening fast but not quickly enough’
The remaining carbon budget to limit global warming to 1.5°C will be exhausted as early as 2028, even as the transition to low-carbon energy gains momentum, according to risk management firm DNV GL, which calls for “extraordinary policy action” to lower emissions. Frédéric Simon reports