Methane emissions may threaten Paris climate agreement
Over the past ten years, the methane level in the atmosphere has risen to unexpected highs. Methane gas, CH4, is a 25 times times more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, CO2. Therefore, this does not bode well for the efforts to keep global temperature rise below 2oC, or indeed 1.5oC. The problem is, as
Improve sustainability without damaging the brand
The past World Bio Markets Conference in Amsterdam proved an interesting happening, not so much because of what was said, but more explicitly because of what was not dealt with. Sustainability was the overarching conversation topic of the conference. Although sustainability is a broad and complicated concept, companies seem to limit themselves to only a
Compromise, often a solution rather than a liability
Solutions for global problems tend to become part of a compromise, says Huub de Groot. He is a professor in biophysical organic chemistry at Leiden University and works, among others, on artificial photosynthesis, ‘biosolar cells’. Technology moves into our private lives; but it also runs into strict physical limitations and this tends to restrict our
From energy transition to precision economy
As the debate on the energy transition heats up, stakeholders now retreat on their original positions, after a phase in which they politely listened to each other. Some call for action to save the planet, with increasing exasperation; others have less and less patience with costly but pointless proposals. And yet, the energy transition moves
Corporate science-based sustainability targets
World Wildlife Fund and plant-based food and drink producer Alpro published a report on how companies can reduce their environmental footprints. They go beyond general sustainability principles and address more sustainability issues than climate change. Alpro researches how they perform on science-based targets for land, water, nutrients, and biodiversity that respect planetary boundaries, and how
Climate change: trees to the rescue
Bringing nature back into cities, in the form of trees, can help fight global warming. Climate change is the challenge of the century. The last UN Environment Emissions Gap Report warned that, in order to ensure global warming stays below 2°C, efforts should be tripled, and if we want to stay below 1.5°C, they should
Climate discussion lacks sense of urgency
The urgency of effective political action on the energy transition lies close to my heart. We should reduce the use of fossil fuels at the shortest notice possible. I feel that politicians, the media and the general public are almost totally unaware of this urgency. How did I come to this view? Why do I
The long lead times of wind turbines
It may take a long time before wind turbines will actually generate energy, even in a ‘technical landscape’, as our editor Paul Reinshagen called the Dutch province of Flevoland, an area reclaimed from the sea. It will take a long time to align all people involved; politicians, civil servants and electricity companies may have ideas
