/ 11.09.2019

The environmental value of a circular economy is undisputed. While this has so far mainly been examined from the perspective of resource protection, the contribution of the circular economy to the protection of the climate is currently still not sufficiently addressed. Although the end of landfilling of untreated waste has significantly reduced the greenhouse gas emissions of the waste industry, the potential for climate protection is still enormous. A consistent circular economy not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions from waste management, but also actively helps to reduce the...

Circular Economy, recycling / 29.04.2019

India is the 3rdlargest e-waste contributor in the Asian continent behind China and Japan. And India is facing an acute problem of e-waste ending up in the informal sector. In order to understand the problem Prayag Desale analyzed the e-waste situation in Indian metropolitan cities. Guided by Thinking Circular Prayag Desale identified the collection & recycling challenges and assessed possible solutions. [caption id="attachment_1782" align="alignleft" width="300"] Waste picker form Pune, India. Photo by Prayag Desale[/caption] The rising problems of e-waste and its management by informal sector has raised various social and...

Energy Transformation, power / 18.02.2019

Rheinland-Pfalz is a global model for a 100% renewable energy policy. This has been highlighted in the new report of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Abu Dhabi – “Best Practice Examples to 100% Renewable Energy”. IRENA is an intergovernmental organisation that supports 160 member countries in their transition to a sustainable renewable energy future. Rheinland-Pflaz was the only German state example cited in the comprehensive report of IRENA “Coalition action”. The international alliance, which is affiliated to IRENA, is growing steadily and now has more than 80 leading...

/ 09.12.2018

Where policy-makers and climate technology innovators meet on the sidelines of COP  As an official affiliate event of COP24, the 9th annual Sustainable Innovation Forum 2018 will build on the success of the last 8 years to deliver the most engaging, informative and wide reaching Forum yet - on the sidelines of COP24.  With COP24 being hailed by the UNFCCC as ‘Paris 2.0’, the Sustainable Innovation Forum presents a crucial opportunity to drive forward the Paris Agreement framework by bringing together 600 delegates engaged with fast tracking the global green...

Circular Economy / 01.08.2018

Carbon is bad for the climate; that’s now common knowledge. But there is also “good” carbon, which makes it possible for us to store CO2and helps us to cool the climate down. The ‘Fachverband Pflanzenkohle’ [Specialist Association for Vegetable Carbon] now intends to provide information and support for “good” carbon. Dr Susanne Vester, Chairperson of the Fachverband Pflanzenkohle, explained to me everything that the “good” vegetable carbon is capable of and how it is produced:   “Vegetable carbon has many properties! It is used as an additive in skin cream, feed,...

power / 23.01.2018

The current pace of the energy transition means that it will be 2150 before we are able to achieve our goals. This was the finding of a study at HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences. The Head of the German Energy Agency confirms this assessment. “From now on, CO2 emissions must be reduced at twice the rate as they have been on average since 1990”, says Andreas Kuhlmann about the exploratory findings related to the climate targets negotiated by the Grand Coalition, whitewashing the exploratory findings. How is that...