Skyscrapers made of bamboo. Green roofs. Smart glass. Houses that are cool in summer and warm in winter without burning through loads of energy. All around the world, the future of cities and urbanization looks to bring smarter, more energy-efficient, healthier buildings to the urban environment. An unattainable utopia or simply a necessity in a rapidly urbanizing world that needs to find sustainable solutions to the cities of the future?
El Niño has officially arrived and with it sensationalist headlines about temperature thresholds, extreme weather and destruction. “However, it is important to remember that climate change isn’t a strictly linear process and El Niño simply highlights the ups and downs in what is a generally warming trend dictated by climate change,” says CMCC researcher Leone Cavicchia, as he explains what ENSO is, how it impacts local and global weather, and what to expect now that it has arrived.
The beauty, freedom, and adventure of outdoor experiences are often leveraged by outdoor brands in their marketing strategies. But, how does this fit with a clean approach to the outdoors and how active are these brands when it comes to protecting nature. Luca Albrisi, athlete, writer and activist talks about his approach to the outdoors and how to look out for greenwashing and false narratives.
“It is a challenge to be overcome if we want to reach our climate targets,” say global experts, investors and economists. The green premium concept helps measure progress on green technology deployment and, at the same time, establish what the next steps should be for a rapid low-carbon transition. A review of sources, definitions and data to understand a key factor in the climate transition.
EU clean energy targets will need 35 times more lithium and seven to 26 times the amount of rare earth metals in 2050 compared with today. Critical raw materials are a key ingredient in any green transition, but now the question is: can mining go hand in hand with nature protection laws?
It can leverage new technologies including artificial intelligence and machine learning to greatly improve the selection, processing and use of the vast amounts of climate data we currently have. The result? More informed and effective decision making from the local to the global level. Scientists, startuppers and representatives of EU institutions dialogue on funding opportunities, innovation and applications.
“When you are involved in making decisions on critical issues, such as managing a given climate emergency, operational value of forecasts guides you towards more impactful decisions.” Andrea Castelletti walks us through some of the most exciting developments in climate science and how Artificial Intelligence is opening a new frontier in the scientific process.
The year without a summer showed the world how volcanoes can affect climate with severe consequences on human societies and economies. Today – while climate deniers use eruptions as a tool with which to cloud the truth about anthropogenic causes of climate change – volcanoes remain important monitors of “our impacts on the climate (which) are so large they even have the potential to affect volcanic eruptions themselves”.
Who’s afraid of lab-grown meat? From the cradle of one of the world’s most celebrated food cultures, Sara Roversi, entrepreneur and president of the Future Food Institute, talks about how tradition and innovation in the food sector interact to reveal “the profound interconnection between political, economic, human, environmental, social and cultural pillars.”
From science to policy: a matter of urgency, action, and hope. The latest IPCC synthesis report lays out the harsh truth on the current state of the climate. But, it also shows us that we have the tools to invert our current trajectory and that the decisions and measures we take today will have a lasting effect on the world of tomorrow. A collection of media reactions.
Can they fix a deepening climate crisis created by dirty technologies and systems? In recent years, climate technology has entered the lexicon of innovators and decision-makers in an effort to speed up the development and transfer of effective solutions. An in-depth definition of climate technology and the solutions they bring to climate-related issues.
Urbanization has altered the way cities and the people that inhabit them interact with nature. In countries such as Japan, where high levels of urbanization and a rapidly aging population is leading to abandoned spaces in cities, there is a unique chance to reimagine the role of urban green spaces. “How we design green urban spaces is key for both human and planetary wellbeing,” says urban ecosystem development expert Juan Pastor Ivars.
