sustainability

Hearing one of the senior directors at Volkswagen describing future cities with no cars parked on the street was one of the highlights of the European Voice Innovation Forum in Brussels earlier this week.Read more

With the weather picking up during spring, Comment Visions producer Jeremy Wilks has been testing out some of Europe's municipal cycling schemes.Read more

Technological advances are making it possible to derive energy from greener sources. But wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels, biomass plants and carbon capture and storage (CCS) are not free of controversy. Should the governments develop a specific strategy to win public support for new technological infrastructure projects? How should industry get involved? Is public awareness sufficient?

Discussion: How can government and industry win public support for new low-carbon technologies?

Related Content:

Live Debate: Not in my backyard? Can Europe win public acceptance for low-carbon infrastructure projects?

Live Debate: Mutual dependence: securing Europe’s energy supply

Discussion: What would it take to really speed up the transition to a carbon neutral society?

One of our interviewees for this month's programme suggests that a big step we should all take is to 'try' new mobility systems, and that's a message that has chimed with Comment Visions producer Jeremy Wilks.Read more

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is hosting a Clean Cities Transportation Workshop for Almaty, to be held 30-31st March 2011 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The event is a first step in introducing an implementation ‘roadmap’ to support a newly developing Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) strategy for Almaty City and Kazakhstan.Read more

Yesterday’s trash could be tomorrow’s energy solution, according to industry leaders and experts at a London conference last month. Thirty-six speakers analysed the waste market, uncertain funding and policymaking at the 7th Annual Waste Management Finance Forum from 19-20 January 2011.Read more

The issue: The COP15 conference was widely seen as a setback for the EU. The agreement that was reached fell short of the global deal to replace the Kyoto protocol that the EU had sought.

What lessons should the EU draw from Copenhagen? Can the EU still be a driving force in global climate politics? Should the EU continue to push for a global agreement, or should it consider other options, such as bilateral agreements? Should it even take unilateral action, as advocated by some European stakeholders, and increase its emissions reduction target from 20% to 30% without waiting for the US and China to follow? Is a global deal still possible, and when might it be reached?

These are just some of the questions that Comment:Visions invites you to debate with a panel of senior EU decision-makers and stakeholders.

Discussion: After COP 15, who or what will drive the push towards developing clean energy?

Related Content:

Live Debate - After Copenhagen: the next steps

The Earth’s atmosphere is the result of billions of years of geological activity and interaction with living organisms. Until recently, the stability of its composition has been something we have taken for granted.

The climate change conference in Copenhagen ended without a binding global agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

So, if governments cannot agree on measures to mitigate climate change, who then will provide the incentives and initiatives and perhaps more importantly the finances, that are needed? A growing number of leaders are beginning to look to the private sector to provide solutions. With regard to climate change, is it business to the rescue?

Discussion: Are commercial partnerships between science and industry the best way to reduce GHG emissions?

Related Content:

Live Debate - After Copenhagen: the next steps

Live Debate - Can Europe de-carbonise transport?

Discussion: As the first decade of the 21st Century closes, can we be pleased with the progress we have made in the development of energy efficiency and the mitigation of climate change?

Related Content:

None...

The emission of greenhouse gases has been the heart of the matter in environmental discourse throughout its growth and development. For as long as the science has told us that the levels of greenhouse gases in the earth atmosphere are damaging the planet, political attempts to reach agreement on a reduction of emissions have been ongoing.

In this month’s Comment Visions we travel to Norway to talk to a man whose career has involved studying the changing nature of our planet. Dr Pal Prestud is an ecologist and serves as the Director of the Centre for Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo. His work has focused on the Polar Regions, which have acted as an early warning system for the sort of climatic changes greenhouse gases are driving.

Discussion: How must society adapt to rapid climate change to minimise severe upheaval?

Related Content:

None...