The Europen Union’s supply chain vulnerability is a wake-up call we cannot ignore. The historical overreliance on one nation for critical raw materials has shown the defenselessness of the EU’s global supply chains. For example, China provides 97% of the magnesium, Chile provides 97% of the lithium, South Africa provides 93% of the iridium, and Brazil provides 92% of the …

Background  Following the 2011 nuclear disaster caused by a major earthquake and tsunami, Japan shut down all of its nuclear power plants. Following inspections and safety regulation reviews, the country is now opening up its nuclear facilities, including considering restarting operations at the world’s biggest nuclear power plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa. The decision opens up questions about the safety of nuclear power …

Background  Holding states responsible for failures to take adequate or sufficient action in order to limit the effects of climate change is an increasing litigation trend perceivable in multiple jurisdictions including the Netherlands, the United States, Germany and France. The most successful manifestation of this trend is arguably the Urgenda case, in which a Dutch Court ordered the Dutch government to cut …

With the just published draft agreement for the COP28 meeting in Dubai on climate change fails to ask countries to eliminate coal, oil, and other fossil fuels on a gradual basis despite this. The critics say that some of the wording in the document has been manipulated by the so-called oil rich countries with an intention of deemphasizing the need to …

The global push towards a sustainable future has led to an increased emphasis on phasing out fossil fuels in favour of renewable energy sources. Whilst from an environmental perspective such a step seems necessary, thus inevitable, the complex geopolitical consequences of phasing out fossil fuels present a great obstacle. Unsurprisingly, one of the most significant geopolitical consequences of phasing out …

In the light of increasing dangers of climate change and quest for energy sovereignty among nations, Germany gives a leading example in the field of fair energy transformation via its Energiewende initiatives. This term “Energiewende,” was coined by the Öko-Institut in 1980 in the publication that constitutes of Germany’s bold energy turnaround. Accordingly, this movement shifts strategy from nuclear and coal-based …

The EU Green Week is a highly anticipated annual event that showcases and promotes environmental initiatives and sustainable practices throughout the European Union. As one of the largest environmental conferences in Europe, the EU Green Week brings together policymakers, stakeholders, industry leaders, researchers, and citizens to discuss and exchange ideas on pressing environmental challenges. The week-long event includes a series …

The future of the planet depends on the responsible use of energy. In this sense, the production and consumption of energy not only has a direct impact on climate change but also on other factors such as health, employment, mobility, security, and food production. Therefore, in this transformation process, countries and companies have a fundamental role to play in the …

To be able to achieve the goal of climate neutrality by 2050, the European Parliament has decided to ban the manufacture of petrol and diesel-using cars by the year 2035. The purpose of this action is to make the car industry reduce greenhouse emissions by having passenger cars emit 55% less and vans 50% of CO2 by 2030. This is …

With the creation of electric lithium batteries that light in weight and have the capacity to power vehicles and machines has made the lithium in the wake of the energy transition and the creation of non-fuel powered renewable sources a central asset to control. This article intends on providing an analysis on the current state of the global control of …