While technologies to trap and store CO2 underground may give a license to fossil fuels to survive in a net-zero emissions world, in this opinion piece we argue that this is economically irrational and a risky gamble, calling for clear...
Every time we calculate the environmental impacts of an electric vehicle, we use data from the lithium carbonate production at the Salar de Atacama in Chile. To meet soaring lithium demand, other, more polluting mining pathways are emerging. However, poor...
Building retrofits are increasingly assessed from an environmental perspective. Standard assessment methods, however, largely do not consider future developments and fail to take into account the state of climate emergency where the time horizon is substantially shorter than the expected...
Images of lush forests often carry notions of sustainability and eco-friendliness. But can planting trees be an effective instrument against climate change? Counterintuitively, there are many practical barriers rendering this question difficult to answer. This blog post calls for a...
Climate change is pressing and we need fast decarbonisation of all aspects of life. As a multi-purpose technology, batteries play a central role in the reduction of carbon emissions. However, the current supply chain of Lithium-ion batteries is often associated...
Wood is an ancient construction material, but it has been gradually substituted with concrete and steel. However, the advantages of wood are now being (re)discovered as sustainability becomes a global interest and advanced manufacturing technologies become available. This article focuses...
It is estimated that buildings are responsible for 36% of global final energy use and 40% of the energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. Buildings are also complex machines with long life cycles, which include regular maintenance and updates. Thus,...
Heute ist nationaler Klimatag in der Schweiz. Wir haben nicht mehr viel Zeit, um unsere Klimaziele zu erreichen und den von uns versprochenen Anteil im Kampf gegen die Klimaerwärmung umzusetzen. Aber wir haben bereits heute ganz konkrete Möglichkeiten, einen Beitrag...
Today is National Climate Day in Switzerland. We don't have much time left to reach our climate goals and to implement our promised share in the fight against global warming - but we already have concrete ways to contribute today!...
To help keep global warming in check, Switzerland has committed to a net-zero emissions target by the mid-century. The required energy transition will likely give rise to costs, but it will also yield large co-benefits in terms of, for instance,...
Futaba, host of the Fukushima prefecture TEPCO Daiichi nuclear power plant, was evacuated in March, 2011. It has since remained empty. Only recently reopened to the public, Futaba now resembles that of a forgotten ghost town, waiting quietly for life...
