Every sip is a system
Water is the invisible infrastructure behind all beverages. We hardly ever see it, as we prefer to look at the colour of a wine, the foam on a beer, the design of a label, the transparency of a bott...
Nunc est Bibendum
In contemporary Western society, the ritual and spiritual dimension of the act of drinking is often reduced to mere material consumption or, at best, hedonism. And yet, our human history is peppered...
The role of women in Latin America and the Caribbean in facing the climate crisis
In recent years, the effects of weather and climate phenomena in Latin America and the Caribbean have rippled across the region—from the Andes to Patagonia, from cities to coastal towns—...
New ESRS standards: European sustainability towards simplification
The process of structuring European sustainability reporting has recently taken a decisive step forward: on June 3, the public consultation phase on the simplified version of the ESRS reporting stan...
Artificial Intelligence: unveiling the real environmental impacts
“One of the most consequential dimensions of AI that remains comparatively under-examined is its environmental footprint and the justice implications that follow.” This is how the latest...
Could Iron Man Save the Carbon Market?
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer: subscribe to the newsletter During the week of May 18 to May 23, I was in Singapore for two of the most important carbon ...
Transition credits: waiting for Godot?
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer: subscribe to the newsletter The question of whether transition credits constitute a viable tool for accelerating coal pha...
Serfs: the hidden cost of food in global supply chains
In the European Middle Ages, the term “serfdom” referred to a legally defined status that fell somewhere between slavery (servus) and free man, in that the individual was not considered ...
Under the Same Sky
The first Chinese character I ever learnt to write was tiān 天, which means “sky” or “heaven”. Perhaps because it’s easy to remember. It is made up of the charac...
The Chinese Century
Back in the day, when you wanted to glimpse into the future, you’d head to San Francisco or Las Vegas. Today, you travel to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chengdu or Hangzhou. Robotics, AI, renewable en...
Getting the best out of the ETS/MSR reform and flexibilities
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer: subscribe to the newsletter Twenty years since its launch, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) has become the w...
Air pollution: GRI fills a reporting gap
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has recently published the draft of a new reporting standard on air pollution issues, while simultaneously releasing standards on soil pollution and critical in...
Let's discuss ETS, while staying on track with the transition
The world has changed dramatically since 2005. A prime example? Those who were around back then may remember the first BlackBerrys, but had no idea what a smartphone was. Today’s events remind...
Political risk in the carbon market: the LOA trap
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer: subscribe to the newsletter In almost every Article 6 conversation, the same acronym comes up: LOA – Letter of Authorisation....
Article 6, discounts at the frontier?
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer: subscribe to the newsletter The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) reached a significant milestone in 2...
CSRD, survey: 9 out of 10 companies disclose sustainability data even without legal obligations
Since March 18, the new version of the CSRD, watered down following the approval of the Omnibus I package, has been published in the European Gazette. It now awaits its transposition by EU member st...
Europe cannot afford to weaken its water protection laws
This article is part of the thematic channel The Water Observer: subscribe to our newsletter and receive exclusive contents from the world of water Europe’s water crisis is no longer a warnin...
An Orderly Chaotic World
Some of the most fascinating explanations are often found in the etymology of a word. When Jean Baptiste van Helmont first coined the word “gas” in the 17th century, he took it from &chi...
Europe doesn’t recycle its e-waste, it exports the problem
E-waste is not just a recycling problem. It is a consumption problem, a governance problem, and ultimately a responsibility problem that Europe quietly and efficiently outsources. Not into statistic...
Quality & Integrity: What are Developers really thinking about?
This article is part of the thematic channel The Carbon Observer. Subscribe to the newsletter or update your preferences. I recently published Part I of this short series on the words “qualit...