Amsterdam: experience the first-ever walking movie
You can watch it over and over since it will be available for the next six months
As Russia disrupts gas supplies to EU countries, many are getting ready to meet demand by using coal
Last Sunday, the Austrian government announced that the Mellach power plant near the city of Graz will be converted so that during emergencies it can start burning coal again. In a lot of ways, this decision is hugely symbolic, as the Mellach plant was the last in the country to shut down, following the Austrian coal exit in 2020.
As the war in Ukraine rages on, Russian state energy giant Gazprom has cut or reduced supplies to many EU countries, including Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Austria and Slovakia. The situation has prompted a veritable scramble among governments across the bloc who are desperately trying to fill their natural gas storage facilities before winter rolls around.
The upcoming Czech EU Presidency echoes lawmakers’ fears as their published programme puts a clear emphasis on energy security over green energy transition. The German government has also announced that it will use coal to supplement energy generation, while Robert Habeck, Minister for Economy and Climate Action, announced that the federal government will ask businesses to curb their consumption.
Back on Saturday, Austria’s Climate Protection and Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler said in a written statement that Russia was no longer a reliable energy partner, which put her country in emergency gas supply mode.
This includes the Mellach coal power plant, which was closed down on 17 April 2020, following a government announcement, saying the country was officially off coal. The victory of sustainable energy, however, seems to have been declared prematurely, as now it will take months to re-equip the former plant to run on coal again. It will be used in the event that other means are unable to meet winter’s demands for electricity and district heating.
Nevertheless, Gewessler was quoted by the ORF, the Austrian national broadcasting agency, explaining that this would reduce the country’s dependency on Russia and would close the door to what she dubbed ‘energy blackmail’.
Now, authorities are trying to fill Austria’s vast gas storage facilities, with the goal set at 80% capacity by 1 November 2022. This may prove a challenge, as, according to government sources, storage facilities were 39% full in mid-June. Austria has vast gas storing capacities, capable of providing energy for up to a year for the entire country if they are 100% full.
Vasco Alves Cordeiro comes from the Azores archipelago of Portugal, and is thus the first CoR President from that country and from an outermost region
You can watch it over and over since it will be available for the next six months
The FAST-CARE package comes at a time of growing needs and concerns and in the context of the ongoing war in the European neighbourhood
Abandoned fishing gear is one of the most dangerous threats to the marine environment, but also to divers and underwater heritage
The town of Makarska has recently launched a new mobile service, aiming to cut down on paper use and stimulate citizens to go contactless
The invention promises to be revolutionary as it can decouple food production from agriculture and its environmental impacts
It turns out spraying water would be extremely impracticable and wasteful due to fast evaporation
The art initiative was begun by the city's mayor, who wants to expose people that try to save on transportation costs by illegally disposing of old furniture or construction materials
This is one of the ambitious goals from the new agreement details for the “Fit for 55” package
You can watch it over and over since it will be available for the next six months
The FAST-CARE package comes at a time of growing needs and concerns and in the context of the ongoing war in the European neighbourhood
Trenitalia has announced that it wants to reduce the phenomenon of domestic animals being left behind alone while their owners go on holidays
These will be spread across 11 EU countries and will serve to support the EU Missions
The European Commission has accepted to develop the idea
An interview about AYR, one of the 2021 New European Bauhaus Prize winners
A conversation with the Mayor of Matosinhos, Portugal’s first UN Resilience Hub
An interview with Nigel Jollands and Sue Goeransson from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
An interview with the President of the City of Athens Reception & Solidarity Centre