“Yes, there is enough power,” said electric drive expert Blankaert. Although he will comment immediately. “There is not enough power if everyone starts loading the power grid at the same time in the future.” So a better question would be: “Is the power grid capable of handling large simultaneous power demands in the future?” “High-voltage … Read more
On Saturday, the ship departed on its maiden voyage from Miami, Florida, on a seven-day “island hopping” trip in the Caribbean. A glorious moment for society, but there is still a lot of criticism. Cruise ships do not have the best reputation when it comes to ecology, fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Royal … Read more
A year ago, the American chemical company announced that it would lay off around 2,500 people worldwide, including possibly up to 200 in Zwijndrecht (as part of stopping PFAS production). That figure was later adjusted to 98. The dismissals in Zwijndrecht are happening in ‘waves’ and are fixed in a planning with the unions. “About … Read more
Since December 11, the Beijing Weather Observatory has recorded more than 300 hours of freezing temperatures. Never before since measurements began in 1951 have there been so many, writes the state newspaper Beijing Daily. According to the newspaper, it was colder than -10 degrees Celsius in Beijing for 9 days in a row. Several areas … Read more
The costs are therefore increasing, while the income is much less. The price that growers receive for their sprouts was contractually agreed last year and therefore cannot simply be adjusted. “Last year we asked for a price increase after negotiations, but that did not happen. This year we asked for compensation because the sprouts are … Read more
The so-called copper belt in southeastern Congo was already a lucrative hotspot during colonial rule. The Belgian company Union Minière du Haut-Katanga (UMHK) had millions of tons of copper extracted for the Belgian industry. The Shinkolobwe mine (now closed) mined uranium ore that would be used for the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After … Read more
That is precisely why several large Belgian companies have traveled en masse to Dubai. They are part of a Belgian delegation with a total of 170 members. In addition to these companies, this also concerns ministers and their employees, but also ambassadors, NGOs and negotiators. In the corridors and during round table discussions, these companies … Read more
The deal now has to be submitted to the full government and to the Council of State. After that, everything still has to go to parliament and to Europe. “But we are completely on schedule to get it all into parliament in time (and to have it finalized at Belgian level for the elections in … Read more
COP Chairman Sultan al-Jaber also spoke again today. He said that 118 countries have already signed a (non-binding) pact to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. The target is also what the EU aims for, as is doubling energy efficiency. The signatories want to work together to achieve a total capacity of 11,000 gigawatts (compared … Read more
The importance of the UN climate conference that starts on Thursday can hardly be overestimated. 2023 is a year of weather extremes, with exceptionally severe flooding and heat waves. It will almost certainly be the warmest year on record. On Monday, the UN warned that the world is still doing far too little to limit … Read more