IMIDER, MOROCCO - Imider is a very small community, but a world record has set it on the map. Here, in the South Moroccan Atlas Mountains, under a colorful Berber flag, the longest sit-in in the world is ongoing.
TAJIKISTAN - In October 2016, the authoritarian president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rachmon, pushed a pile of stones into the river Vachsh with a bulldozer. With this symbolic gesture he gave a new start to the construction of the Rogun dam which started in 1976. With 335 meters, Rogun has to become the highest dam in the world and the largest hydroelectric power plant in Central Asia. Quite a strong achievement for the poorest country in the region.
The Western Balkan countries - home to some of the most pristine nature on the European continent - are faced with a rush to build new hydro power stations.
The EU's member states' focus on energy independence is putting at risk the environment and the health of its citizens, due to the bloc’s continued exploitation of European uranium resources.
BRUSSELS - An investigation by VRT journalist Luc Pauwels shows that since November official Opel dealers have been modifying polluting software in one of the Opel models.
The Future Is Brown: Fresh Coal Plants for the Balkans
Energy
Environment
Industry
While the Western Balkans have a widely untapped potential for green energy, Balkan governments like Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina are locking national energy systems into outdated and heavily polluting coal infrastructures for decades to come.
Because of the unrest in the Ukraine and the Middle East the past year, Europe has become acutely aware of its energy dependency. Brussels presented a new European Commissioner for Energy Union, but real collaboration is still a long way off.
BELGIUM - It is likely that the Belgian government will give the green light for the final underground disposal of nuclear waste before the end of the year. Cost: several billion euros. The taxpayer pays almost half of that. It remains to be seen whether the largest waste producer Electrabel will pay the rest.
Without fuel our cars will stop moving; it is something we all know and realise. Far less of our attention is aimed at raw materials. Unrightfully so, because without raw materials cars it would not even be possible to make cars. The average car contains about a mile of copper wire, copper that is mainly looked for in Africa.
