Ecology and extractivism

A man holding a lantern in his darkened town overlooks a city in the distance brightly lit by electricity in this illustration by Charity Atakunda

Can green hydrogen tackle Nigeria’s persistent energy poverty?

Immaculata Abba May 8, 2023

With the rising urgency of the Climate Crisis, green hydrogen is the shiniest newcomer in global conversations on energy production. However, with sub-Saharan African countries contributing less than 3% (0.2% for Nigeria) to global carbon emissions, the more pressing question is how the continent can harness its existing resources to sustainably meet its own energy demand for economic development and poverty reduction

A green-tinted man stands in an industrial factory filled with gadgets and dials

Will hydrogen be the answer to Germany’s future energy needs?

Felix Austen April 20, 2023

Heating, driving, storing electricity: Hydrogen could replace oil, gas and coal in a completely climate-neutral way. The fact that this will probably not happen is due to a better alternative.

Small children work at the bed of a river, panning for gold

Zimbabwe: Child labourers swarm the trenches of predatory Odzi

Mary Mundeya April 4, 2023

“During the third week of the first Covid-19 lockdown, we ran out of the little food we had. We spent two days on empty stomachs and this forced me to join a group of children from my village who were going to pan for gold along Odzi River. I have not stopped since then,” she said.

A person is shoveling plastic waste alongside colorful plastic bricks in front of a house

Can plastic bricks pave a road out of Kenya’s plastic waste problem?

Kimani Chege March 10, 2023

In Kenya, the startup Gjenge Makers is transforming plastic waste into useful paving bricks. But can this solution make a dent in the piles of imported plastic plaguing the country?

A clear plastic bottle on a hill serves as a house with a garden on top in this whimsical image

Is plastic waste the building material of the future?

Désiree Schneider January 16, 2023

Using recycled plastics as a building material is already normal in other regions of the world and can solve two problems at once. A text for those who have had enough of concrete.

Dispatch from the womb of storms: Cop27 and the reality of loss and damage in the Caribbean

Gladstone Taylor December 14, 2022

“Well the truth is, everything in Caribbean life almost has an outdoor existence. So climate becomes so much a part of our life but it also drives a big part of our economy; agriculture, tourism. When you have any kind of storm event it disrupts life totally.”

This man wants to revolutionize what’s on the menu for school children

Julia Tappeiner November 28, 2022

Seasonal, organic and increasingly plant-based food in schools not only helps children, but also the climate. A unique window of opportunity has just opened up in the EU.

A figure in a wheelchair views smokestacks from afar, in this futuristic image

Can COP27 contribute to disability-inclusive climate justice?

Áine Kelly-Costello November 17, 2022

Activists from every corner of the globe are struggling against barriers to participating in COP27 . But collaboration and solidarity are ensuring that disability justice is increasingly present at the United Nations’ yearly climate conference.