The Periodic Table
Those who have never closely observed the periodic table of the elements, conceived in 1869 by the Russian chemist Dmitry Ivanovič Mendeleev, have little grasp of the reality they cross in the shor...
Ford, electric car sales down: company changes strategy
On August 21, 2024, Ford Motor Company announced updates to its electrification strategy to accelerate consumer adoption and improve profitability given evolving market dynamics as recent sales...
Looking Upstream
“It’s only you townies who use the word nature. And it’s as abstract to you as the word itself. We say wood, meadow, river, rock, things that we can actually point to. Things that ...
Pushing the Mountains Away
"Mountains are mute teachers and make silent disciples," said Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, explaining in one sentence the intimate nature of the highlands and its people. Fragile giants, distant land...
European elections: the strengthening of nationalism, the downsizing of the ecologists
The European election night sent shockwaves through many capitals, producing unexpected political outcomes: from the dissolution of the French parliament sought by Emmanuel Macron and the fall of Al...
Electro! Shock!
Triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by the end of the decade: this is the core of the global energy industrial plan adopted by 196 nations last December at COP28 in Dubai, at the he...
New Economy Turns 50
The authorship of a project is always collective, but somewhere there is a moment and specific people who trigger the process that, eventually, will lead to its realisation. This may sound like a cl...
Financing the EU's Circular Transition
The transition to a Circular Economy is under way. It is just over 8 years now since the European Commission published its Circular Economy Action Plan. In that time, we have had a second Action Pla...
Renewable Matter's sponsored articles
Transparency is one of the core values of Renewable Matter, which is why I want to clarify to our readers how we engage with advertising companies, while fully respecting our authority. The co...
Welcome to Post-Capitalism
Chico Mendes, a Brazilian trade unionist and environmentalist, is often credited with the phrase that “environmentalism without class struggle is just gardening.” In a world where the ri...
Less is more? Degrowth, green growth and the future of our economy
Imagine a world where overwhelming narratives on climate change are a thing of the past, with healthy air, clean water and fertile soil. And no one’s had to suffer for it: people around the wo...
European farmers’ protests show the need for a just transition to Net Zero
As many countries prepare to go to the polls in 2024, the need for a transition to Net Zero emissions has become a key political battleground. In Europe, the sustainability of farming practices is t...
Two Intelligences
“We are seeing growing evidence that artificial intelligence can prove to be an invaluable tool in the fight against climate change. We need to harness its potential and empower innovator...
Circular Economy: A Concept at a Crossroad
Despite the initial enthusiasm and efforts to transition towards circular models, recent data reveal a concerning decline in the global circularity rate. From 9.1% in 2018, the circularity rate...
Renewable Matter goes bimonthly
We begin the year 2024 with great news: Renewable Matter becomes bimonthly. Six issues a year for more comprehensive and even more articulate reporting. From the circular economy of territorie...
Ten words for 2024
Another year has come to an end. There are those who reflect on these past twelve months while others prefer to look to the year ahead. We of Renewable Matter, who by nature are always looking ...
A circular food system can reverse the overshoot of planetary boundaries
* Álvaro Conde and Alex Colloricchio contributed to this article A global transition towards a sustainable food system is long overdue, scientists agree: and although farming has lon...
If a Tree Falls
Over the course of my life, I have encountered exceptional trees: the giant sequoias and the secular General Sherman (2200 - 2700 years old) in California, the Lebanese cedars in the Beqaa valley, t...
The Importance of Responsibility
In economics, “negative environmental externalities” occur when someone is responsible for something negative (e.g. a farmer using toxic chemicals that spread into the environment) and d...
Water scarcity may become our everyday reality, but a circular economy can help
Humans are about 60% water. Water covers about 71% of the Earth's surface. It feels like water is all around us, forever available. But approximately 1.1 billion people lack access to it, and 2...