Marta Moreno Ibáñez from Quebec University explains how scientists are improving the accuracy of forecasting polar lows - short-lived, but intense storms.
Technology and COVID-19 threaten to exacerbate existing social inequalities. Sharan Burrow of the International Trade Union Confederation explains why.
Mint Innovation uses biorefineries to salvage precious metals from scrap electronics. Image: Mint Innovation
“Imagine the gold in your old laptop might end up as a ring on a person’s finger – or being reused in new devices,” says Mint Innovation chief executive Will Barker.
Using naturally sourced microbes and inexpensive chemicals, the company recovers precious metals from crushed and powdered electronic waste.
A mobile phone, for example, is made up of 15% copper and other compounds, 10% other metals and 3% iron, according to the World Economic Forum’s report, A New Circular Vision for Electronics, Time for a Global Reboot. How e-waste breaks down.
“Opt-in is the fundamental approach in our smart city initiatives,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“Most smart city data derives from citizens’ activities - energy usage, healthcare, etc - and the owner of the data is the citizen, even if it is held by companies or clinics. So it is critical that citizens have control over the degree to which their data is accessible,” he added.
Other digital tools offered to residents of Aizuwakamatsu are in the areas of mobility, education, healthcare, and energy consumption. Citizens can opt in and share any degree of information they are comfortable with.
Coming from four main sectors (see chart 1), these professionals predominantly work in positions of decision-making authority over various aspects of technology. About a quarter of participants are utility or other energy sector executives, 23% work with cleantech in the public sector and about 19% approach this field from an investor’s perspective.
Participants shared their view on funding priorities for three time periods using our interactive online survey: 2021-2025; 2026-2030; beyond 2030. Click to enlarge
Analysis of the survey data provided some of the answers we expected, given mainstream narratives on the energy transition and those components most closely associated with it – yet there were also a few surprises. While energy storage, zero-carbon fuels and industrial processes were amongst the top priorities, segments like carbon capture and storage (CCS) and digital tools not only ranked lower but were seen as controversial.