Belgium & Luxembourg Request EU Aid to Improve Rail Connectivity
Belgium’s Minister of Mobility, George Gilkinet, and his Luxembourg counterpart, Yuriko Backes, formalised a request for European Union funding aimed at improving the rail infrastructure linking Luxembourg City and Brussels.
The beautiful city of #Montpellier (pop. 500,000), in southern #France, becomes the largest city in Europe to make public transport free of charge for residents.
Prof. Symeon Chatzinotas is conducting #research aiming at designing, emulating and testing new high-performance systems for the future of #mobile and satellite communications📡. #5g
What is Australia's fair share when it comes to financing the necessary climate transition?
In a headline today, the Australian government has pledged AU$150m in #ClimateFinance for Pacific nations.
Good news, right? Isn't this PM Anthony #Albanese "ending the #ClimateWars" by actually doing what #Australia ought to have done years ago? Let's consider that assumption.
Back in 2009 at the much hyped, but ultimately deeply disappointing international climate negotiations in #Copenhagen known as #COP15, one step forward that was agreed, even as more comprehensive or ambitious agreements slipped away was that the wealthy nations of the world (including #Australia) collectively pledged to be providing US$100b each year to help the poorer nations transition away from #FossilFuels (#ClimateMitigation) and develop in ways that help societies adapt to the warming that cannot be mitigated (#ClimateAdaptation).
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So what's a fair share of the #GreenClimateFund for each wealthy nation to contribute?
Calculations by the #WorldResourcesInstitute a couple of years ago claimed that a 'fair share' for each wealthy nation that had pledged to contribute would be the equivalent of 0.22% of Gross National Income (#GNI) each year by 2020. The World Resources Institute found that during 2016–2018 (the first three years of the Green Climate Fund), only four countries were actually already meeting or exceeding their fair share of climate finance contributions: #Germany, #Japan, #France and #Luxembourg. #Sweden and #Norway were close (>80%). #Denmark was the only other country over 66%. At the very bottom of the list came the #USA and #Australia.
For Australia to be making a 0.22% 'fair share' of its (then) roughly US$1.3 trillion GNI, this would amount to around US$2.86b each year (=AU$4.33b). This obviously was not happening. How far short of its pledge had the Coalition government fallen? How much was Australia actually contributing? Even less than the World Resources Institute recorded...
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🏚️ How do #housing policies & housing markets contribute to inequalities within and across countries?
And what about #Luxembourg ?
🔎 Prof. Lindsay Flynn from the University of Luxembourg seeks to understand the forces shaping patterns of #inequality within and between generations in affluent democracies ➕ how housing policies can be designed to address these inequalities⚖️.
The planet's limits as an annoying inconvenience to be removed.
"Frieden aims to empower the government to reach these targets without resorting to "unpopular measures." He has even instructed the new Minister for the Environment, Serge Wilmes, to talk to his civil servants to encourage them to "change their state of mind."."
European institutions desperately try to woo Nordic citizens.
In recent years, the European Commission has been struggling to attract candidates from Scandinavian countries in particular. The reasons: Euroscepticism, entrance examinations and worsening working conditions.
☀️How can innovative imaging techniques help to enhance #solarcells efficiency?
Discover Saba Tabean's work using correlative microscopy & #nano analysis to identify & troubleshoot issues in materials.🔬
⭐ More than 4 years after arriving in #Luxembourg, Saba is still really impressed by the exceptional #research infrastructure that provides opportunities for young researchers, whether through studies or #startup ventures.
#NYT 📆 April 25, 2023, 12:50 p.m. ET It is now about 10 minutes after the touchdown time. #Ispace has cut to pre-recorded videos on its livestream. It only takes 1.3 seconds for a radio signal to travel from the moon to Earth. During the descent, the commentator mentioned that the signal from the lander had cut out. That is not necessarily catastrophic, but with the minutes that have since passed, it may be a sign that something went wrong https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/25/science/ispace-moon-landing-japan