The role of nuclear energy in the EU’s Sustainable Taxonomy Regulation Analysis The EU’s Sustainable Taxonomy Regulation - the list of green activities contributing to the green transition - is currently being discussed. The political debate is now focusing on two types of energy that were at first excluded: nuclear energy and fossil gas. How might these discussions undermine the taxonomy that is potentially a central tool to enhance investments in the green transition and why should they be banished from this instrument? Zélie Victor
Nuclear Power Trend in Southeast Asia and Its Contested Discourses on Climate Change Analysis Currently, there is no nuclear power station that operating commercial electricity in Southeast Asian countries. However, pro-nuclear comes up with many reasons aiming to materialize the nuclear power which ranging from growing of domestic power demand to boost economic activities, reducing the electricity cost – in the case of the Philippines, to producing no Green House Gases emission, in particularly CO2. Tipakson Manpati
Chernobyl Commentary I visited Chernobyl for the first time two and a half years after nuclear disaster. Over the decades, during which time I returned to the Exclusion Zone at least every ten years, I have come to understand that a nuclear disaster has no ‘afterwards’. The consequences of the biggest nuclear incident to date are still affecting many people of the former Soviet Union, having destroyed their future. Rebecca Harms
Chernobyl 35 years on –the “Polish puzzle” Commentary It was 28th April 1986, early morning in Poland. The radiation monitoring station in Mikołajki, Mazury area (north-eastern region of Poland) showed that the radioactivity in the air was 550,000 times higher than the day before. The radioactive cloud from Chernobyl had travelled to Poland. The story of the catastrophe began here. Beata Cymerman
Defending Plurality: Four Reasons Why We Need to Rethink Academic Freedom in Europe Commentary Academic freedom is under attack, both in authoritarian democracies and in liberal Western democracies. Dominant discourses about academic freedom and free speech in the global north, lately especially in France and Germany, focus on an alleged threat to academic freedom through "political correctness" and "cancel culture", that, under scrutiny, often turn out to be exactly the opposite, namely defences of plurality and critical voices. Dr. Karsten Schubert
What Would The Human Rights Action Plan Do? Analysis The Human Rights Action Plan revealed by Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan makes bold claims of progress in human rights, freedom of expression, freedom the press and judicial independence. Here an analysis of what the action plan promise us Alican Uludağ
Super Trilogue Weakens Results-Oriented CAP Analysis The shift from compliance towards a result-oriented delivery model was highly debated in the super CAP trilogue on 26 March 2021. Have the EU co-legislators ensured that the CAP Strategic Plans are result-oriented, while still holding the delivery model accountable for taxpayers? Matteo Metta
Walking in London: people, space and governance European Mobility Atlas 2021 Walking is vital for liveable cities and a basic right for any city dweller. However, it has long been under-represented in practice and research, something London is planning to overcome. England’s capital intends to build on its prior success in improving walkability, through the elements of shaping individual behaviour, space inequalities and governance. Alexandra Gomes
Civil Society Must Be at the Heart of a Renewed Transatlantic Solidarity Commentary The new US administration offers the opportunity for a reboot of transatlantic relations, especially in relation to civil society. The calls and grievances expressed by Women’s movements, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the climate generation resonate strongly in both Europe and the US. Dr. Ellen Ueberschär, Nina Locher
Divided we fail - Vaccine diplomacy and its implications Background No country is safe from COVID-19 until all countries are safe from COVID-19. To state the obvious: To overcome a pandemic of this magnitude, vaccines must be made available quickly, cheaply, and fairly. Barbara Unmüßig, Dr. Alexandra Sitenko