EU Critical Raw Materials Act: too ambitious or not ambitious enough?: A case study on the implications of the three Critical Raw Material Act proposals on satisfying demand for neodymium in wind turbines more sustainably through recycling in Germany

The mitigation of climate change and the transition to a more sustainable and circular use of resources are two of the largest challenges of our time. To this end, the European Commission proposed the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) and Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) in March 2023 as further pillars to its Green Deal. While the NZIA focuses on...

Greening Elderly Care: The show must go on: A qualitative research on the practical impact of the Green Deal Sustainable Healthcare 3.0 in the Netherlands

The third version of the Green Deal Sustainable Healthcare 3.0 (GD3) in the Dutch elderly care sector represents a dynamic and shared governance model that promotes widespread participation and implementation of sustainability practices. The GD3 provides a blueprint for elderly care organisations to pursue sustainability goals, but its success...

Green colonialism: Research on colonial injustices related to nickel mining in West Papua

With the growing threats of climate change, plans such as the European Green Deal (EGD) aim to mitigate climate change effects. However, the mining needed for the materials for renewable energy technologies could exacerbate threats to biodiversity and other ecosystems. Herein, nickel is one of the key materials required for a range of energy...

Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design Framework Based on a Prospective Life Cycle Assessment: Lessons Learned from a Nano-Titanium Dioxide Case Study

Safe-and-sustainable-by-design (SSbD) is a concept that takes a systems approach by integrating safety, sustainability, and functionality throughout a product’s the life cycle. This paper proposes a framework based on a prospective life cycle assessment for early safety and sustainability assessment. The framework’s purpose is to identify...

Energy Transition: China and the future of the EU Solar Tech Industry

With the 2019 European Green Deal, the EU has set an ambitious roadmap to enable European citizens to benefit from a Green Transition. One of the main goal of the Green Deal is the deployment of renewable energy sources. Within these, solar power has been identified as the fastest growing<br/>source. Within solar technologies, crystalline...

Green Roofs and Renewable Energy Communities for the European Green Deal: Legal Profiles and Probabilistic Cost-Benefit Analysis

In the face of environmental challenges of unprecedented scale and urgency, the European Commission enacted in 2019 a new comprehensive growth strategy with the aim of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050. Named as the European Green Deal, this strategy includes energy, biodiversity, pollution, and climate adaptation targets, and...

Understanding the feedbacks between climate change and the global economy: an ecological, post-Keynesian modelling approach for the European Green Deal

Economic activity generates carbon emissions that accelerate climate change. Rising temperatures will eventually lead to climate damages that deteriorate our economic system, putting the livelihood of millions at risk. The purpose of our analysis is to assess how this feedbacking dynamic develops until the end of the century. To do so, we have...

The role of subjectivity on sustainability and risks of novel material solutions for anthropogenic municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash in the Netherlands: An investigation using Q-methodology

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash is a by-product of Waste-to-Energy recycling and has until today been used for construction purpose or been landfilled. Especially in the Netherlands the regulatory regime constantly changes and increases the applicability of novel materials from MSWI in construction. Due to the Green Deal a...