Welcome to the uncommon senses podcast! In this special series: sustainabiliTEA, where we spill the tea on sustainability. We discuss issues that centres around the environment and human development, specifically companies, technologies, policies, and individuals. In this series, we have a special co-host, Ms Lianna! She is currently pursuing a major in sociology and global sustainable development in the university of Warwick.

As the concept of green and sustainability becomes increasingly popular in businesses in more developed countries and regions, green energy development has also been on a rise. What is the current situation for technologies in clean energy and the recycling industry? And, what will it become in the future? In the following two episodes, we will discuss our views on the technology advancements in the field of non-renewable, renewable and alternative energy.

Updates since the episodes were recorded:

Single use plastics

• The UK will ban most single-use plastics by October 2023 (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/08/single-use-plastic-cutlery-and-plates-to-be-banned-in-england#:~:text=The%20Guardian%20understands%20plastic%20cutlery,new%20move%20is%20not%20comprehensive)
• Hong Kong’s plastic bag levy has been raised to $1 (from 50 cents) (https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3204165/hongkongers-pay-hk1-each-plastic-bag-supermarkets-next-week-first-increase-13-years)

Geopolitics

• Europe’s largest deposit of rare earth minerals has just been discovered in Sweden. Rare earth minerals are considered ‘decisive’ for the green transition as they are used for green technology such as wind turbines and electric vehicles. Demand for them is estimated to increase by 5 times by 2030. At the moment, over 90% of rare earth minerals used in the EU are imported from China. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64253708)

Coal

• Germany’s parliament has recently passed emergency legislation to reactivate coal-fired power plants to support electricity generation, due to fears of gas shortages - Germany has previously been highly reliant on Russian natural gas (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/08/germany-reactivate-coal-power-plants-russia-curbs-gas-flow)

Greta Thunberg was briefly detained during a protest against demolishing a German village to access a coal mine (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/17/greta-thunberg-detained-at-coal-protest-in-germany)