From Plastic to Fantastic: Promoting the Circular Economy in Cambodia

From Plastic to Fantastic: Promoting the Circular Economy in Cambodia

By DEBRA ACZEL and MIRIAM ACZEL Our plastics problem is BIG and growing A landmark study that measured global production, use and ultimate disposition of plastics found that we’ve...

France’s Energy Future with Macron at the Helm

France’s Energy Future with Macron at the Helm

France is in the enviable position of having among the lowest energy costs in Europe, coupled with low carbon emissions--thanks to 58 nuclear plants that provide 75% of France’s total energy consumption. As a result of nuclear investment, France is currently the largest net-exporter of energy in the world, bringing in revenues estimated at 3 billion euros annually.

But the French nuclear plants were designed with an expected 40-year life-span, and their average age is now 35 years. And France, while using a high percentage of recycled nuclear fuel in power production, still faces the problem of how to handle waste products. Thus, the government faces a choice: invest in renewing the fleet of nuclear plants or invest in renewables—or support a mix of the two. Decommissioning old nuclear plants, building a new generation of plants, developing a system of renewables—all these options come with significant price tags.