Author: Arnes Biogradlija

Six weeks before the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism transitions from reporting to payment phase, major European multinationals remain unprepared while 72 global markets develop parallel carbon border systems that could reshape international trade dynamics. Marcel Duits, chief CBAM officer at compliance platform Dubrink, reports his team is still conducting introductory briefings in November 2025, a timing crisis that exposes fundamental gaps in corporate readiness for what represents the EU’s most ambitious climate trade policy. GET YOUR CBAM ADVICE FROM EXPERTS! WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE The mechanism, which began mandatory reporting in Q4 2023, requires importers of steel, iron,…

Electricity is fast becoming the world’s defining energy currency. According to the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2025, global electricity demand will rise by roughly 40 percent by 2035, outpacing all other energy growth. Yet this surge—driven by the electrification of transport, heating, and data-intensive technologies—exposes a deeper fault line: the fragility of the material and industrial foundations supporting the transition. The IEA warns that the security risks once confined to oil and gas are now entrenched in the supply chains of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements. A single country—China—controls refining for 19 of the 20 strategic…

American electricity prices surged 34% from 2020 to August 2025, reaching $14.87 per kilowatt-hour from $10.96—the fastest five-year increase in recent history. Yet comprehensive state-by-state analysis reveals a counterintuitive finding: data center concentration shows minimal correlation with residential rate increases, challenging the narrative that server farms drive household electricity costs. U.S. Energy Information Administration data tracking all 50 states from 1990 through August 2025 exposes significant regional divergence that defies simple causation. Maine, with just 8 data centers, experienced a 95% price increase over five years—from $11.88 to $23.12 per kilowatt-hour. Meanwhile, Virginia, hosting 663 data centers (the nation’s highest…

Australia is taking a closer look at its tyre industry as part of a broader push to advance circular economy practices, with the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Innovation and Science opening an inquiry into the sector. The inquiry responds to growing pressure to balance economic opportunity with sustainable resource management and follows global debates on tyre sustainability in Europe and the USA. Written submissions from stakeholders are due by 23 January 2026. The inquiry will examine the full lifecycle of tyres, from manufacturing, import, and retail trends to reuse, retreading, recycling, and resource recovery. It aims to…

At a time when industrial sectors account for roughly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, SKF’s presence at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, underscores a pivotal shift toward embedding circularity into the fabric of heavy industry. The Swedish engineering group, best known for its bearings and rotating equipment solutions, plans to spotlight a portfolio of technologies aimed at accelerating industrial decarbonization and strengthening supply chain resilience. SKF’s showcase centers on the premise that emissions reductions in industry must come not only from renewable energy adoption but also from resource efficiency and product lifecycle extension. The company’s approach combines clean technology…

The European Union’s flagship green hydrogen import strategy is confronting hard economic realities in Namibia, where the €10 billion Hyphen project remains unbuilt and industry insiders increasingly question whether it will ever materialize. As of October 2024, the sector has created fewer than 800 jobs against government projections of 280,000 by 2030, exposing a widening gap between political ambition and market fundamentals, FTM reports. The numbers tell a sobering story. Only three of 14 planned hydrogen projects in Namibia have reached the pilot phase, according to research collective Oxpeckers. The European Commission now admits green hydrogen exports from Namibia won’t…

The European Union’s Council reached agreement on a binding 90% net greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for 2040 compared to 1990 levels, but the accord introduces flexibility mechanisms that effectively lower the domestic reduction requirement to 85%. Member states negotiated through the night to secure provisions allowing up to 5% of the 1990 baseline to be met through international carbon credits—a mechanism the EU’s own scientific advisory bodies cautioned against deploying for compliance purposes. The Mathematical Reframing of Ambition The headline figure of 90% net emissions reduction obscures the domestic reduction reality. The Council’s position permits “high-quality international carbon credits”…

A major step forward for Europe’s circular economy strategy has been secured as Thermo Lysi SA, in partnership with Pyrum Innovations AG, received €29.4 million in funding approval from the European Innovation Fund (EIF). The grant finalizes financing for a €100 million tyre recycling plant in Livanates, Greece, a facility set to process 45,000 tones of end-of-life tyres annually and rank among the continent’s most advanced pyrolysis sites. The EIF’s involvement underscores the increasing prioritization of industrial-scale recycling solutions capable of addressing Europe’s waste challenges while supporting decarbonization goals. End-of-life tyres, of which the EU generates over 3.5 million tones…

The brutal truth about Europe’s battery ambitions hit me during a conversation in Sarajevo with Noshin Omar, the founder of AVESTA Holding. While Chinese battery startups surge from zero to billion-dollar valuations in just three years, Europe’s most innovative battery manufacturers are struggling to secure even scraps of capital and are drowning in permit applications. WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE Omar didn’t mince words: “Unfortunately, we in Europe are not risk-minded to support startups, to support good ideas. While in the US, in China, they are.” This isn’t just another complaint about regulatory burden. This is an existential crisis playing…

According to Greene (2022), in the next 25 years society must intensify food production while minimizing impacts on climate, land use, freshwater, and biodiversity. Microalgae production emerges as a high-potential solution, offering rapid growth, nutrient density, and environmental advantages that traditional crops cannot match. Microalgae grow 20–30% faster than conventional crops and do not compete for arable land (Greenwell, 2010; Mala, 2016; McDill, 2009). This characteristic allows microalgae to supplement food systems without exacerbating land scarcity, making it a strategic tool for closing projected gaps in global nutritional supply (Greene, 2022). Nutritionally, microalgae are rich in phycocyanin proteins and omega-3…