beeco

  Pannonia Bio Zrt., Danube river  We were not allowed to take pictures inside the plant As a part of CEU summer school's theme of ‘Repowering Leadership in European Energy and Food, two field trips were arranged for the participants:           Pannonia bioethanol plant (around 100 km away from Budapest)           Zsamboki eco-farm (around 60 km away from Budapest) As eco-fancy as these two places sound, they have distinctive differences both in terms of their environmental footprint and scale. Reflecting an Azeri proverb, ‘its better to see once, than to hear one hundred times.’ So, first field trip was organized to Pannonia biofuel plant. One day before the trip, there was a heated classroom discussion about scaling biofuels and industry/civil society criticism dilemma. Thus, with some scepticism we headed to Pannonia. Since its inception in 2012 Pannonia has undergone significant expansion. However there is still no ...

According to the United Nations, it is projected that by the year 2050, approximately 70% of the global populace will be residing in urban localities. This will raise concerns regarding the sustainability of urban areas. Azerbaijan is a nation experiencing population growth and is deemed particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Meantime, cities in Azerbaijan have sustainability, inclusivity, and accessibility challenges. Observation and practice show that, in cities other than capital city of Baku, there is a notable absence of accessible routes for trolleys and wheelchairs, which hinders certain group of people to have easy access to the amenities and services, subsequently impeding their social involvement.  For instance, cities’ not being walking friendly, adversely affects the well-being of the elderly. Being threatened by high speed and disregard for the pedestrians limits their social interaction. Therefore, lack of accessibility creates absence of inclusivit...