In northern France, an entire district is now heated thanks to waste that was previously unrecyclable. Every day, Le Havre converts 300 tons of trash into energy, providing enough heat for more than 37,000 households. This green energy system reduces the local carbon footprint and provides cheaper and cleaner heating to residents. We take a closer look.

Jeans are the most popular trousers in the world. Every year, over 2 billion pairs are made. But most travel one and a half times around the planet before reaching your wardrobe. With toxic dyes, chemical pollution and massive water waste, denim’s carbon footprint is anything but small. But change is happening. From cutting-edge tech to natural dyes, ancient weaving to local production, innovators are rethinking jeans for a more sustainable future. The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.

Tired of carrying your electric bike's battery with you everywhere you go? The good news is that you can now buy electric bikes without batteries. This French invention is already seducing cyclists across the country.   

For the first time ever, fishermen in the Bay of Biscay are testing new high tech fishing gear that "speak dolphin language" to warn them of danger. The aim : reduce bycatch, after tens of thousands of dolphins drowned in fishing nets in recent years. Could ultrasound beacons save marine life and support the fishing industry ? FRANCE 24’s Aurore Cloé Dupuis and Alexandra Renard explain.

Celebrated as a superfood, avocados are so popular in Europe and North America that global production has tripled in two decades. But their farming and transport worldwide raise environmental concerns. As Europe's top consumer, France is now growing its own, a surprising move given that avocados are a subtropical fruit. The Down to Earth team reports.

Since Brexit, the UK is no longer subject to European water quality standards. In England and Wales, floods of untreated wastewater have been discharged into rivers and seas, harming the health of residents and destroying ecosystems. FRANCE 24's Down to Earth team reports.

Imagine a world where we could make paper, cardboard and packaging without cutting down a single tree. Today, that dream is becoming reality. The start-up Releaf Paper turns fallen leaves into value. It was founded by a Ukrainian scientist, who moved to France before Russia's full-scale invasion to set up a pilot factory in the suburbs of Paris. Production only started a few months ago, with promises of greener goods and a circular economy. FRANCE 24's Aurore Cloé Dupuis, Alexandra Renard and Jonathan Walsh report.

The construction industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world, consuming half of the planet’s natural resources, 40 percent of its energy and 16 percent of its water, as well as generating greenhouse gas emissions and waste. But here in France, the company Bat'Ipac has found an alternative: building with recycled cardboard instead of concrete. FRANCE 24's Alexandra Renard and Aurore Cloé Dupuis report. 

Coral reefs rank as some of the planet’s most vital ecosystems. Although they cover just 0.2 percent of oceans, reefs are home to a quarter of marine biodiversity. Scientists warn they could vanish in as little as a decade, unless we rapidly slow the rate of global warming. In Monaco, a team of scientists have decided to create a "Noah's Ark" for coral reefs, hoping to collect and preserve all species known to humankind before it's too late. Our Down to Earth team reports. 

One year after France’s northern Pas-de-Calais region was hit by record floods, victims are still recovering from the disaster. FRANCE 24 visited the town of Blendecques, where an entire neighbourhood is set to be demolished and transformed into a stormwater basin to prevent future flooding. Residents now say they're among the first in France to have been "displaced" by the climate crisis.