Humanity

Forest with sun shining through, for article on land-use emissions

Global land-use emissions have fallen 30% this century

By / / Good News For Humankind

Net land-use emissions averaged roughly 5 billion metric tons a year over 2015–24, with 2025 about a third below the 2000s average — driven by slowing deforestation and by regrowing forests pulling carbon back out of the air. Brazil’s forest protection policies, Indonesia’s peatland rewetting, and China’s reforestation programs reshaped the picture. The uncertainty is large, more than half that figure. And the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains hard to reach, since its clearing is subsistence farming rather than export crops. Where deforestation is commercial, policy can stop it. Where it isn’t, that is much less clear.

Batteries, for article on lithium-ion battery costs

Battery costs have declined by 99% worldwide over three decades

By / / Good News For Humankind

Battery storage — once the missing link in the clean energy transition — is finally arriving at scale, and the numbers behind it are hard to overstate. A learning curve built from millions of small improvements in chemistry and manufacturing has made what once seemed impossible feel routine. What was an extraordinary expense in 1991 now costs a fraction of that, pulling electric vehicles, home storage, and grid-scale power into reach for far more people. Supply chain pressures and raw material constraints mean progress isn’t guaranteed — but the direction, so far, is undeniable.

Solar panels and wind turbines generating clean electricity for an article about renewable energy capacity, for article on 3-terawatt solar milestone

Humanity quietly crosses massive 3-terawatt solar power milestone

By / / Good News For Humankind

Solar power’s three-terawatt milestone tells a story of acceleration that’s hard to fully absorb — the third terawatt arrived in under two years, faster than any previous phase of the boom. Countries like Pakistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines are now seeing real solar growth, and the number of nations with at least one gigawatt installed nearly doubled between 2020 and 2025. But the technology’s falling costs haven’t been matched by accessible financing in lower-income countries, leaving millions still waiting. Whether this transformation reaches everyone — not just the wealthiest nations — is the question the next decade will answer.

Solar panels and wind turbines generating clean electricity for an article about renewable energy capacity, for article on 3-terawatt solar milestone

Renewables hit 49% of global power capacity for the first time

By / / Good News For Humankind

Renewable energy capacity crossed a landmark threshold in 2025, with global installed power surpassing 5,100 gigawatts and representing 49% of all capacity worldwide for the first time in history. The International Renewable Energy Agency reported a single-year addition of 692 gigawatts, led overwhelmingly by solar power, which alone accounted for 75% of new renewable installations. Clean energy now represents 85.6% of all new power capacity added globally, signaling that the transition has moved from aspiration to economic reality. The milestone carries implications beyond climate — nations with strong renewable bases demonstrated measurably greater energy security amid ongoing geopolitical instability.

A person sitting quietly on a bench at sunset, for an article about global suicide rate decline — 15 words.

Global suicide rate has dropped nearly 40% since the 1990s

By / / Good News For Humankind

Global suicide rates have dropped nearly 40% since the early 1990s, falling from roughly 15 deaths per 100,000 people to around nine — one of modern public health’s most significant and underreported victories. This decline was driven by expanded mental health services, crisis intervention programs, and proven strategies like restricting access to lethal means. The progress spans dozens of countries, with especially sharp declines in East Asia and Europe. Critically, this trend demonstrates that suicide is preventable at a population level — making the case for sustained investment in mental health infrastructure worldwide.

A child attending a rural school classroom for an article about extreme child poverty

Global extreme child poverty drops 18% as South Asia leads the way

By / / Good News For Humankind

Extreme child poverty has fallen by nearly 100 million children over the past decade, according to new World Bank research showing approximately 412 million children living on under a day in 2024, down from 507 million in 2014. South Asia led the way, with extreme child poverty more than halving thanks to sustained investment in education, nutrition, and health care. The progress is policy-driven, not accidental, demonstrating that coordinated public investment produces real results. Sub-Saharan Africa remains a serious challenge, accounting for over three-quarters of children in extreme poverty despite representing just 23% of the global child population.