Global carbon emissions fall by record 7% in 2020
Carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 fell by 7%, the biggest drop ever, the Global Carbon Project said in its annual assessment.
International community
This archive collects stories in which the international community — nations, multilateral bodies, and coalitions acting collectively — plays a central role in driving positive change. Coverage spans diplomacy, global agreements, humanitarian efforts, and cross-border cooperation that produce measurable progress.
Elephantiasis cases cut by 150 million worldwide since 2000
Over the last 20 years, however, the number of people infected has dropped by 74%, from 199 million to 51.4 million, and last year three countries—Malawi, Kiribati, and Yemen—eliminated it altogether.
Kigali HFC deal gives the world its best shot at slowing climate change
The Kigali HFC deal, signed in Rwanda’s capital on October 15, 2016, brought more than 170 nations together to phase down hydrofluorocarbons — coolants that trap heat roughly a thousand times more effectively than carbon dioxide. Analysts estimated the agreement could prevent up to half a degree Celsius of warming by 2100, a rare binding win for climate diplomacy.
Global life expectancy rises by more than a decade since 1980
Global life expectancy climbed past a decade between 1980 and 2015, with men reaching 69 years and women nearly 75, according to the Global Burden of Disease study. Childhood deaths halved since 1990, and malaria mortality dropped by roughly 60% after 2000. A quiet reminder that coordinated effort, over time, bends the curve.
175 nations sign Paris climate agreement on Earth Day in largest one-day treaty signing
The Paris climate agreement opened for signature on April 22, 2016, when 175 countries signed on a single day — more than any treaty had drawn at its opening ceremony. Ban Ki-moon chose Earth Day’s 46th anniversary deliberately, linking decades of grassroots activism to international law and marking a new phase in global climate cooperation.
170 nations sign the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFCs
The Kigali Amendment, signed in October 2016 by around 170 nations, committed the world to phasing down hydrofluorocarbons — refrigerant gases thousands of times more heat-trapping than CO₂. Building on the ozone-saving Montreal Protocol, full implementation could prevent roughly half a degree Celsius of warming by 2100, a rare case of climate diplomacy working quickly and at scale.
Sri Lanka’s malaria-free status puts 30+ nations on path to elimination
Sri Lanka was certified malaria-free in 2016, a hard-won milestone for a tropical island still recovering from civil conflict. Mobile clinics reached remote villages, and quick diagnosis in children stopped the parasite before mosquitoes could carry it further. The country had nearly beaten malaria once before, in the 1960s, only to watch it roar back — making this second victory feel earned.
World leaders adopt the Sustainable Development Goals at the UN
The Sustainable Development Goals were adopted on September 25, 2015, when 193 nations gathered at UN headquarters in New York and agreed to a shared 15-year plan spanning poverty, climate, and equality. More than 8 million people helped shape priorities through the MY World survey. It remains the broadest development framework humanity has ever attempted together.
U.N. adopts resolution to develop a high seas biodiversity treaty
High seas protection took a real step forward in 2015, when every U.N. member state agreed by consensus to begin negotiating a legally binding treaty for the open ocean. The waters beyond national borders cover more than 60 percent of the sea, yet had long lacked meaningful rules. This resolution opened the door.
The Large Hadron Collider goes live beneath the France-Switzerland border
The Large Hadron Collider sent its first beam of protons around a 27-kilometer underground ring on September 10, 2008, beneath the French-Swiss border near Geneva. Built by CERN over a decade with more than 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries, it remains one of humanity’s most ambitious collaborative experiments in understanding matter itself.