Norway set to ban semi-automatic guns from 2021
Norway plans to ban semi-automatic firearms as of 2021, a decade after rightwing extremist Anders Breivik’s mass shooting that left 69 people dead, a Norwegian lawmaker said on Tuesday.
Nations
Canada commits historic $1.3 billion to create new protected areas
The Trudeau government committed an unprecedented $1.3 billion in Tuesday’s Budget 2018 to protect land and water in Canada over the next five years.
Morocco unveils a massive solar power plant in the Sahara
Morocco has officially turned on a massive solar power plant in the Sahara Desert, kicking off the first phase of a planned project to provide renewable energy to more than a million Moroccans.
China will plant 32,400 square miles of trees to combat air pollution
China has tasked 60,000 soldiers to increase the country’s total forest coverage in an attempt to combat its serious air pollution problem.
Singapore to introduce carbon tax in 2019
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said the tax would be levied on all facilities producing 25,000 tonnes or more of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
To reduce air pollution, Germany will test free public transportation in some cities
In an effort to cut down on air pollution, the German government will be making public transportation free later this year. The campaign will take place in several cities, including Bonn, Essen, Reutlingen, Mannheim, and the town of Herrenberg.
Renewables account for 18 percent of U.S. power generation in 2017
Last year, Bloomberg New Energy Finance defined renewable energy as the new normal” in its Sustainable Energy in America Factbook. This year’s edition affirms that finding.
Australia could double its solar capacity by the end of 2018
The solar energy boom has been spurred by solar projects large and small, with multiple industrial projects paired with the appearance of solar panels on buildings all over the country.
Renewables overtake coal in European electricity supply
Good wind conditions and huge investment into wind energy have helped the European Union generate more electricity from renewable energy sources like wind, solar and biomass than from coal in 2017, a new study has shown.
Chile adds 10 million acres of parkland in historic first
At a ceremony on Monday, Chilean president Michelle Bachelet officially declared a major expansion of Chile’s parklands, creating two new national parks and protecting vast swaths of the country’s rainforests, grasslands, and other wild terrains.