Nations

Acacia tree branch

Democratic Republic of the Congo plants more than 800 million trees between 2019 and 2023

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Ten percent of the world’s tropical forests are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). But the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the DRC is losing 1.2 million acres of forest every year. To help address this, a Congolese government program aspired to plant 1 billion trees between 2019 and 2023, aiming to strengthen climate resilience, alleviate poverty and protect biodiversity, and achieved 90% of their goal.

Medellin skyline at night

Colombia’s homicide rate has more than halved since the 1990s

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In the 1990s, more than 60 people per 100,000 were killed in homicides each year, according to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Homicide was the cause of 15% of all deaths at the time. The homicide rate has fallen significantly since then, as the chart shows. In 2021, it was around 27 homicides per 100,000 people. The country’s rate is now much closer to the regional rate of the Americas, at 15 homicides per 100,000 people.

Wind turbines amid clouds

Seven countries now generate 100% of their electricity from renewable energy

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Albania, Bhutan, Nepal, Paraguay, Iceland, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo produced more than 99.7% of the electricity they consumed using geothermal, hydro, solar or wind power. Data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) also revealed that a further 40 countries generated at least 50% of the electricity they consumed from renewable energy technologies in 2021 and 2022.

Dominica flag

Dominica’s High Court ends the country’s ban on being gay in historic ruling

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The High Court of Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean, has overturned a colonial-era law banning same-sex relations between consenting adults after a gay man filed a lawsuit claiming the ban was unconstitutional. The ruling stated that the constitution guarantees that a person shall not be hindered in the enjoyment of his right to assemble and freely associate with other persons and that this “must necessarily include the freedom to enter into and maintain intimate relationships without undue intrusion by the State.”

Mongolian yurts

Mongolia signs landmark climate finance deal for its grasslands

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Mongolia’s government and a coalition of partners have signed a nature finance agreement aimed at protecting 35.6 million acres of the country’s lands and waters, including the world’s last great tract of temperate grassland. The agreement dubbed “Eternal Mongolia” will see a global donor-supported transition fund worth $71 million combined with a government commitment to spend $127 million on conservation over a 15-year period.

Silhouette of wind turbines at dusk

Wind overtakes fossil fuels as U.K.’s primary source of electricity

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In a historic win for the LGBTQ+ community, Aetna reached a settlement today with a group of plaintiffs alleging medical discrimination in their fertility coverage. The insurance company is paying out $2 million to the members of the class action lawsuit, as well as restructuring how they cover fertility for queer couples moving forward. This marks the a major step toward ending fertility-based medical discrimination for LGBTQ+ couples in the U.S.

Technicians carrying photovoltaic solar module while installing solar panel system on roof of house

U.S. President Joe Biden announces $7 billion in federal solar power grants

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President Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities. The projects are expected to eventually reduce emissions by the equivalent of 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and save households $350 million annually, according to senior administration officials.

space debris in Earth orbit

India aims to achieve debris-free space missions by 2030

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Low Earth orbit is littered with about 30,000 objects larger than a softball and millions smaller than a centimeter. A bombshell study found unexpectedly high amounts of vaporized metals polluting Earth’s stratosphere, which is home to the fragile ozone layer, whose chemical makeup can be altered by satellite material. Another study posted to the preprint server arXiv suggested that debris from burning satellites could be altering our planet’s magnetic field.

A Polar bear surrounded by arctic wilderness

Biden limits oil drilling across 13 million acres of Alaskan Arctic

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Future oil and gas drilling will be limited across more than 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation’s largest expanse of public land, under a sweeping Biden administration plan aimed at protecting sensitive ecosystems and wildlife. In a separate move, the Department of the Interior has announced that it will block a controversial road crucial to operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska, saying it would threaten Indigenous communities and fragment wildlife habitat.

Rainforest scene

Brazil’s President Lula creates two new Indigenous territories, bringing total to 10

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The Cacique Fontoura reserve will be in Mato Grosso state and the Aldeia Velha territory will be in Bahia state. They will cover a combined total area of almost 132 square miles. Speaking at a ceremony in Brasilia, Lula said Indigenous peoples should be patient as he seeks to fulfill his pledge of creating 14 new territories. Last year, he demarcated six territories in April and two more in September.