This archive collects milestones and progress stories involving nations — countries and their governments — acting to improve lives, protect rights, or address shared challenges. From policy breakthroughs to international cooperation, these stories show what countries are doing right.
Starting in 2026, only ships powered by alternative fuels will be allowed to visit Norway’s fjords. Lawmakers want to protect the unique natural environment and stop marine diesel oil and mass tourism from damaging the climate. Some ships are now powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), but that will no longer qualify as an acceptable fuel for cruise ships visiting the fjords of Norway.
In 2023, GHG emissions in Germany fell to 673 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to Agora Energiewende. That is down 46% compared to the reference year of 1990 and the lowest level since the 1950s. At the same time, carbon emissions were about 49 million tons below the German national target of 722 million tons as specified by Germany’s Climate Protection Act and 73 million tons lower than the prior year.
Starting this week, same-sex couples can get married in Estonia, making it the first former Soviet nation to legalize marriage equality. Legislation for marriage equality passed the Baltic state’s parliament with a vote of 55 to 34 last June.
The UK’s electricity grid just hit a milestone unseen since 1957: gas and coal together produced less power than in any year of the last seven decades. Renewables — wind, solar, hydro, and biomass — supplied a record 42% of electricity in 2023, while coal alone has fallen 97% since 2008 and is set to disappear from the grid entirely when Britain’s last coal plant shuts in September 2024. Add nuclear, and more than half of the country’s electricity now comes from sources that emit no carbon. The deeper significance is simple: a major industrialized economy can run mostly on clean power not as a forecast, but as a lived, ordinary year — proof other countries can point to.
For the first time, in 2022, Scottish renewables generated more power than the country used, new government figures show. The growth of wind power, coupled with a small drop in electricity consumption, meant that the volume of electricity produced by renewables in Scotland was equal to 113 percent of demand.
The new 2023 World Health Organization report on road safety shows that, since 2010, road traffic deaths have fallen by 5%—and that would translate into a 16% drop if the rise in global population was accounted for. 108 countries reported a drop in road traffic-related deaths between 2010 and 2021. Ten countries succeeded in reducing road traffic deaths by over 50%.
Violent crime across America fell at one of the fastest rates ever recorded in 2023, offering a meaningful reversal after the pandemic years pushed homicides to historic highs. The drop touched cities of nearly every size — from large metros like Los Angeles and Chicago to suburban and rural counties alike. Analysts were surprised by both the speed and the breadth of the turnaround. Progress like this shows that even deeply entrenched crime surges can reverse, giving communities and policymakers reason to believe that coordinated, sustained effort genuinely moves the needle.
The IUCN Red List status of this timeless talisman of the Central Asian steppes has been changed from Critically Endangered to Near Threatened. The dramatic downlisting reflects a remarkable rebound in saiga numbers, particularly its Kazakhstan stronghold, where populations have bounced back from a perilously low 48,000 individuals in 2005 to a new high of over 1.9 million.
The number of electric school buses operating or delivered in the U.S. rose from 598 in March 2022 to 1,285 in June 2023. The number of electric school buses that have been ordered or awarded funding nearly tripled in the same period. Forty-nine states had electric school bus commitments as of June 2023.
According to the East Asian nation’s Environment Ministry’s new biogas law, public and private industries that generate organic waste such as livestock manure and food waste will now be required to produce them in the form of biogas. Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, plant material and manure and can be used in vehicles that operate on natural gas.
