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.
Denmark is moving forward with an initiative that will take huge quantities of captured carbon out to an oil rig in the North Sea, and pump it down to sequester it in the sandstone formations that once held oil and gas.
Science has found that biomass burning releases more carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy produced than coal.
The bill bans hate speech and incitement based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Nearly 200 countries just agreed to protect 30 percent of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030 — a leap from the 16 percent of land and 8 percent of seas currently safeguarded. The deal, struck in the early hours of a December morning in Montreal, also commits wealthy nations to send $30 billion a year to developing countries for nature protection. Crucially, Indigenous communities — who steward an estimated 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity — won language protecting their land rights and traditional knowledge in how these areas are governed. Past pledges have faltered, and enforcement remains the open question. But for a world losing species at rates unseen since the dinosaurs, having nearly every nation in one room agreeing to reverse course is a milestone worth marking.
Barbados becomes the third Caribbean nation this year to repeal such laws used to criminalize gay men.
Starting in 2024, shipping companies will have to buy E.U. carbon permits to cover 40% of their emissions, including methane and nitrogen oxides, rising to 70% in 2025 and 100% in 2026.
The bill requires that the federal and state governments to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages performed by other states.
Over the past decade, rubella cases have decreased dramatically in the Western Pacific Region, as millions of babies and young children have been reached with vaccines.
The levy aims to prevent European industry from being undercut by cheaper goods made in countries with weaker environmental rules and incentivize trading partners to decarbonize.
The law will require companies to produce a due diligence statement showing that their supply chains are not contributing to the destruction of forests before they sell goods into the EU – or they could face hefty fines.
