Costa Rica bans fishing of hammerhead sharks
Despite being critically endangered, hammerhead sharks have been bought and sold in Costa Rica for years, with demand being driven by shark fin soup.
Nations
Brazil moves to oust illegal miners from Indigenous lands in the Amazon
The invasion of miners has contributed to the spread of malaria among the Yanomami, with devastating consequences
Spain passes landmark gender recognition law
Spain’s new law allows those over the age of 16 to legally change their gender without medical supervision or a judge’s approval.
South Africa introduces new incentives for renewable energy
Businesses will be able to reduce their taxable income by 125% of the cost of a renewables investment. Individuals will be able to claim a rebate to the value of 25% of the cost of solar panels.
E.U. Parliament votes to effectively ban new combustion engine cars by 2035
Final approval is expected to be given by March, meaning the world’s largest trading bloc will soon officially be on track to almost completely phase out vehicles powered by combustion engines.
Saudi Arabia to send its first female astronaut into space
Rayyanah Barnawi will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission, Axiom Space’s second all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station in the second quarter of 2023.
Rhinos, elephants, and buffaloes are rebounding in Uganda
Since 1983, the population of buffaloes has grown 77 percent, reaching 44,163 in 2021. And over the same period, the population of elephants grew nearly 300 percent, reaching 7,975.
The E.U. to invest more than $270 billion in its own “green deal”
The Green Deal Industrial Plan will simplify regulation to help get proposed green projects up and running faster, accelerating access to investment, developing programs to train skilled workers in green industries, and more.
Ecuador establishes new reserve protecting over 3 million acres of forest
The Tarímiat Pujutaí Nuṉka Reserve of Andean and Amazonian forests in the Morona Santiago province of eastern Ecuador, where numerous Shuar and Achuar communities have for years been fending off numerous drivers of deforestation.
Wind and solar were E.U.’s top electricity source in 2022 for first time ever
Record additions of new wind and solar in 2022 helped Europe survive a “triple crisis” created by restrictions on Russian gas supplies, a dip in hydro caused by drought and unexpected nuclear outage.