E.U. to end undercounting of plug-in hybrid emissions
Currently, regulators assume PHEVs are driven far more in electric mode than is actually the case, leading to unrealistically low emissions ratings.
Nations
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.
First couples wed as Swiss same-sex marriage law takes effect
Marriage for All took effect in Switzerland on July 1, 2022, with same-sex couples saying their vows just months after voters approved the law by 64.1% in a national referendum. Among the first were Aline and Laure, a Geneva couple of two decades who married on the 19th anniversary of their civil union. “It’s normality that’s taking effect,” Laure said — a quiet way of describing a change that also brings full adoption rights, immigration sponsorship, and equal access to fertility care. With Switzerland on board, most of Western Europe now recognizes same-sex marriage, adding momentum to a global shift that began with the Netherlands in 2001 and continues to widen, country by country.
Kenya’s coastal communities launch groundbreaking programs offering carbon credits for mangrove conservation
Launched two years ago, this first-of-its-kind initiative, known as Mikoko Pamoja (‘Mangroves Together’), raises money for its mangrove conservation by selling carbon credits to people and organizations eager to shrink their carbon footprint.
In world first, The Netherlands caps flights at major airport to cut pollution
Flight caps at major airports are now a reality, and the Netherlands just proved a democratic government can make it happen. By hard-capping annual flights at Schiphol — Europe’s third-busiest airport — Dutch leaders treated aviation the same way they’d treat any polluting industry: subject to real environmental limits, not just cleaner-technology promises. Climate researchers say that curbing flight numbers, alongside greener fuels, is genuinely necessary to meet Paris Agreement goals. Greenpeace called the decision a historic breakthrough, and it’s easy to see why — other governments now have a working model to follow.
India single-use plastics ban goes into effect
The country generates around four million tons of plastic waste per year, about a third of which is not recycled and ends up in waterways and landfills that regularly catch fire and exacerbate air pollution.
President Biden signs bipartisan gun control bill into law
The bill enhances background checks for gun buyers 21 years of age, provides billions for mental health services and closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole” to prevent convicted domestic abusers from purchasing a firearm for five years.
Japan withdraws funding for major coal projects in Indonesia and Bangladesh, effectively canceling them
Two planned coal-fired power plants, one in Indonesia and the other in Bangladesh, have had their funding withdrawn by the Japanese government, as part of Tokyo’s decision to no longer bankroll coal projects in either country.
Colombia launches largest ocean reef restoration project in the Americas
Colombia’s reef restoration effort is one of the most ambitious marine recovery programs anywhere on Earth — a government-backed push to plant one million coral fragments across 494 acres of degraded Caribbean seafloor. It pairs underwater nurseries and scientific method with indigenous and coastal communities whose knowledge of local waters runs deep. That combination matters: restoration ecologists consistently find that community-rooted programs outperform purely technical ones at scale. If it holds, this project offers a replicable model for reef recovery across the Caribbean and beyond.
E.U. extends carbon market to shipping and road transportation industries
Polluters will have to pay for all greenhouse gases they pollute — CO2, methane and nitrous oxide — when sailing within the EU and 50% of voyages outside of the bloc.
Canada bans manufacture and import of single-use plastics
The ban includes checkout bags, cutlery, straws and food-service ware made from or containing plastics that are hard to recycle, and will come into effect by the end of 2022.