Sweden becomes world’s first country to include emissions used to produce imported goals in its climate targets
Greta Thunberg has long argued that rich countries need to take responsibility for and reduce emissions from imported goods.
Nations
Japan’s greenhouse gas emissions fall 5.1% in 2020/21 to record low
In April 2021, Japan, the world’s fifth-biggest carbon emitter raised its climate goal, pledging to trim emissions by 46 percent from 2013 levels by 2030 instead of its previous target of 26 percent.
Greece builds Europe’s largest double-sided solar farm
The installation of this bifacial solar farm is part of Greece’s aim to double its installed capacity from renewables to approximately 19 gigawatts by 2030.
Gabon announces immediate end to the logging of the Massaha ancestral forest
This is a precedent-setting case in the country’s management of forests, representing the first time an area will be declared protected at the request of the resident community.
Scotland’s forests are the largest they have been for 900 years
The share of Scotland that is forested has increased from 6 percent a century ago to around 18 percent today.
Ketanji Brown Jackson to become first Black woman to serve on U.S. Supreme Court
Jackson made history as the U.S. Senate confirmed her by a vote of 53-47. President Biden nominated Jackson to take over the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
Portugal’s floating solar energy auction sets world record negative price
EDPR’s winning bid was a negative price, meaning it will pay the Portuguese electric system 4.13 euros for each megawatt hour it generates over 15 years.
Brown bear population in Pyrenees Mountains highest for a century
Monitors have identified 70 individuals in 2021, with 114 newborns since launch of repopulation scheme in 1996.
Norway’s walrus population bounces back thanks to hunting bans
By the 1950s, only a small population of Svalbard’s walruses remained. In 2006, researchers were thrilled to count 2,629 walruses, and the latest count in 2018 recorded 5,503.
Zimbabwe decriminalizes the transmission of HIV
The decision aims to strengthen the country’s HIV response by reducing the stigma and discrimination that often prevents people from receiving prevention, care, and treatment services.