Biden plans to cut U.S. climate pollution in half by 2030
The goal, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, would nearly double the cuts targeted by the Obama administration in 2015.
Today (2017 C.E. - 2025 C.E.)
This archive spans the years 2017 through 2025, a period marked by rapid advances in clean energy, medicine, technology, and social equity. It collects documented breakthroughs, policy wins, and scientific achievements from the present era. If you want evidence that progress is real and ongoing, this is where to look.
Ireland to replace last coal plant with massive green energy hub
The Republic of Ireland is set to say goodbye to coal, after the state-owned Electricity Supply Board announced it would transform its last remaining coal generation, the 915MW Moneypoint facility, into a green energy hub, including a 1.4GW floating offshore wind farm.
U.K. sets world’s toughest climate target for 2035
The U.K. government has announced a legally binding commitment to hit a 78 percent emissions reduction target by 2035, as compared to 1990 levels, on the way to net zero emissions by 2050. For the first time, this target includes aviation and shipping. The U.K.’s carbon emissions peaked at around 900 megatons per year in 1991, and the 2022 figure is on pace to be below 500 Mt, representing around a 45% emissions reduction achievement since 2002.
Denver to donate bison to Tribal land as form of reparations
The 10-year initiative has culminated in the first bison making their way from to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma and the Tall Bull Memorial Council in Colorado.
Derek Chauvin found guilty of the murder of George Floyd
“But today I won’t get that time to sleep, because I’m going to stay up and I’m going to celebrate, because this is a day of celebration. I’m happy, man,” Philonise Floyd told CNN’s Don Lemon.
Daimler Trucks North America begins accepting orders for all-electric freight trucks
Having demonstrated the concept, they will begin production of the trucks in 2022 and provide a “dedicated network of Freightliner dealers to support the end-to-end process of fleet electrification.”
Washington State bans use of for-profit detention facilities
Under the new law, the Northwest Detention Center, a 1,575-bed immigration jail in Tacoma, will be forced to shut down. The facility is run by GEO Group, a private prison company under federal contract.
New satellite network to find and monitor methane super-emitters
“These sort of methane emissions are kind of like invisible wildfires across the landscape,” Carbon Mapper CEO and University of Arizona research scientist Riley Duren said.
Court ends Trump’s attempt to allow drilling in 128 million acres of Atlantic and Arctic Oceans
In April of 2017, Trump signed an executive order aiming to undo an Obama-era ban on fossil fuel exploration in that territory, but a federal judge in Alaska ruled the move unlawful in 2019.
New Zealand requires financial institutions to prepare climate impact reports
Companies within the financial sector, like banks and insurers, must give a detailed report of climate change impacts on their businesses as well as information on how they handle climate-related risks and opportunities.