Borneo locals win a court battle to bar a coal miner from their land
After a two-year court battle, Indonesia’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of a lawsuit that claims the permit for the mining firm should be revoked.
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.
In 2019, more than 99% of Costa Rica’s electricity came from renewables
With a population of less than 5 million, Costa Rica is committed to becoming 100% carbon neutral this year.
Landmark French law will stop unsold goods being thrown away
France is to ban designer clothes and luxury goods companies from destroying unsold or returned items under a wide-ranging anti-waste law passed by parliament.
Germany is turning 62 military bases into wildlife sanctuaries
The German government has announced plans to convert 62 disused military bases just west of the Iron Curtain into nature reserves for eagles, woodpeckers, bats, and beetles.
Minnesota will pay homeowners to make their lawns bee-friendly
A new spending program approved by lawmakers in 2019 called Lawns to Legumes sets aside $900,000 annually to pay homeowners who replace traditional lawns with bee-friendly wildflowers, clover and native grasses.
Santa Cruz decriminalizes psychedelic mushrooms
The City Council of Santa Cruz voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a measure that will make investigation and arrest for “the adult possession, use or cultivation of psychoactive plants and fungi” a low-priority infraction by law enforcement.
India’s gigantic Bhadla Solar Park sets new world record
The 2.2GW park is almost 50% more than all the solar installations that the US’ largest residential solar installer has completed. It’s also about 50% larger than the world’s previous largest solar farm. It is just one small part of India’s ambitious plan to install 100GW of solar by 2022.
British carbon tax leads to 93% drop in coal-fired electricity
A tax on carbon dioxide emissions in Great Britain, introduced in 2013, has led to the proportion of electricity generated from coal falling from 40% to 3% over six years, according to research led by UCL.
The world’s most-profitable hedge fund pushes portfolio companies to dramatically cut emissions
TCI Fund Management – with $30 billion in assets – is pushing portfolio companies to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and disclose their carbon footprint. If they don’t, they’ll oust their boards or dump their shares.
Legalising gay marriage caused dramatic fall in suicides in Denmark and Sweden, study finds
A 46 per cent fall in suicides among people in same-sex marriages was recorded by comparing two time periods in Denmark and Sweden – from 1989 to 2002, and 2003 to 2016.