World Bank offers $1 billion for batteries in emerging markets
The World Bank committed $1 billion to finance battery-storage systems in developing countries, and expects its participation to attract another $4 billion in backing.
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.
U.K. grocers pledge to halve food waste from ‘farm to fork’ by 2030
Eighty-nine early signatories, including the U.K.’s biggest supermarkets as well as food producers, manufacturers and restaurant chains, have committed to halving their food waste from “farm to fork” by 2030.
Paralyzed patients walk again with help from new, revolutionary pain stimulator
The new research shows that electrical stimulation of the spine can re-educate the body and help move the legs even though signals from the brain are cut off.
U.S. Court restores federal protections for Yellowstone-area grizzly bears
A U.S. District Court judge restored federal protections to grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park, overturning a Trump administration finding.
Investor coalition joins manifesto to halt deforestation in the Cerrado region of Brazil
A coalition of investors managing over US$5.6 trillion in assets joined a coalition of more than 70 large food companies in calling for zero deforestation in Brazil’s Cerrado region.
The Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative debuts a bottle that can be cleaned, refilled, and resold without being broken down
It’s the first such system in the country, according to the report, and could vastly decrease the environmental impact of beverage sales.
State of Wisconsin ordered to cover surgeries for transgender University of Wisconsin employees
U.S. District Judge William Conley concluded that there was no legally valid reason to exclude medically necessary care for the workers and called some of the state’s arguments “unhinged from reality.”
Starbucks to design, build and operate 10,000 ‘greener stores’ globally by 2025
The stores would run on 100 per cent renewable energy, ensure waste was reduced by donating unsold food to local banks and use state-of-the-art technology to ensure that annual water consumption is reduced by 30 per cent.
Japan’s Marubeni to halve coal-fired power capacity by 2030
Japan’s Marubeni Corp said it would no longer start new coal-fired power plant projects and will halve its net coal power generating capacity of about 3 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
Germany launches world’s first hydrogen-powered train
Hydrogen-powered trains moved from concept to reality when two passenger trains began quietly serving real commuters across rural northern Germany — on routes too sparse to justify overhead electric lines, where diesel had been the only option. The trains emit nothing but steam and water, matching diesel on practicality, and other countries quickly began exploring the technology after seeing it work in the real world. The bigger challenge ahead is cost: green hydrogen remains significantly more expensive than diesel at scale, and the supply infrastructure is still maturing.