Canada expands its pollution pricing rules
The federal carbon price floor was a charge of CAN$40 per ton on carbon emissions in 2021, and this fee will rise to CAN$170 per ton by 2030.
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.
Monash University develops world’s first bionic eye to fully restore vision in blind people
Gennaris, a bionic vision system from Monash University, could open a path to sight for people whose blindness stems from optic nerve damage — a group that most existing visual aids simply cannot help. The device bypasses the eye entirely, sending signals from a camera headset directly to tiles implanted in the brain, which then create perceivable points of light. Sheep trials confirmed the implants are safe and stable in brain tissue, and human trials are now being planned. If it succeeds, the underlying technology could eventually be adapted to assist people living with paralysis too.
A historic number of LGBTQ candidates in the U.S won their elections this year
According to the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a record of at least 340 out LGBTQ people won – beating 2020’s record of 336 for the most in US history.
Israel and Jordan agree to team up to save Jordan River
The Jordan River’s revival would be a rare win on multiple fronts — ecological, diplomatic, and human. Israel and Jordan signed a declaration at COP27 committing to reduce pollution, upgrade wastewater treatment, and promote sustainable farming along the riverbanks. EcoPeace Middle East, the cross-border group that spent years making this cooperation possible, believes restoration could recover up to half the biodiversity lost to decades of diversion and pollution. A healthier Jordan River would strengthen the case that environmental cooperation can outlast political tension — and offer a replicable model for shared waters under climate pressure worldwide.
After 14 years of advocacy, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s president signs new Indigenous peoples law
The country’s Indigenous pygmy people are now legally recognized as a distinct people with rights and must consent before the government and industries can exploit their land.
Indonesia seals $20 billion deal with G7 to speed up clean energy transition
Under the partnership, Indonesia will aim to cap its emissions from the power sector by 2030, faster than the initial target of 2037, and to generate 34% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Mormon church endorses U.S. federal marriage equality bill
The 17-million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints now supports a bill that codifies the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in any state by other states and the federal government.
Experimental vaccine stops deadly drug from entering the brain
In tests performed on rats at the University of Houston, the vaccine was shown to be effective at keeping one of the deadliest street drugs from reaching the brain, while not producing any significant side effects.
UN launches satellite-based system to pinpoint global methane hot spots
The Methane Alert & Response System, part of the UN Environment Programme’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, will be the first-ever publicly available global database of methane hot spots.
Lynx, wild horses and vultures return to eastern Spain in latest rewilding project
Rewilding Europe’s first project in Spain is bringing an 850,000-acre mountain landscape back to life — and the early signs are genuinely hopeful. Wild horses are already breeding, black vultures are being released at up to 15 a year, and Iberian lynx are expected within two years. The project is also designed around local communities, creating economic incentives for nature-based tourism and forest protection. Stories like this show that recovery is possible when wildlife, people, and landscape are treated as one connected system.