Sanitation coverage in India hits 99%, up 60% in 5 years
Three infants die every two minutes in India due to lack of access to adequate water and sanitation services. The Swachh Bharat Mission aims to achieve 100% sanitation by October 2019.
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Sydney announces 100% renewable energy by 2050 target
Sydney will purchase only 100% renewable energy that’s generated by wind or solar starting next year.
Germany awards 505 MW in first ever large-scale solar PV tender
Germany’s Federal Network Agency has announced the winners of its first special tender for large-scale solar PV, in which 121 contracts were awarded totaling 505 megawatts (MW) of capacity at an average price of €0.065 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
New York becomes second U.S. state to ban plastic bags
State lawmakers in New York have approved a ban on plastic bags at retail and grocery establishments that would take effect next year as part of the state’s budget.
Maryland becomes the sixth U.S. state to raise the minimum wage to $15
Lawmakers managed to override Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a minimum wage bill. Maryland’s current minimum wage is $10.10, and the new policy will gradually raise the wage floor to $15 by 2025.
U.K. greenhouse gas emissions fell by 3% in 2018
Greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 3 per cent in the UK, finds provisional statistics released by the Government.
England’s Chester becomes the world’s first ‘Sustainable Palm Oil City’
More than 50 organisations in the city have revolutionised their supply chains and committed to sourcing palm oil — a vegetable oil used in thousands of household products from food items to cleaning materials and cosmetics — from entirely sustainable sources.
Puerto Rico bans gay and transgender conversion therapy for minors
The governor of Puerto Rico signed an executive order on Wednesday banning so-called conversion therapy for gay or transgender minors on the island.
New Jersey legalizes medically assisted suicide for the terminally ill
The bill allows adults with a prognosis of six months or less to live to get a prescription for life-ending medication. Currently, California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Hawaii, Montana and the District of Columbia allow physician-assisted suicide.
Puerto Rico passes 100% renewable energy by 2050 legislation
The law will bring lower cost electricity to the island and promote a network of distributed microgrids that will help avoid the prolonged power outages that followed in the wake of Hurricane Maria.