The government is making available about 150 million seedlings in public nurseries in an effort to combat climate change. The tree planting will be supported by an app that helps people match their location with an appropriate species and creates a communal record of tree-planting activities across the country.
It is expected that by 2050, half the land area of Tuvalu’s capital, Funafuti, will be flooded by tidal waters daily. Under the deal, Australia has committed to provide access to education, health care and income and family support instantly to Tuvaluans upon arrival.
In 2021 almost 140 countries agreed to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development deal they are meant to implement from next year to prevent big companies from avoiding taxation by transferring profits to low-tax countries. Germany has now formally implemented that commitment.
The Vatican, which leads the Catholic Church, has said that transgender people and people in same-sex relationships can be baptized and serve as witnesses at weddings, and trans people can also be godparents as well.
Since taking power last year, leftist President Gustavo Petro has enacted a slate of new policies aimed at protecting Colombian forests, including paying locals to conserve woodland. The recent gains in Colombia mirror similar advances in the Brazilian Amazon, where leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has cracked down on forest clearing.
Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment that ensures access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health care. Ohio became the seventh state where voters decided to protect abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The Canadian federal government has signed its first major nature agreement with a province and First Nations to mutually support protecting 30% of lands and waters by 2030. The agreement is meant to protect old growth forests in the B.C., support the recovery of at-risk species, and restore ecosystems.
The new program aims to help students of color, first-generation college students and students from low-income households receive a higher education. After earning an associate degree, the new program will also allow students to receive a bachelor’s degree from the university for about $10,000.
Landowners with oil palm trees in designated production forests will be allowed to continue growing the crops after paying fines, while plantations found in protected forests will have to be turned over to the government for reforestation. Companies that grow oil palms illegally after the Nov. 2 deadline will be subject to legal action.
According to the new policy, police will not be able to use a statement an officer knows is not true over any mass media or in any way that will “shock the conscience.” The policy also requires officers to get permission before using any ruses, along with other use guidelines.
