This archive covers progress stories from across Europe, spanning the U.K., Scandinavia, the E.U. and beyond. Readers will find reporting on health, climate policy, social welfare, science and more — drawn from nearly 1,200 articles tracking real gains made by communities, governments and researchers throughout the region.
A new study from Public Health Scotland has found that no cases of cervical cancer have been detected in young women who have been fully-vaccinated as part of the HPV immunization program, concluding that the vaccine was “highly effective” in preventing the development of the cancer. Scotland’s HPV vaccination program started in 2008 with girls offered the vaccine in their first year at secondary school.
Building on the success of a pilot plan last year, which provided 600 victims with critical funding, the new initiative aims to expand what are now known as “flee funds.” Survivors will each receive a monetary reward of around $3,200, meeting a critical need for people who face financial difficulties in leaving abusive environments.
Paulina Hennig-Kloska, who was appointed climate and environment minister in December 2023, said that the half-year moratorium in forests across the country was the first step to limiting logging. The government promised in its coalition agreement to protect 20% of the country’s forests.
Education Minister Gabriel Attal has just been appointed prime minister of France, the first out gay man and LGBTQ+ person to be named to the position. At age 34, he will also be the country’s youngest prime minister in its Fifth Republic.
A new Polish national program plans to replace half the country’s 2.7 million wood and coal-fired furnaces with natural gas furnaces or even more efficient heat pumps by 2030. The policy is projected to save more than 21,000 lives a year in Poland, increase the number of people breathing clean air 15-fold, and help Poland reach new E.U. air quality standards.
Starting in 2026, only ships powered by alternative fuels will be allowed to visit Norway’s fjords. Lawmakers want to protect the unique natural environment and stop marine diesel oil and mass tourism from damaging the climate. Some ships are now powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), but that will no longer qualify as an acceptable fuel for cruise ships visiting the fjords of Norway.
In 2023, GHG emissions in Germany fell to 673 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to Agora Energiewende. That is down 46% compared to the reference year of 1990 and the lowest level since the 1950s. At the same time, carbon emissions were about 49 million tons below the German national target of 722 million tons as specified by Germany’s Climate Protection Act and 73 million tons lower than the prior year.
Starting this week, same-sex couples can get married in Estonia, making it the first former Soviet nation to legalize marriage equality. Legislation for marriage equality passed the Baltic state’s parliament with a vote of 55 to 34 last June.
The UK’s gas power plants last year generated 31% of the UK’s electricity, or 98 terawatt hours, according to a report by the industry journal Carbon Brief, while the UK’s last remaining coal plant produced enough electricity to meet just 1% of the UK’s power demand or 4TWh. Fossil fuels have been increasingly squeezed out of the electricity system by a surge in renewable energy generation combined with higher electricity imports from France and Norway and a long-term trend of falling demand.
For the first time, in 2022, Scottish renewables generated more power than the country used, new government figures show. The growth of wind power, coupled with a small drop in electricity consumption, meant that the volume of electricity produced by renewables in Scotland was equal to 113 percent of demand.
