Luxembourg first in Europe to legalize growing and using cannabis
Under the legislation, people aged 18 and over will be able to legally grow up to four cannabis plants per household for personal use.
Europe
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.
Volvo builds a world-first vehicle using fossil-free steel
SSAB plans to begin producing its fossil-free steel at scale in 2026, while Volvo plans to have an entirely climate-neutral business by 2050, including its supply chain.
Psychedelics linked to lower heart disease and diabetes risk in new study
“The findings suggest that lifetime classic psychedelic use is associated with lower odds of having had heart disease or diabetes in the past year,” lead study author and Oxford sociologist Otto Simonsson.
New cancer treatment destroys tumors in terminally ill head and neck cancer patients
In a landmark trial, a cocktail of immunotherapy medications harnessed patients’ immune systems to kill their own cancer cells and prompted “a positive trend in survival.”
Austria announces new carbon tax to curb emissions
The government believes that the tax will generate five billion euros by 2025, which will be returned to residents as an annual “climate bonus.”
France to ban plastic packaging for most fruit and vegetables in January 2022
France’s environment ministry expects that the measure will prevent more than one billion useless plastic packaging items per year.
Norway hopes to boost body image with retouching law
In Norway, images that have been altered to change a person’s appearance must now be labelled as retouched under new amendments to the country’s marketing act.
Access to a healthy environment, declared a human right by UN rights council
According to World Health Organization, 24% of all global deaths, roughly 13.7 million deaths a year, are linked to the environment, due to risks such as air pollution and chemical exposure.
Turkey ratifies Paris Agreement, becoming the last G20 country to join
Turkey’s parliamentarians on Wednesday unanimously approved the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, which aims to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.
Seven nations launch initiative to end new coal power
The Compact calls on nations to halt the construction of unabated coal-fired power generation projects by the end of this year. Initial signatories include Sri Lanka, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Montenegro, France, and the U.K.