Wales is building a national forest spanning the length of the country
£5 million has been allocated to complete the project, while another £10 million will go towards accompanied tree-planting programs through the Glastir farm grants program.
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.
U.K. government will pay wages for anyone facing unemployment due to pandemic
Unveiling an unprecedented intervention by the state in the British economy, the government will cover 80% of worker salaries for at least the next three months up to a maximum of $2,900 a month.
Fairphone launches new sustainable smartphone
The phone has a modular design which allows it to be durable, easily repairable, and upgradeable and is made with responsibly sourced and conflict-free tin and tungsten and recycled copper and plastics.
New E.U. rules aim to replace “throwaway culture” with circular economy
The new laws will ensure that new products brought to the EU market are repairable, recyclable, and designed to last longer than our current phones and tablets.
A million seagrass seeds are being planted of the United Kingdom coast
Experts say seagrass helps tackle the effects of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide faster than trees.
Norway to make all of its domestic flights electric by 2040
By 2040, the country intends all short-haul flights leaving its airports to be on aircraft powered by electricity.
Second-ever patient cured of HIV
A man from London has become the second person in the world to be cured of HIV, doctors say. Adam Castillejo is still free of the virus more than 30 months after stopping anti-retroviral therapy.
UBS ends financing for all new offshore oil projects in Arctic
In addition to this announcement, the investment bank has achieved its sustainable investment goal three years early, increasing its core sustainable investments by more than 56% to USD $488 billion.
U.K. carbon emissions have fallen by 29% in last decade
In 2019, Carbon Brief found that the U.K.’s CO2 emissions fell by 2.9%, bringing the total reduction to 29% over the past decade since 2010, even as the economy grew by a fifth.
Germany hits record 61% renewables for month of February
Throughout the month, Germany’s renewable energy sector regularly provided around 60% or above of the country’s electricity production – including over a dozen days around or above 70%.