Slovakia’s last coal mines to close in 2023
Lignite mining in the Slovak Upper Nitra region is coming to an end as the last two coal mines will close by the end of 2023 following the government’s plans to stop subsidies for domestic mining.
Climate crisis
The climate crisis demands action — and action is happening. This archive tracks real progress: policy wins, clean-energy milestones, community resilience, and scientific advances that show meaningful change is possible. Stories here come from every corner of the world.
Brazil’s President Lula issues six decrees revoking or altering predecessor’s anti-environment-and-Indigenous measures
One of the decrees annuls mining in Indigenous lands and protected areas, another resumes plans to combat deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes, and a third reinstates the Amazon Fund.
France bans short-haul domestic flights to curb carbon emissions
The European Commission has approved the move which will abolish flights between cities that are linked by a train journey of less than 2.5 hours.
Denmark reverses the direction of an oil rig for bulk carbon storage
Denmark is moving forward with an initiative that will take huge quantities of captured carbon out to an oil rig in the North Sea, and pump it down to sequester it in the sandstone formations that once held oil and gas.
Australia becomes first major economy to reverse renewable classification for woody biomass
Science has found that biomass burning releases more carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy produced than coal.
E.U. agrees to include shipping companies in emissions trading system
Starting in 2024, shipping companies will have to buy E.U. carbon permits to cover 40% of their emissions, including methane and nitrogen oxides, rising to 70% in 2025 and 100% in 2026.
American fusion scientists claim net energy gain, in potentially huge renewables breakthrough
Fusion energy just cleared a barrier scientists have been chasing since the 1950s — producing more energy from a reaction than was needed to trigger it. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved this by blasting tiny hydrogen fuel capsules with lasers until they released roughly 20 percent more energy than the lasers delivered. The result doesn’t mean fusion power plants are imminent; enormous engineering challenges remain between this laboratory milestone and a working grid. But it does confirm that fusion’s central promise is physically real — and that gives scientists, investors, and policymakers something genuinely new to build on.
Heat pump sales are soaring around the world
Sales of the climate-friendly heating technology are set to hit record levels, especially in Europe where some countries are seeing sales double in the first half of 2022 compared with the same period last year.
World’s first solar car goes into production
Solar-powered cars have moved from moonshot idea to manufacturing reality — and that shift matters more than any single vehicle rolling off the line. Lightyear’s debut model uses curved solar arrays across its roof and hood, harvesting enough sunlight to cover up to 40 miles daily — matching most people’s actual driving habits. At $255,000, it targets early adopters, though with solar panel costs having dropped over 99% since the 1970s, wider accessibility may follow. A car that generates its own fuel from sunlight quietly answers one of the strongest critiques of electric vehicles.
E.U. agrees to new law preventing import of goods linked to deforestation
The law will require companies to produce a due diligence statement showing that their supply chains are not contributing to the destruction of forests before they sell goods into the EU – or they could face hefty fines.