When nations work together, problems that seem intractable often yield. This archive covers treaties signed, coalitions formed, and shared commitments that show cross-border cooperation producing real results — on climate, health, trade, and more.
Cape Verde, a former Portuguese colony, owes 140 million euros to the Portugal. Under the new agreement, Portugal will redirect debt payments owed to a fund that will help the island nation tackle climate change.
Pfizer’s not-for-profit pricing pledge now spans all 500 of its medicines — including chemotherapy and oral cancer treatments — across 45 of the world’s lowest-income countries. That’s a major expansion of an accord the company launched in 2022, which originally covered only patented drugs. By including off-patent medicines too, Pfizer is acknowledging that even decades-old cancer treatments often remain out of reach where generic supply chains never took hold. For patients across much of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where cancer and heart disease are rising fast, this could quietly move the floor on what’s possible. And when the world’s largest drugmaker makes a move this broad, the rest of the industry tends to notice.
Afghan girls and women with internet access will be able to study more than 1,200 courses from 20 top British institutions at no cost to themselves.
The Jordan River’s revival would be a rare win on multiple fronts — ecological, diplomatic, and human. Israel and Jordan signed a declaration at COP27 committing to reduce pollution, upgrade wastewater treatment, and promote sustainable farming along the riverbanks. EcoPeace Middle East, the cross-border group that spent years making this cooperation possible, believes restoration could recover up to half the biodiversity lost to decades of diversion and pollution. A healthier Jordan River would strengthen the case that environmental cooperation can outlast political tension — and offer a replicable model for shared waters under climate pressure worldwide.
Under the partnership, Indonesia will aim to cap its emissions from the power sector by 2030, faster than the initial target of 2037, and to generate 34% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Rich nations, which bear the brunt of responsibility for warming the atmosphere, have long resisted making such payments, seeking to avoid assuming legal liability for their contributions to climate change.
In the deal, the Nordic country will pay Indonesia, home to the world’s third-largest tropical forests, to keep its forests standing, thereby reducing its emissions.
Germany’s new program will support Afghans suffering persecution at the hands of the Taliban, including women’s and human rights advocates and people who have persecuted because of their religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
HFCs were widely adopted in the 1980s and 1990s to replace CFCs, which damage the Earth’s ozone layer. But then HFCs emerged as some of the most potent greenhouse gases, far more potent than carbon dioxide.
The decision is part of reparations for a period of colonial rule during which Germany committed a genocide against the Namibian people.
