Germany successfully auctions off 7 GW of offshore wind projects
It is Germany’s largest-ever offshore wind auction and marks a substantial milestone in Germany’s quest for renewable energy expansion and is worth about $13.96 billion.
2023 C.E.
EVs exceed 10% of monthly auto sales in Australia for first time ever
Out of the 110,000 vehicles sold in Australia in September 2023, 10.6% came with a plug. Approximately 8% of these were battery electric and 2% were plugin hybrid EVs.
E.U. strikes historic deal to eliminate super-potent greenhouse gases
The interinstitutional agreement to phase out fluorinated gases (or F-gases) paves the way for Europe to become the world’s first HFC-free continent by 2050, setting an unprecedented environmental and climate standard on a global scale.
Mauritius decriminalizes gay sex in historic ruling
In 2016, Antigua and Barbuda, the archipelago nation that owns Redonda, launched an eradication campaign that cleared the island of rats. After that, they simply waited.
Laphonza Butler of California becomes the first out LGBTQ+ senator of color in the U.S.
Butler has served as a senior strategist in VP Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, has worked as the director for public policy and campaigns at Airbnb, served as president of the California chapter of the Service Employees International Union, and served on the University of California Board of Regents.
Canada’s first First Nations provincial premier elected in Manitoba
Wab Kinew, the 41-year-old head of the leftwing New Democratic party (NDP), has led the province’s party since 2017. A former rapper, broadcast journalist and university administrator, Kinew said his newly elected government will focus on reopening three emergency rooms shuttered in recent years.
Breakthrough human-like bioprinted skin heals wounds better and faster
For the first time, scientists from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have combined the six primary skin cell types with specialized hydrogels to ‘print’ a thick, multilayered skin that, when transplanted, successfully integrated with surrounding tissue to heal wounds faster and with less scarring.
Biden administration cancels another $9 billion in student loan debt
A White House official said that the new discharges bring the total approved debt cancellation to $127 billion for nearly 3.6 million borrowers so far during Biden’s time in office.
Countries pledge to raise $12 billion to fund coral reef protection
The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) said it would secure a massive public and private investment to help conserve and restore coral ecosystems, which sustain a quarter of the world’s marine species and more than a billion people.
European Union launches world’s carbon border tariff
The European Union has launched the initial phase of the world’s first system to impose CO2 emissions tariffs on carbon-intensive imports like iron and steel, as it tries to stop more polluting foreign products from undermining its green transition.