Brazil’s national development bank BNDES has launched the Arc of Restoration program to restore degraded or destroyed woodland amounting to 23,160 square miles – an area nearly the size of Latvia – in the Amazon rainforest by 2030. It also seeks to capture 1.65 billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere by 2030.
Brazil launches $204 million drive to restore Amazon rainforest Read more
At the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the U.S., Czech Republic, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Iceland, Kosovo and Norway in formally joining the alliance, which was launched in 2017 by the U.K. and Canada. The new members have committed to not developing new unabated coal power plants and phasing out existing unabated coal plants.
The U.S. and six other nations commit to unabated coal phase-out Read more
In a powerful victory for climate campaigners, the Brussels court of appeal ordered Belgium to cut its planet-heating pollution by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. By 2021, Belgium had cut its emissions by just 24%. The court rejected arguments that Belgium’s impact on the climate crisis was limited by its small size.
Belgian court of appeals has ordered the country’s government to cut emissions faster Read more
This three-digit hotline, similar to 911 for emergencies, connects individuals to critical suicide prevention services, giving instant assistance 24/7, free of charge. According to Statistics Canada, 4,500 individuals across the nation die by suicide every year.
Canada launches new 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline Read more
Nepal has just become the first South Asian country to recognize a same-sex marriage after it formally recognized the marriage of Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey who wed in 1997.
Nepal registers its historic first same-sex marriage Read more
Minera Panamá will have to close the Cobre Panamá mine after the country’s highest court unanimously ruled that the terms of its contract were unconstitutional. The decision comes amid nationwide protests that blocked roads and shipping routes as Panamanians fought back against expansion of the mining sector due to its damaging environmental impacts.
Panama copper mine to close after Supreme Court rules concession unconstitutional Read more
Investment in new manufacturing capacity for zero-emissions vehicles, batteries, and critical minerals have jumped more than 250%, climbing from $14 billion in the year before Inflation Reduction Act’s passage to $51 billion in the year since its passage, according to the Clean Investment Monitor.
According to HSI, the African elephant population has declined by 96% over the last century, and poachers in Africa kill as many as 25,000 elephants and 1,300 rhinos every year. Poaching is the most significant threat to these species, experts say.
Canada bans import, export of elephant ivory and rhino horns including hunting trophies Read more
“The EU will finally assume responsibility for its plastic waste by banning its export to non-OECD countries,” said Pernille Weiss, a Danish member of the European parliament. “Once again, we follow our vision that waste is a resource when it is properly managed, but should not in any case be causing harm to the environment or human health.”
E.U. agrees to ban exports of waste plastic to poor countries Read more
The 2-gigawatt (GW) Al Dhafra solar farm is 22 miles (35 km) from Abu Dhabi and features almost 4 million bifacial solar panels. It will power nearly 200,000 homes and eliminate over 2.4 million tons of carbon emissions annually.
The United Arab Emirates opens the world’s largest single-site solar farm Read more
