2024 C.E.

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77% of universities have now pledged to divest from fossil fuels

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115 U.K. universities have now pledged to exclude fossil fuel companies from their investment portfolios, following Birmingham City University, Glasgow School of Art, Royal Northern College of Music, and the University of Bradford all incorporating fossil fuel industry exclusions into their Ethical Investment Policies. The divested universities represent 77% of the U.K. Higher Education sector and more than $22 billion USD worth of endowments.

Damascus Cityscape

‘Disappeared’ Syrian dissidents emerge from Assad’s prisons after regime collapse

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As Syrian rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured city after city on the road to Damascus, forcing Bashar al-Assad to flee the country, they also opened the doors of the regime’s notorious prisons, into which upwards of 100,000 people disappeared during nearly 14 years of civil war. Many emerged frail and emaciated into the bright December sunlight, greeted by weeping family members who had no idea they were still alive.

Coal|Power plant

Indonesia aims to phase out all coal-fired and fossil fuel power plants by 2040

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Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has announced his country will seek to phase out all coal-fired and fossil fuel power plants by 2040, pairing the goal with a target to build over 75 GW of renewable energy capacity over the same period. This brings forward Indonesia’s goal of retiring coal-fired power plants from 2056 to 2040. As the world’s fifth-largest operator of coal-fired power capacity at 52.3 GW, Indonesia’s promise to transition completely away from coal could serve as a pivotal step towards global decarbonization if implemented as planned.

Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Namibia elects Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its first female president

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Nandi-Ndaitwah was a member of the underground independence movement in Namibia in the 1970s. She was promoted from foreign minister to vice-president in February, after president Hage Geingob died while in office. She was widely viewed as a steady hand, a seasoned diplomat not tainted by the corruption scandals that had engulfed some other members of the ruling Swapo party.

Turkmenistan flag

Turkmenistan to join global wildlife trade convention CITES

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The Central Asian nation is set to join the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) beginning in 2025. Home to many charismatic and widely traded species, such as the Persian leopard, snow leopard, peregrine falcon and markhor goat, this move is a step toward regulating the legal wildlife trade and preventing the illegal trade in Turkmenistan and the whole of Central Asia.

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Solar power booms in Pakistan

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Sky-high power prices are fueling a massive solar buildout in Pakistan. Solar is gaining traction on farms and factories after the government cut electricity subsidies, causing prices to spike. In many places, electric bills cost more than rent, and blackouts are common. Panels purchased in 2024 amount to 17 GW of capacity, enough to raise Pakistan’s total power capacity by a third.

Ovarian and Cervical Cancer Awareness. a Teal Ribbon

Cervical cancer deaths are plummeting among young U.S. women

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Every year, thousands of American women die of cervical cancer. However, from 1992 to 2015, the number of deaths due to cervical cancer among U.S. women under the age of 25 fell steadily from each three-year period to the next, dropping roughly 75% altogether over that span. The sharp decline in cervical cancer deaths is likely due, at least in part, to the widespread introduction of the HPV vaccine in 2006.

A Aerial Photo Of Fredericksburg Va on a clear fall day

Rappahannock Tribe first in U.S. to enshrine rights of nature into constitution

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The Rappahannock Tribe in Virginia has become the first tribal nation in the U.S. to adopt a tribal constitution that grants legal rights to a river, specifically protecting the Rappahannock River’s rights to exist, flourish, and maintain clean water. The provisions allows legal cases on behalf of the river itself, with a tribal court system planned for 2025 to enforce these rights. The Rappahannock’s actions are part of a rights-of-nature movement that includes Ecuador’s constitutional recognition of these rights in 2008 and New Zealand granting legal personhood to the Whanganui River in 2017.

MIT building

MIT will make tuition free for families earning less than $200,000 a year

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Families making under $100,000 will not have to pay housing, dining or other fees, and they’ll have an allowance for books and other personal expenses. Families who make Families of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) making under $100,000 will not have to pay housing, dining, or other fees, and they’ll have an allowance for books and other personal expenses. Families who make more than $200,000 a year can still receive need-based financial aid. Tuition for the 2024-2025 academic year at MIT is nearly $62,000. Housing, dining, and other fees can add up to another $24,000 annually, making it an enormous burden for families or forcing students to go into decades of debt.

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