Nations

Close-up of jaguar eyes

Once on the brink of local extinction, jaguars across the Brazil-Argentina border have more than doubled since 2010

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In the 90s, the Green Corridor, a 457,000-acre stretch of protected land that links Argentina’s Iguazú National Park and Brazil’s Iguaçu, was home to between 400 and 800 jaguars. By 2005, that number had dropped to 40. Today, thanks to coordinated conservation efforts between the two countries, the population has grown to at least 105. Women-led economic initiatives and formal institutional support, like “Jaguar Friendly” certification for the local airport, have proven vital to strengthening human-wildlife connections and bolstering conservation efforts.

School meal

Free school meals to be extended to half a million more of England’s poorest children

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Since 2018, children in England have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year, meaning hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty have been unable to access them. Now, from the start of the 2026 school year, every child whose household is on universal credit will be entitled to free school meals. The major policy expansion is expected to offer free meals to an additional 500,000 children across, lift 100,000 children out of poverty, and put an extra £500 in parents’ pockets.

Sea turtle underwater

Samoa establishes nine new marine protected areas covering 30% of its ocean

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The Samoan government has enacted a law establishing a plan to sustainably manage 100% of its ocean by 2030. The plan creates nine new marine protected areas that cover 30% of Samoa’s ocean, an area roughly the size of Taiwan. The MPAs mean that Samoa meets its 2020 agreement to protect 30% of Earth’s land and ocean by 2030. They ban activities that harm marine life or habitats, including fishing, mining, and drilling.

Pride celebration with pride flag in foreground

Italy extends legal recognition to same-sex mothers in major court ruling

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In a landmark move bringing Italy in step with many of its European peers, the Constitutional Court has ruled that both women in a same-sex couple who conceive a child abroad via medically assisted reproduction must be legally recognized as parents. This decision marks a significant stride toward legal parity and stability for LGBTQ+ families across the country.

Kyrgyzstan landscape with teal lake

Kyrgyzstan creates 3,000 square mile ecological corridor to protect biodiversity

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The Kyrgyz Republic has announced the creation of a vast ecological corridor covering over 3,000 square miles, marking a major step forward in the Central Asian nation’s conservation efforts. This new corridor is said to connect existing protected areas, including Khan-Tengri National Park and Naryn Nature Reserve, expanding the total protected landscape to over 4,600 square miles. Among the species benefiting are the snow leopard – classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN – and its prey, such as the Asiatic ibex and argali sheep.

Coal plant on the water

No new coal plants planned for South America for the first time since the 1800s

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When the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, South America had eighteen coal-fired plants on the drawing board, reflecting global uncertainty about the role coal would play in powering emerging economies. Today, that uncertainty has vanished. Coal, once perceived as a staple of industrialization and economic stability, has essentially vanished from the continent’s energy future.

Dead birds covered in oil

Guyana lawmakers pass bill making companies liable for oil spill damages

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The legislation stipulates that responsible parties provide financial assurance to cover spills, conduct regular inspections and audits, and address any issues found.
The legislation stipulates that responsible parties provide financial assurance to cover spills, conduct regular inspections and audits, and address any issues found. It also includes penalties for companies that fail to comply with regulations, including the suspension of licenses to explore and produce oil for those that do not provide the financial assurance required. The bill, which passed with a majority of votes cast in a simple voice vote, is expected to be signed into law by President Irfaan Ali soon.

Factory polluting with wind turbine in foreground

China’s CO2 emissions begin declining for first time

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The world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide has seen a slight decline in those emissions over the past 12 months, even as demand for power has increased. This is an encouraging sign that the country’s massive investment in clean energy has begun to displace fossil fuels. A new report, published in Carbon Brief, finds that the country’s CO2 emissions have declined by 1% over the past 12 months. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, emissions declined by 1.6% relative to last year.

Warsaw, Poland

Coal produces less than half of Poland’s power for first time since 1800s

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According to a report by Forum Energii, an energy think tank, electricity produced from coal in April 2025 amounted to 6.5 terawatt-hours (TWh), accounting for 49.4% of the total energy mix. This represents an 18.9% decrease from March and a 9.6% drop compared to the same month in 2024. Forum Energii described recent changes in the electricity mix as “unprecedented”, noting that the use of coal had fallen by 29.9 percentage points between April 2015 and April 2025.

Peace sign lit in the sky at night

Kurdistan Workers’ Party agrees to peace deal with Turkey, ending deadly 40-year conflict

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The decision promises to put an end to one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East and could have significant impact in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. In February, party leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999, urged his group to convene a congress and formally decide to disband. The call by Ocalan marked a pivotal step toward ending the decades-long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s.

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