Hi everyone, it's been A Week. There's so much happening, accompanied by so much commentary, that it's impossible to keep up. Everyone has an opinion (so do we) but that's not very useful given all the noise. The best thing we can do at this point is remind all of our readers that the madness going down in Washington DC right now is not the only news story in the world. We'll leave it there. We hope this helps.
This week's top stories
Three big gender rights victories in Thailand, India and France
In a remarkable fortnight for global human rights, Thailand has extended free hormone therapy to nearly two thirds of the country's transgender population, India's Supreme Court has declared access to clean, gender-sensitive public toilets a fundamental right, and Europe's top court has protected women's bodily autonomy in marriage by ruling against forced marital relations in France.
Three countries have already eliminated a disease in 2025
Niger just became the first African country to eliminate river blindness, a tropical disease that once afflicted 8.5 million people in the country, Georgia has become the 46th country worldwide to eliminate malaria, bringing Europe close to becoming the world's first malaria free region, and Guinea has eliminated sleeping sickness, joining 15 other African countries that have achieved this milestone.
Asteroid sample reveals life's key ingredients preserved in space
NASA scientists have found the basic building blocks of life in a pristine sample from asteroid Bennu, including 14 amino acids used by living things and all five genetic code components. The 4.3-ounce space rock, collected in 2023, also contains minerals formed by ancient water, suggesting the early solar system had many of the ingredients needed for life. NASA
America's radical experiment in emptying youth prisons worked
In 2000, over 100,000 young Americans were locked up in juvenile detention facilities. By 2022, that number had plummeted by 75%, with 29 states experiencing even greater declines. The reduction came alongside major drops in youth crime - arrests for serious violent crimes by juveniles have fallen 78% from their peak in the 90s. New York Times
Brazil's rescue mission brings hope to Yanomami tribe
Two years after President Lula launched an emergency operation to save Brazil's largest Indigenous territory from illegal gold miners, hunger and infant mortality rates among the Yanomami are plummeting. Health centres have been reopened, malnutrition cases have dropped from 80 to 12 patients per day, and many mining operations have been expelled. Guardian
We suffered so much. We shed so many tears. We lost so many children … we were abandoned for so long. Now, the doctors have arrived.
Global air pollution has likely peaked
Emissions data of local air pollutants show that concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, black carbon, and organic carbon are all in decline. Many of these damage human health and ecosystems as well as promote climate change. Our World in Data
Donald Trump versus market forces
The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects solar power to provide the majority of new capacity built through 2026, oil companies have no extra plans to drill baby drill, American automakers are plowing forward with electrification, and a coalition of two dozen US governors, representing nearly 55% of the US population, are redoubling commitments to slash planet-warming pollution.
DRC to create Earth's largest protected rainforest
The Democratic Republic of Congo has established one of the world's largest protected areas by ministerial decree - a 540,000 km² green corridor safeguarding Earth's largest tropical carbon sink. The initiative combines conservation with sustainable development, aiming to create half a million jobs while protecting the world's largest intact rainforest. Greenpeace
Scientists keep 'artificial sun' burning at record heat for 17 minutes
Researchers in China have achieved the longest-ever run of super-hot plasma, maintaining temperatures six times hotter than the sun's core for over 17 minutes. The team at the EAST facility heated plasma to 100 million degrees Celsius, breaking their previous record of about seven minutes. SCMP
China emissions - flatlining since March 2024
A record surge in clean energy kept China’s emissions below 2023 levels for the last ten months of 2024, however overall emissions still grew by 0.8% due to record energy demand in January and February. Somewhat disappointing after high hopes of a peak last year, but momentum remains strong - renewable energy deployment this year is expected to meet all new electricity demand. Carbon Brief
Solar overtakes coal in Europe for the first time in 2024
Renewables—including hydropower and bioenergy—supplied 47% of the bloc’s power in 2024, while fossil fuels accounted for 29%. That’s a significant shift from five years ago, when renewables made up 34% and fossil fuels supplied 39%. The EU has halved emissions since their peak in 2007. Ember
FDA approves first non-addictive pain drug that matches opioids
Journavx is the first pain medication that works as effectively as opioids without addiction risks. The drug blocks pain signals before they reach the brain, showing strong results in two large trials with 2,000 surgery patients. The breakthrough provides a new option for treating acute pain from surgery and injuries. NYT 🎁
First CRISPR therapy approved for sickle cell treatment in England
England's health regulators have approved gene-editing therapy for severe sickle cell disease. The treatment modifies patients' blood stem cells using before re-infusion, and will be made available via the NHS to patients aged 12 and over with severe complications where stem cell transplants are suitable but donors unavailable. "It marks a significant shift in treatment." Euronews
Nine new protected areas across South America
The Andes Amazon Fund is possibly the world's most effective conservation initiative almost nobody has ever heard about. In the past month, it's posted nine stories about new protected areas in Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia, totalling almost 10,000 km². That is not a typo. Some of these areas are crucial biodiversity hotspots, home to hundreds of species of unique fauna and flora.
If it bleeds, it leads
Research by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shows that news avoidance hit a record level in 2024, with 39% of people surveyed saying they actively avoid the news some or all the time - up from 29% in 2017. Respondents said the volume of information, long-running stories such as the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan, and the negative nature of the news, make them feel anxious and powerless.
Open comments suggest that the intractable conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East may have had some impact. In a separate question, we find that the proportion that say they feel ‘overloaded’ by the amount of news these days has grown substantially (+11pp) since 2019 when we last asked this question.
And just in case you weren't worried enough already...
Human Progress
Wealthy countries see dramatic decline in heart disease deaths
Since 1950, cardiovascular disease death rates have plummeted in wealthy nations, falling five-fold in France and the UK, and four-fold in the US and Italy. The decline has been driven by medical advances like statins and stents, better screening for high blood pressure, dramatic reductions in smoking, and improved emergency care. Our World in Data
Global inequality hits 20-year low as 23 nations slash wealth gaps
The number of countries with high inequality has dropped from 74 to 51 since 2000, with the trend continuing even through COVID-19. This historic shift has seen 23 nations move into moderate or low inequality categories, representing one of the largest sustained reductions in national wealth gaps in modern history. World Bank
2024 saw one of the lowest ever death tolls from natural disasters
Around 10,000 people died from natural disasters last year, well below the annual average of 93,000 in the early 2000s and the 13,700 average of the 2010s. Countries have become incredibly effective at protecting lives (though not property) from floods, storms and wildfires, with the key exception being earthquakes - as tragically demonstrated in Türkiye in 2023. Sustainability by Numbers
Africa's massive electrification drive takes important next steps
The plan to bring electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030 has moved from aspiration to action, with 30 nations gathering in Tanzania last week to enable private power providers to compete with state utilities. The World Bank-backed initiative, aims to reach five million people per month. "It's the tech and the pricing. That's why this is finally happening now." New York Times 🎁
South-East Asia leads world with 82% plunge in malaria burden
The region has slashed malaria from 22.8 million cases in 2000 to four million in 2023, with momentum accelerating — since 2015 there's been 61% reduction even as global progress stalled. Four countries cut cases in 2022-23, with Bhutan and Timor-Leste reaching zero indigenous cases, showing how regional commitment can transform health outcomes. WHO
Historic shift puts women at the helm of Sri Lanka's recovery
Two years after protests toppled a corrupt dynasty, Sri Lanka's democratic revival is being led by women. Harini Amarasuriya, the nation's first ever non-dynastic female prime minister and a self-described 'childless cat lady,' is leading efforts to double female representation in parliament and increase women's workforce participation from 33% to 50%. New York Times 🎁
Girls' education in Africa sees dramatic 20-year leap
The female primary school completion rate in Sub-Saharan Africa has surged from under half to over two-thirds since 2000, with completion rates rising from 48.5% to 68.5%. This dramatic improvement narrows the gender gap to just 2.8 points behind boys — marking one of the region's most significant educational transformations despite conflict challenges. World Bank
UK stops landlords from evicting without cause
Labour's Renters' Rights Bill has been passed, abolishing landlords' power to evict tenants without cause and capping upfront payments to one month's rent. The landmark reform ends a 35-year era of housing insecurity dating to Thatcher's 1988 deregulation, providing stability for nearly five million British households. The Lead
The media’s obsession with personal drama and political intrigue continues to overshadow Labour’s genuine accomplishments, like the Renters’ Rights Bill, which delivers meaningful change to millions of lives.
UN sets historic standards to protect girls from forced pregnancy
In landmark rulings affecting 173 countries, the UN Human Rights Committee has established new standards requiring access to safe abortion and sexual education, especially for sexual abuse survivors. The cases, brought by four Latin American girls raped at ages 12-13, will help protect millions of adolescents in a region where teen pregnancy is still a major issue. Center for Reproductive Rights
Environment and Conservation
Marine sanctuary in Marshall Islands protects ancient coral reefs
The new sanctuary, home to the nation’s largest green turtle nesting colony as well as shark populations, will span 48,000 km² and cover two atolls, including some of the 'most pristine ecosystems in the Pacific Ocean,' and coral reefs that look like how the ocean might have appeared 1,000 years ago without human interference. Oceanographic
Mexico enshrines animal protection in constitution
Mexico has become the world's first major nation to constitutionally protect all animals, including farmed species, through groundbreaking reforms signed December 2024. The changes give federal authority to create comprehensive animal welfare laws, marking the most detailed constitutional protection for animals globally. Vox
India doubled its tiger population in a decade
By stepping up efforts against poaching and habitat loss as well as raising the living standards of communities near tiger areas, India has grown its tiger population from 1,706 individuals in 2010 to almost 3,700 in 2022. Home to three in four tigers worldwide, India’s success shows that conservation can benefit both biodiversity and neighbouring communities. NPR
The common belief is that human densities preclude an increase in tiger populations. What the research shows is that it’s not the human density, but the attitude of people, which matters more.
Yadvendradev Jhala, Indian National Academy of Sciences
World's rarest primate back from the brink in China
China's Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park has seen its population of critically endangered Hainan gibbon numbers triple from 13 to 42 since 2003. The 4,269 km² protected rainforest has seen the discovery of 75 new species, including 19 endemic to Hainan province, and is a pioneer in carbon sequestration. China Daily
Japanese crested ibis soars back from extinction
The crested ibis has rebounded from complete extinction on Japan's Sado Island to a thriving population of 500 birds, thanks to a pioneering partnership between rice farmers and conservationists. Over 350 farmers have transformed their paddies into wildlife sanctuaries by halving chemical use and reviving traditional cultivation methods. Atlas Obscura
Clothing recycling takes a giant leap forward in Sweden
A Swedish company has developed technology to produce a material from old textiles that can be used to manufacture brand new clothing - as compared to simple products such as upholstery fillings - and can help reduce the huge amounts of water and other resources used by the fashion industry, which also generates 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. RTBC
Two crucial environmental legal victories in Portugal and Nepal
The Portuguese parliament has adopted several texts aimed at banning deep-sea mining until 2050. The texts will be used to draft a law which, if passed, would make Portugal the first European country to enact such a ban. And in one of the most important cases in Nepal’s conservation history, Nepal’s Supreme Court has scrapped a new law that allowed development inside protected areas.
UK bans bee-killing pesticide - no more loopholes
The pesticide in question, Cruiser SB, is banned in the EU but has been used on an emergency basis in the UK since Brexit. It is lethal to a disease-spreading aphid but has the potential to kill off populations of bees at small doses and can stay in soils for years. The ban is seen as a win for pollinators and the country’s food supply, while the government pledges to develop alternative pesticides to support farmers. The Guardian
Community-led effort revives ancient river in Kerala, India
Local biodiversity committees are restoring Kerala's Jatari River through an innovative minimal-intervention approach, starting with a crucial 2-kilometre pilot stretch. It's India's first river restoration project managed entirely by local communities, combining traditional ecological knowledge with scientific restoration techniques. Eco India
Energy and Climate
Timeframes might shift – and it will inevitably take longer than some of the targets that have been set – but the energy transition is happening. It is not a question of if, but when.
Tim Joyce, Head of Macquarie Capital, Asia-Pacific
Investment into clean energy now twice that of fossil fuels
BloombergNEF reports global clean tech investment reached a record high of US$2.1 trillion in 2024, 11% year-on-year, and double the global investment in fossil fuels. Great - but not enough yet. Annual investment is running at just 37% of the levels required for the rest of this decade if the world is to get on track for net zero by 2050. BNEF
Germany - a record year for wind, solar, and batteries
While the country's leaders argue furiously about energy, the transition keeps on trucking. Last year, it installed a record 2,400 new onshore wind turbines with a total output of around 14 GW, around a million solar photovoltaic systems with a peak output of 17 GW, and almost 600,000 new battery storage systems - almost all of them in homes. Sehr gut!
China EV charging points up 49% to 12.8 million in 2024
This expansion comes amid surging demand for what the country terms new energy vehicles, with over 12 million units sold in 2024. China's dominance in electric vehicle uptake is impacting oil demand, especially as the country remains the largest importer of crude oil. Xinhua
California debunks one of the main anti-renewables talking points
From late winter to early summer last year, renewables met 100% of California’s electricity demand for up to ten hours on 98 days. Not only were there no blackouts during this period—thanks in part to backup battery power—but at their peak, renewables provided up to 162% of the grid’s needs. This story challenges one of the key arguments against clean energy: that renewables are unreliable and intermittent. Grist
Quebec bans new petrol cars from 2035
Quebec, Canada’s second-largest province, passed a bill at the end of last year not only banning the sale of gasoline-powered light-duty vehicle starting in 2035, but also the sale of hybrids and plug-in hybrids which still have a combustible engine. Quebec makes up roughly half the country’s EV sales despite only being a fifth of the population. It also has the cleanest electricity - 94% hydro and 5% wind. Electrek
Türkiye doubles solar power way ahead of target
The country has surged past its 2025 solar energy goal 18 months early, doubling capacity to 18 GW in just two and a half years — saving $5.4 billion in gas imports. This acceleration, driven almost entirely by small scale solar, echoes what's happening in Pakistan. There's a lot more potential too - with big plans for utility scale and floating solar. Ember
Solar surges 25% in the Middle East and North Africa
The Middle East and North Africa achieved a 25% jump in solar capacity to 24GW in 2024, while building 3GW of local manufacturing capacity. Over 80% of the growth occurred in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt, and with Morocco passing 2GW and 20GWh of battery storage planned, the region is transforming to clean power manufacturing hub for Europe and Africa. PV Magazine
UAE launches world's largest solar-battery plant for 'baseload solar'
Abu Dhabi is taking on the intermittency barrier with a groundbreaking 5.2GW solar facility paired with 19GWh of battery storage — delivering reliable 1GW baseload power around the clock. This first-of-its-kind project transforms renewable energy from intermittent to reliable, creating 10,000 jobs while pioneering the future of clean power. Energy Monitor
State Grid of China keeps plowing money into electrification
Last year, the State Grid Corporation of China, the grid operator for 80% of the country, invested $83 billion in grid expansion and modernisation, up 15.3% from 2023. This year, it plans to invest $89 billion. No transition without transmission. China gets it, and they're by far the most important country to do so. Bloomberg
Science and Technology
Strong as steel, light as foam
Scientists have used AI to design nanomaterials with the strength of carbon steel and the lightness of styrofoam. The breakthrough employs machine learning algorithms to optimise 3D-printed nanolattice geometries, distributing stress loads more effectively than conventional designs. The material could have significant implications for the aerospace industry, among others. Live Science
Lab-grown heart patches show promise in first human patient
German scientists have created living heart patches that help damaged hearts beat stronger. The team at University Medical Center Göttingen successfully tested patches made from reprogrammed blood cells in monkeys and their first human patient. This breakthrough could provide an alternative for the 64 million people worldwide suffering from heart failure. The Guardian
Chinese scientists turn E coli into a photosynthetic life form
Scientists at Central South University have engineered E. coli bacteria to perform photosynthesis, transforming the common gut microbe into a solar-powered chemical factory. The breakthrough system allows the bacteria to convert sunlight and CO2 into valuable industrial chemicals, potentially enabling carbon-negative manufacturing of fuels and materials. SCMP
New recycling plant uses super-hot water to break down mixed plastic
A UK company has launched a first-of-its-kind facility that uses high-pressure superheated water to break down mixed and contaminated plastics. The process, more efficient than conventional methods, transforms previously un-recyclable waste into raw materials for new plastics, producing half the carbon emissions of incineration. Nature
Scientists create smaller, more versatile gene-editing tool
Researchers have engineered a miniaturised version of CRISPR that's just one-third the size of current gene editors, allowing it to reach previously inaccessible tissues. The compact system, dubbed NanoCas, has been successfully used to edit muscle cells, opening new possibilities for treating muscle-wasting diseases. Science
Scientists attempt to revive extinct dodo using gene-edited pigeons
A US-based bioscience company has launched a groundbreaking project to bring back the dodo bird, extinct for over 300 years. The team, led by ancient DNA expert Beth Shapiro, plans to edit pigeon genes to recreate dodo-like birds for release in protected areas of Mauritius. The $435 million project aims to develop conservation technology that could also help endangered species. WaPo
That's it for this edition. Thanks for reading. We'll see you next week.
With love,
The FTN team