Environment
🏭 EU sees decline in pollutant emissions amid economic growth
Total emissions in EU Member States dropped in 2021, continuing the decline since 2005. During the same period, GDP grew by 47 percent.
🌊 Less plastic in the oceans than presumed, says Dutch researcher
Recent research indicates significantly less plastic in oceans than estimated. Around 3 million tons, instead of 50 to 300 million tons of plastic waste.
🌡️ New IPCC chairman: Talk of doomsday doesn't help in climate efforts
"If you constantly communicate the message that we are all doomed to extinction, then that paralyzes people", says the new chairman of the UN:s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
🌳 Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has decreased by a third
Deforestation in the Amazon decreased by 34 percent during the first half of the year compared to 2022. In July, the region entered a dry season with an increased risk for deforestation. Was the positive trend interrupted then?
🛢️ Significant drop in tanker oil spills
The number of oil spills from tankers has seen a significant decrease. Also the quantity of oil spilled has decreased dramatically.
🐬 Critically endangered porpoise on the road to recovery
The population of this critically endangered cetacean has risen from 1,012 to 1,249 over the past five years, marking a 23% increase.
🐠 Untouched coral reef discovered in the Galápagos Islands
A previously unknown and untouched coral reef teeming with marine life has been discovered off the coast of Ecuador's Galápagos Islands.
🐸 This frog is leapfrogging back
Miraculous comeback of harlequin frogs offers hope for other "extinct" species. Scientists discover the resurgence of species previously thought to be lost forever.
💡 We get more from less electricity and energy
PART 3: During the same period that Sweden's population increased by two million and the economy increased by 176 percent, energy use only increased by 25 percent.