What went right this week: the good news that matters

The sound of progress has rarely been so literal. This week a “life-changing” breakthrough in gene therapy has given people born with genetic hearing loss potential for recovering some of their hearing.

A study published this week reveals how developments in gene therapy are providing a “huge step forward” in the genetic treatment of deafness. 

The study followed 10 patients who received the therapy to treat a genetic form of deafness caused by mutations in a gene called OTOF. The patients, aged between one and 24, received a functioning version of the OTOF through a single injection in the inner ear. 

Within six months, most had recovered some of their hearing, with the average volume of perceptible sound improving from 106 decibels to 52. One participant, a seven-year-old girl, recovered almost all her hearing and could hold conversations within four months, researchers said. 

“This is a huge step forward in the genetic treatment of deafness, one that can be life-changing for children and adults,” said study author Maoli Duan, a consultant at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet. “OTOF is just the beginning. We and other researchers are expanding our work to other, more common genes that cause deafness.”

Image: cottonbro studio

Suriname has become the latest nation to be certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) – and the first in the Amazon region. 

The South American country has led a decades-long effort to eradicate the mosquito-borne disease, deploying a health taskforce to provide free universal diagnosis and treatment across the country. Prevention, including through indoor insecticide spraying, has also helped control disease. 

“This certification is a powerful affirmation of the principle that everyone – regardless of nationality, background, or migration status – deserves universal access to malaria diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general.

“Suriname’s steadfast commitment to health equity serves as an inspiration to all countries striving for a malaria-free future.” 

Image: M M

“A return to global progress in ending child labour is evident”.

So concludes the latest assessment of child labour globally. Published by the International Labour Organization, it estimated that there are 22 million fewer children working today than in 2020. The number of children working in hazardous industries declined by even more – by 25 million – over the same period, it added. 

“This progress is very welcome news, especially in light of the rise in the number of children in child labour in the prior four-year period, from 2016 to 2020,” the report noted. 

However, with nearly 138 million children – 59 million girls and 78 million boys – estimated to be engaged in child labour worldwide, there’s still much work to be done. 

Image: Jessica Anderson

The days of burning coal for electricity are over in Ireland, which has become the latest nation to quit the dirtiest fossil fuel. 

The country’s last remaining coal-fired power plant, Moneypoint in County Clare, has been wound down six months earlier than planned. It will, however, continue to operate on stand-by as an oil-based backup until 2029. 

The closure of Moneypoint is thanks to Ireland’s rapid embrace of renewables. At the turn of the millennium, wind supplied just 1% of the country’s electricity, compared to more than a third today. 

“Ireland has quietly rewritten its energy story, replacing toxic coal with homegrown renewable power,” said Alexandru Mustață from campaign group Beyond Fossil Fuels. “The government’s priority now must be building a power system fit for a renewable future; one with the storage, flexibility, and grid infrastructure needed to run fully on clean, domestic renewable electricity.” 

Ireland is the sixth European nation to quit coal, following Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden and the UK. Spain and Italy look set to join the list later this year. 

Image: Cobh, Ireland. Credit: Jason Murphy  

Britain’s ash trees are becoming more resistant to the deadly fungal disease that has killed millions of the species in Europe, bringing fresh hope for the beleaguered tree. 

That’s according to research by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London, which found that young generations of ash trees are more genetically resistant to dieback than their parents. 

However, those behind the work warned that growing resistance may not outpace the destruction wrought by the disease as it continues to spread across Britain.

“We are encouraged to find evidence that a new generation of ash trees in Britain is on average more genetically resistant to ash dieback than their parents,” Kew’s Prof Richard Buggs told Positive News. “However, for us to start planting ash again, we need fully resistant trees and nature on its own may not be able to produce these.”

Prof Buggs mooted the possibility of a breeding programme to speed up ash’s evolutionary resistance. He also called for better protection of young ash trees. “We need to protect them from other enemies, like deer,” he said.    

Image: Jeffrey Hamilton

In a win for people power, the US Supreme Court has denied oil giant ExxonMobil’s bid to overturn a civil penalty imposed on it for violations of the Clean Air Act at a Texas refinery. 

The corporation had been fined $14.25m (£10.5m) – a record amount for a citizen-led public interest lawsuit – for breaching air pollution limits at its Baytown refinery. The lawsuit was filed by campaign groups Environment Texas and the Sierra Club back in 2010. 

Exxon took the case to the Supreme Court after a lower court upheld the original ruling in December 2024. The oil firm argued that the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to pursue the case and called for it to be overturned. On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected that bid, potentially setting an important precedent.

“The Supreme Court’s action allows citizens to continue to use the Clean Air Act in court to fight illegal polluters,” said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas. “Citizens need all the tools Congress provided so they can stand up to big corporations who are breaking environmental laws.” 

Image: Harrison Keely

Almost 1,000 employees in the UK are to switch permanently to a four-day week following another successful trial. 

The latest six-month pilot saw employees at 17 organisations, including the British Society for Immunology and the National Union of Students, shrink their working week to four days with no loss of pay. The trial was organised by the 4 Day Week Foundation and monitored by researchers at Boston College, US. 

Echoing the findings of other pilots, 62% of participants reported a reduction in how often they experienced burnout, while 41% saw an improvement in their mental health, and 45% said they felt more satisfied with life.

The findings were enough for 12 of the 17 participating firms to make the switch permanent, with the other five embracing a nine-day fortnight instead.  

“We’re really pleased to see such a high success rate,” said Joe Ryle, campaign director of the 4 Day Week Foundation. “People are happier, businesses are thriving, and there’s no turning back.”

Read more: The results of the world’s largest four-day week trial are in – and it’s good news

Image: Natalya Zaritskaya

A who’s who of climate scientists gathered at the Global Tipping Points conference in Exeter, England, this week to discuss looming planetary boundaries and how to trigger an unstoppable wave of progressive climate action – so-called positive tipping points.   

Offsetting the stark picture painted by some speakers, such as renowned Brazilian scientist Carlos Nobre – who warned that the Amazon rainforest is turning into a savannah – many had messages of hope. 

Economist Kate Raworth (pictured) spoke about how her ‘doughnut economics’ theory – which seeks to find a balance between meeting the needs of people and planet – has been adopted by scores of cities worldwide. Marten Scheffer, a complex systems theorist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, meanwhile, argued that society has reinvented itself before – and will do again. 

Those behind the conference, which Positive News attended, urged decision-makers attending Cop30 in November to take heed: “Only with… decisive policy and civil society action can the world tip its trajectory from facing unmanageable climate tipping point risks to seizing positive tipping point opportunities,” they said in a statement. 

Follow our series on positive tipping points here.

Image: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Car-sized urban gardens are creating a buzz in Britain – and not just among pollinators. 

Highlighting how parking spaces can be converted into urban oases, three ‘parklets’ scooped a silver award at the coveted Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in London. 

The demonstration gardens, created by Surrey county council, come amid a growing desire to reclaim the public realm from motor vehicles.

Surrey county council’s Matt Furniss said the parklets highlight “how we can provide a better balance between roads and pedestrians in our town centres”. The featured gardens will be installed in locations across Surrey at the end of the festival. 

Image: Surrey county council

A new map has launched to assist in the conservation of migratory marine animals.  

Developed by the University of Queensland’s (UQ), the first-of-its kind map, known as MiCO, reveals how more than 100 species traverse the world’s oceans – vital intel as nations draw up plans to conserve the seas. 

“Covering 109 species including birds, mammals, turtles and fish, MiCO brings together thousands of records from more than 1,300 sources to map how marine animals traverse the world’s oceans,” said UQ’s Dr Lily Bentley.​

The hope is that the model can be used to inform joined-up conservation policies such as the high seas treaty and 30 x 30, a global initiative to safeguard 30% of Earth’s oceans and land by 2030.

Read more here.

Image: Yongyuan Dai

A Swiss firm is on track to solve the conundrum of where to site solar farms, by turning railways into power plants.

Switzerland needs to boost solar output seven-fold by 2035 to meet climate goals, but a scarcity of land available for large-scale PV plants poses a serious hurdle to scaling up.

Now bright sparks at solar developer Sun-Ways have found a solution that exploits some of Switzerland’s 5,000km (3,100 miles) of railway line: panels that slot between the tracks.

A trial of the technology is now underway, with France, Belgium and Indonesia among the nations interested in embracing the idea.

Read more here. 

Image: sun-ways.ch
Main image: vgajic