What went right this week: the good news that matters

The world’s highest court has paved the way for polluting nations to be sued for their emissions in a ruling described as “a once-in-a-generation moment” for climate justice. 

On Wednesday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, published a landmark legal decision stating that if governments fail to curb emissions, approve new fossil fuel projects, and roll out public money for oil and gas then they could be in breach of international law. 

The case was brought to the ICJ by law students and activists in the low-lying Pacific nation Vanuatu (pictured). Though the court’s ruling is non-binding, meaning it does not create a legally enforceable obligation, experts said it would still have major consequences. 

“The era of climate impunity is over,” the Center for International Environmental Law said in a statement, adding that the ruling “sets a new global standard for urgent action and accountability on climate justice”.

Lea Main-Klingst, a lawyer at Client Earth, said: “The age of producing and bankrolling fossil fuels with abandon is over. This new-found clarity will equip judges with definitive guidance that will likely shape climate cases for decades to come. It’s now up to civil society and legal advocates everywhere to pick up this new tool and use it.”

Image: Seiji Seiji

“Fossil fuels are running out of road”, the UN secretary-general António Guterres said this week, as research showed that renewables accounted for 92.5% of all new electricity capacity in 2024. 

During a speech in New York, Guterres said the plummeting cost of renewables has made clean energy “smart economics”. His comments came as a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) found that 91% of renewable power projects commissioned in 2024 were more cost effective than fossil-fuel alternatives. 

Guterres spoke against a backdrop of swingeing cuts to clean energy in the US, where the Trump administration has also gutted climate research. 

“Countries that cling to fossil fuels are not protecting their economies – they are sabotaging them,” said Guterres. “The fossil fuel age is flailing and failing.”

Despite the falling cost and accelerating rollout of renewables, though, global emissions hit new highs in 2024. Guterres said that renewables were essential for energy security, pointing to the role of fossil fuels in the 2022 energy crisis. “There are no price spikes for sunlight, no embargoes for wind,” he said.

Image: Eelco Böhtlingk

Aspen trees are standing tall again in Yellowstone National Park, US, following the reintroduction of wolves. 

For the first time in 80 years, researchers have documented new overstory aspen in America’s oldest national park. The “ecological milestone” comes 30 years after wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone having been wiped out by hunters in the 1920s. 

Without the apex predators, elk flourished in the park, munching much of its foliage, including young aspen. The knock-on effects were huge with aspen supporting a range of other species including beavers and birds. 

However, with wolves back in the mix – along with bears and cougars – elk numbers have fallen and aspen are reaching maturity again, a study found. 

“The reintroduction of large carnivores has initiated a recovery process that had been shut down for decades,” said lead researcher, Luke Painter of Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “This is a remarkable case of ecological restoration.” 

Image: Doug Smith

Firms will no longer be allowed to ‘ghost’ candidates that they interviewed for a job under new rules coming into effect in the Canadian province Ontario. 

Interviewing for a role only to hear nothing back is a frustratingly familiar experience for many job seekers. However, an update to Ontario’s Employment Standard Acts will oblige firms to notify candidates about the status of their application within 45 days.

The new rules, which will apply from 2026, will also oblige firms to outline salary details in adverts and disclose whether artificial intelligence is used in the hiring process. 

The legislative tweaks, lawmakers said, will improve transparency for jobseekers going through the recruitment process. It’s not clear how they will be policed. 

Image: Mina Rad

Two marine reserves have been created in the Mediterranean Sea after the Greek prime minister fulfilled a promise to protect 30% of the country’s waters by 2030. 

The new protected areas – in the Ionian Sea and the South Aegean Sea – were announced in a television address by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who said that David Attenborough’s Ocean documentary had influenced his decision. 

The documentary brings into sharp focus the devastation caused by bottom trawling, a destructive fishing practice that Mitsotakis confirmed would be banned in all of Greece’s marine reserves by 2030. 

It makes Greece the first European nation to ban bottom trawling in protected areas. Still, the 2030 timeline disappointed environmental groups, which wanted to see swifter action. 

Image: Sebastiano Corti

10,000 steps was just a marketing gimmick – walking 7,000 steps a day is plenty. 

That’s according to a major health study, which claims the revised step count could help to protect against a range of deadly diseases, including cancer.

The research, published in the Lancet, suggested that walking 7,000 was linked to a 25% lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease, compared to walking 2,000. The risk of developing dementia, depression and cancer was also lower, by 38%, 22% and 6% respectively. 

Those behind the research said that the 10,000 step guide was conjured up by a Japanese firm trying to sell pedometers, and that there was limited evidence as to its health benefits.  

“Although 10,000 steps per day can still be a viable target for those who are more active, 7,000 steps per day is associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health outcomes and might be a more realistic and achievable target for some,” the study concluded. 

Image: Juliane Liebermann

A bird that was eaten to extinction in Scotland is staging a “remarkable” comeback, conservationists said this week. 

The crane – a mainstay of medieval banquets – was absent from Scotland for around 500 years, but is now re-establishing itself in the country amid ongoing efforts to restore wetland habitats. 

According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), this habitat restoration work is paying off across the UK, where a record number of breeding pairs have been reported, including in Scotland. 

“The return of this iconic species to Scotland is one of the great modern conservation success stories,” the RSPB’s James Silvey told STV News. “The fact the birds recolonised naturally is a result both of an increasing European population and suitable habitat.” 

Image: Mike Pennington

A cedar that The Beatles climbed (pictured), an oak that featured in Virginia Woolf’s literature, and a beech from the final scenes of the film 1917 are among the trees shortlisted for the Woodland Trust’s tree of the year competition.

The annual gong seeks to raise awareness about rare, ancient or at-risk trees across the UK. This year’s 10 nominees were chosen along the theme ‘rooted in culture’, highlighting how trees are ingrained in the UK’s cultural landscape. 

“Our oldest trees hold more stories than Shakespeare; some were putting down roots long before he began writing, more than 400 years ago,” said Woodland Trust patron, actress and author, Dame Judi Dench. “They are as much part of our heritage as any literature.”

Voting opened at the weekend with the winner due to be announced in September before going on to represent the country in the European tree of the year finals.

Image: Rosa Johnston‑Flint/WTML

In a move that will raise eyebrows in Denmark and The Netherlands, Paris has been crowned the world’s best city to cycle in.

People For Bikes, which assesses the quality and connectedness of cycle networks across urban areas, ranked the French capital number one in its large cities index, ahead of The Hague and Brussels.   

Paris’s embrace of bikes has been well publicised in recent years. Under outgoing mayor, Anne Hidalgo, the city has been crisscrossed with hundreds of miles of cycle lanes, which have replaced car parking spaces in a bid to make Paris greener.

People For Bikes’s index is, however, disputed with the Dutch Cycling Embassy reckoning Utrecht (‘the city where the future has already arrived’) to be the gold standard for urban cycling. Still, the direction of travel is clear: Europe’s cities are becoming more bike-friendly.

Image: Eddie Junior
Main image: Mlenny/iStock