The global south’s ‘energy revolution’ got going, a new marine reserve was announced in the US, and debilitating diseases were defeated, plus more good news
This week’s good news roundup

One in five countries in the global south has a larger share of green energy in its electricity mix than the average global north nation.
That’s according to new analysis by the RMI, a US thinktank. It said that three-quarters of global south countries, including Brazil (main picture), are now in the “sweet spot” whereby the falling cost of renewables triggers a cleantech “revolution”.
As a result, the RMI predicted that fossil fuel demand for electricity would peak in the global south by 2030. The region “would not serve to prop up declining fossil fuel demand elsewhere”, it added.
The global south contains just 20% of the world’s fossil fuel reserves, but has 70% of global renewables potential, according to the RMI. Its research follows last week’s report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which predicted almost half of global electricity demand would be met by renewables by 2030.
Both the RMI and IEA said that more action is needed to speed up change, including more renewables-friendly policies and reduced financing costs for green energy in developing nations. “As Cop29 approaches, now is the time for countries’ policies to reflect the new economic reality of cleantech,” said the RMI.
Image: Anastasia Palagutina

India has become the latest country to eliminate trachoma – the leading infectious cause of blindness – as a public health problem.
Last week, Positive News reported on neighbouring Pakistan’s success in defeating trachoma. Now India has conquered the disease, which is spread via contaminated fingers or flies that have come into contact with the eyes of an infected person.
As recently as 2005, trachoma was responsible for 4% of all cases of blindness in India. By 2018, that figure was 0.008%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It follows a series of health interventions, including improvements to sanitation, better surveillance and diagnosis of trachoma, and increased education about the disease.
“We congratulate the government, health workers and partners who have collaborated to make this possible,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general.
Image: Tom Chen

Lymphatic filariasis – a debilitating parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes – is no longer a public health problem in Timor-Leste, the World Health Organization confirmed this week.
The infection is usually acquired in childhood, with painful disfigurements appearing later in life, often in the form of enlarged body parts.
The elimination of the disease follows the rollout of a WHO-approved triple drug therapy, called IDA, which was introduced to Timor-Leste in 2019.
Thailand, Sri Lanka, and – as of last week – Brazil are among the other nations to have eliminated lymphatic filariasis recently.
Image: Ano Tome

A better use of existing drugs could cut the risk of dying from cervical cancer by 40%.
That’s according to a study by experts at University College London (UCL). It found that a short course of chemotherapy prior to the standard chemoradiation (a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy) reduced the risk of cervical cancer returning by 35%.
“This approach is a straightforward way to make a positive difference, using existing drugs that are cheap and already approved for use in patients,” said UCL’s Dr Mary McCormack, lead investigator of the trial.
“It has already been adopted by some cancer centres and there’s no reason that this shouldn’t be offered to all patients undergoing chemoradiation for this cancer.”
Image: Anna Tarazevich

In a first for the US, Indigenous communities are to be made co-custodians of a vast new marine reserve off the coast of California.
Covering more than 4,500 square miles, the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (pictured) will encompass ecologically important waters off San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. Blue whales, leatherback turtles and southern sea otters are among the species found there.
Plans for the sanctuary – the third largest marine reserve in the US – were unveiled at the weekend. It’s a victory for the Chumash Indigenous community, which long campaigned to have the waters protected. “This recognition is a crucial moment for our community,” said Violet Sage Walker, chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council.
Though a management strategy for the reserve has yet to be published, conservationists welcomed the park’s creation.
“The sanctuary represents a new era of ocean management shaped through tribal collaborative co-stewardship, where traditional knowledge and practices are woven into federal management processes,” said Arlo Hemphill, a campaign lead for Greenpeace. “This historic measure protects wildlife while safeguarding sacred sites and embracing a model of ocean stewardship that respects the ancestral waters of the Chumash and other tribes.”
Image: NOAA

A dozen sites have been added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s green list, billed as the “global standard” for conservation.
China led the way with four protected areas meeting the IUCN’s criteria. Guizhou Mount Fanjing National Nature Reserve (pictured) – home to rare species, including the Guizhou golden monkey and Chinese giant salamander – was one of them.
Three sites in Colombia were added to the list, with a further two coming from Saudi Arabia. It’s the first time the green list has recognised Saudi conservation efforts. “We are actively working with our partners in the wildlife sector to bring all our national protected areas up to this standard,” said Dr Mohammed Qurban, CEO of Saudi’s National Center for Wildlife.
France, Mexico, and Zambia each had one site added to the list, which comes amid warnings about the plight of nature: a report last week found that wildlife populations have plummeted 73% in 50 years.
Of the new additions, IUCN deputy director general Stewart Maginnis said: “The success of these sites not only highlights their positive impact on people and nature but also inspires other sites to strive towards similar objectives.”
Image: Julien Viry/iStock

Air miles have been an aviation perk for decades, but with frequent flyers causing as much as half of the airline industry’s emissions, there are growing calls to tax jet-setters instead.
A report published this week advocates just that, claiming that a Europe-wide frequent flyer levy could raise €63.6bn (£54bn) annually, while dampening demand for air travel by 21%. Its authors propose using the money to subsidise low-carbon travel.
The research – compiled by the New Economics Foundation, a UK thinktank, and the campaign group Stay Grounded – proposes a frequent flyer levy that increases with every return flight a person takes in a year. The first would be untaxed, sparing 72% of Europe’s flyers.
“Right now, it doesn’t matter whether you’re flying to visit your family for the first time in years, or taking a tenth annual flight to your luxury house on the coast, you’ll be paying the same tax for that flight,” said Magdalena Heuwieser, aviation campaigner at Stay Grounded.
“A frequent flying levy would be a fair aviation measure, reducing excessive flights for wealthy passengers, while raising revenues … to expand and provide affordable railways and public transport.”
Read: 12 obvious ways to reduce emissions that nobody is talking about
Image: Deniz Altindas

Sluggish sales of electric vehicles (EVs) appeared to be putting the brakes on the race to decarbonise our roads. But after a slow start to the year, September saw a record number of EVs hit the roads.
Some 1.7m EVs were sold worldwide last month, according to market research firm Rho Motion – beating the previous record set in December 2023 by 150,000. China led the surge, followed by North America. In Europe, sales fell by 4%.
“The recent slowdown of sales in many parts of the world has sewn seeds of doubt [in EVs], which can now start to be swept aside,” said Charles Lester, Rho Motion data manager.
EVs have no tailpipe emissions, but the precious metals used in their batteries often lie under ecologically sensitive sites, meaning they have a significant environmental footprint.
But with cars and vans accounting for 25% of global oil use, according to the International Energy Agency, electrifying private transport is vital in the race to reduce emissions. More effective still is improving public transport and boosting active travel, climate campaigners argue.
Image: Mike Bird

Social media platforms could be forced to exclude young people from algorithms as part of a new bill aimed at tackling addictive online content.
The safer phones bill is being discussed by MPs this week and appears to have cross-party support. It comes amid growing research linking social media use among young people with poor mental health.
The bill was tabled by Josh MacAlister, a Labour MP who previously worked as a social worker. “The evidence is mounting that children doomscrolling for hours a day is causing widespread harm. We need the equivalent of the ‘seatbelt’ legislation [laws mandating car seatbelts] for social media use for children.”
Some countries have already taken action. The Netherlands banned phones during school hours, while France is trialling an identical policy. Ireland is mulling something similar after a town took matters into its own hands and launched a ‘no smartphones’ code.
Image: Pixabay

An action shot capturing a swarm of western toad tadpoles swimming amid towering plants in an underwater world in British Columbia, Canada, has been crowed the best image in this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.
The annual competition run by London’s Natural History Museum received a record number of entries this year, indicative – perhaps – of a growing appreciation for wildlife. Canadian photographer Shane Gross took top honours.
Dr Doug Gurr, the museum’s director, said: “These are photographs that not only encourage further wildlife conservation efforts, but that spark the creation of real advocates for our planet on a global scale.”
Read more here.
Image: Shane Gross/Natural History Museum
Main image: Grafissimo/iStock
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