What went right this week: a novel solution to homelessness, plus more

People experiencing homelessness are to be given direct financial support as part of a pioneering UK trial.  

The government-funded trial is inspired by similar schemes in Mexico and Canada, where cash transfers were shown to reduce the amount of time that people were homeless for, while saving the state money. 

“At a time of severely strained public finances, we are keen to learn whether we can use money more effectively and more efficiently to tackle deep-rooted societal problems like homelessness,” said Michael Sanders, professor of public policy at King’s College London, which is leading the trial.  

The UK pilot will recruit 360 people in England and Wales. Half will continue to receive their current level of support, while the other half will receive extra financial assistance, albeit not directly. The charity Greater Change will hold and spend money on behalf of participants to ensure that their benefits payments are uninterrupted.

The trial comes amid mounting evidence to suggest that giving money to those who need it is a surprisingly effective solution to poverty.

“Sometimes by trusting [people] to do the right thing, we can achieve greater impacts more cost effectively,” Prof Sanders told Positive News. “We hope that the findings can help shape government policy at the local and national level in the UK, as well as internationally.”

Image: Tom Parsons

Researchers have developed the first new treatment for asthma in half a century, offering a potentially “gamechanging” therapy for people with the condition. 

In a study, the drug benralizamab was found to be considerably more effective at easing asthma attacks than the current steroid tablets. Administered as an injection, it reduced the need for further treatment by 30%, the study showed. Benralizamab proved similarly effective at treating flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

Asthma and COPD cause an estimated 3.8m deaths per year globally. Treatment for both conditions have barely evolved in 50 years, but that could change with the new jab. 

“Benralizumab is a safe and effective drug already used to manage severe asthma. We’ve used the drug in a different way – at the point of an exacerbation – to show that it’s more effective than steroid tablets, which is the only treatment currently available,” said study lead Prof Mona Bafadhel from King’s College London. 

“We hope these pivotal studies will change how asthma and COPD exacerbations are treated for the future, ultimately improving the health for over a billion people living with asthma and COPD across the world.”

Image: Matteo Vistocco

As delegates arrived in South Korea to thrash out a UN treaty to cut plastic pollution, Japanese researchers this week hailed a new “environmentally friendly” plastic that dissolves in sea water. 

Made using supramolecular chemistry, the material was developed by scientists at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science. They claim that it’s just as tough as existing plastic, despite taking 10 hours to break down in sea water. When placed in soil, the material disappears within 10 days, they said, leaving behind phosphorus and nitrogen.  

The non-toxic plastic alternative is made of ionic monomers – large organic molecules – that are linked together by reversible salt bonds. “With this new material, we have created a new family of plastics that are strong, stable, recyclable, can serve multiple functions, and importantly, do not generate microplastics,” said lead researcher Takuzo Aida.  

It’s hoped that the material will one day replace existing single-use plastics, which take centuries to break down. As ever, the challenge will be producing it at scale and encouraging industries to embrace it. The need is urgent: plastic production is set to double by 2050.

Image: RIKEN

It was a climate conference that made many question the point of the Cop climate summits. Nevertheless, despite being hosted by a petrostate, attended by a glut of oil execs, and almost ending in failure, Cop29 had some silver linings. 

“As in previous Cops, the most constructive developments occurred outside the formal negotiations,” wrote the UK’s longest serving environmental journalist, Geoffrey Lean. 

Indonesia, the world’s eighth biggest CO2 emitter, unexpectedly pledged to phase out fossil-fuel power generation. Mexico U-turned on its position as the last hold-out of net-zero in the G20. And 30 nations, including the UK and EU, promised to adopt tougher measures to slash emissions. 

Meanwhile, rich nations agreed to provide $300bn (£240bn) a year in climate finance to developing countries by 2035. That’s a long way short of the $2.4tn (£1.8tn) that they’re estimated to require by then, and developing nations were bitterly disappointed with the sum. But it’s an improvement on the $100bn (£78bn) previously pledged. 

There was also a sense that China’s influence at Cop29 grew ahead of an expected US retreat under Trump. China – the world’s biggest polluter – has much to gain from the green energy transition: its clean-tech sector is booming. 

Image: Cadu Gomes/VPR

Experts are increasingly confident that China’s emissions have peaked – an important milestone for the world’s biggest polluter. 

Nearly half (44%) of those surveyed by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Finnish organisation, believe that China’s emissions have peaked, or will next year – up from 21% in 2023. 

In its latest report, the CREA said that renewable energy in China “accelerated further after rapid capacity expansion in 2023”. For the first time, it added, electric car sales there exceeded 50% for three consecutive months in 2024, helping the country cut emissions from transport.  

China is expected to account for almost 60% of all renewable energy capacity installed worldwide between now and 2030. However, the CREA said that while its “substantial efforts are starting to bear fruit” there is still “little clarity on Chinaʼs emissions pathway”. 

It added: “China will need to either speed up renewable energy deployment even further or guide economic development in a less energy-intensive direction.”   

Image: Li Yang

A plan to expand Switzerland’s motorway network has been rejected by Swiss voters in a referendum framed as a win for the climate. 

Swiss voters rejected motorway expansion, but only marginally, with 53% rejecting the proposals. Despite the result, there is still disagreement about how to improve transport in Switzerland, according to BZ, a local newspaper. 

The left leaning Greens and Social Democrats favour using the money saved to improve public transport, while the right-wing Swiss People’s Party want to use the funds to maintain existing roads. Either way, the Swiss people have spoken: it’s a ‘no’ to new motorways.  

Image: Ed Wingate

A ban on snares came into force in Scotland on Monday, marking a victory for animal welfare campaigners, who have long lobbied for the devices to be outlawed. 

Snares are used to catch foxes, rabbits and other wild animals but can also trap household pets and protected species. Campaigners have long argued that they are cruel and indiscriminate. 

In March, Scotland followed Wales in bringing forward legislation to ban snares, despite vociferous opposition from gamekeepers. That legislation is now law. 

“This is a huge step in the right direction for protecting Scottish wildlife,” said Ariane Burgess of the Scottish Greens. “It is a victory that animal rights campaigners should be proud of. Without their pressure calling for all snares to be outlawed, our wildlife would still be subject to this cruelty.” 

Image: Nathan Anderson

Rotterdam has become the first Dutch city to return art objects looted during the colonial era. 

Artefacts from the Indonesian islands of Lombok and Bali were returned this week. The objects had been held by Rotterdam’s Wereldmuseum for generations. 

The Netherlands is considered a leader in repatriating colonial-era items. In 2021, it published new guidelines making it easier for former colonies to reclaim stolen artefacts. This week’s return of objects to Indonesia was a result of the new national policy framework.

“These pieces are more than artefacts; they are symbols of identity and resilience, embodying the rich cultural heritage of Indonesia,” said Mayerfas, Indonesia’s ambassador to the Netherlands. “Cultural repatriation is a collective responsibility and an essential step toward healing and reconciliation from the past.”

Image: Boudewijn Bollmann/Rotterdam Wereldmuseum

A new wind-powered ferry will soon run between England and France, amid rising demand for slow, low-carbon travel. 

SailLink, the firm behind the service, confirmed to Positive News this week that it’s “on schedule” to launch its first full season in 2025. Positive News travelled on the firm’s catamaran during an early pilot in 2022.  

“I’m not trying to be a competitor with the ferries – I can’t take a lorry,” said company founder Andrew Simons. “I want to focus on foot passengers and cyclists, the cultural connection between the hearts of the ports, the sailing experience, the real closeness to the ocean, and [for passengers] to be able to go back home and say [they’ve] learned something.”

Capable of carrying 12 passengers, SailLink’s catamaran (pictured) will take between three and four-and-a-half hours to cross the English Channel, the world’s busiest shipping route. Tickets will cost from around £85. A schedule will soon be published. 

Image: Nici Wegener/SailLink

Researchers behind a major international study aim to unravel the secrets of why a tiny percentage of cancer patients survive longer than others.  

The Rosalind study will work with ‘cancer super survivors’ diagnosed with some of the most aggressive forms of the disease in the hope of learning how and why they beat the odds.  

“Understanding why treatments can affect people with the same type of cancer differently is important if we’re to develop more effective ways to beat it,” said Dr Hattie Brooks from Cancer Research UK, a charity.

“This could ultimately allow doctors to develop new therapies that are more likely to work for people with these harder-to-treat cancers, who currently have fewer options.” 

Read the full story here.

Image: Sabrina Bracher
Main image: iStock