What went right in 2024: the top 25 good news stories of the year

While the climate crisis came into ever sharper focus in 2024, emissions continued to rise – but not everywhere. 

Data published in October revealed that emissions in the European Union (EU) plummeted by 8% in 2023, meaning greenhouse gas pollution in the bloc is now 37% below 1990 levels. The closure of coal-fired power stations and rapid rollout of renewables drove the decline.  

EU nations have committed to cutting emissions by 55% this decade, compared to 1990 levels. The European Environment Agency estimates that current policies would see it fall short with a below-target 43% reduction.

Still, the direction of travel is clear. The International Energy Agency reported that emissions in advanced economies dropped to a 50-year low in 2023. Experts are also increasingly optimistic that China – the world’s biggest polluter – may have reached peak emissions. 

Image: Veeterzy

A poor show for green parties in the EU elections and incoming US president Donald Trump’s promise to “drill, baby, drill” could not take the wind out the sails of the green energy revolution in 2024, which was led by China.

China is currently building almost twice as much wind and solar as the rest of the world combined, data from July showed. The rest of the world is playing catch-up. Separate research found that most global south countries have entered the “sweet spot” of green energy, whereby the falling cost of renewables triggers a cleantech “revolution”.

Europe’s electricity grid, meanwhile, decarbonised at record pace, and the new UK government put the country back at the sharp end of the energy revolution. It became the first advanced economy to quit coal in October and is on course to decarbonise its electricity grid by 2030.

“The narrative that we’ve seen around renewables – that they’re unreliable and expensive – isn’t being borne out in the facts,” said Frankie Mayo, lead UK analyst at the energy thinktank Ember. “Renewables are cheaper than coal and gas. We’re seeing a global picture of [countries] edging towards wind and solar.”

Image: Sjoea

Net zero sceptics like to claim that going green is a drag on the economy, but that line sounded hollower than ever in 2024.

In February, number crunchers at Carbon Brief, a climate reporting website, found that China’s low-carbon energy sector – including renewables, battery storage and electric vehicles (EVs) – was the main driver of economic growth in 2023, accounting for 40% of China’s GDP expansion.

Meanwhile, a separate report revealed that while the UK economy grew by just 0.1% in 2023, its burgeoning ‘net zero economy’ grew by 9% over the same period. What’s more, green jobs were found to be better paid, with the average ‘net zero salary’ coming in at £44,600, compared to the UK average of £35,400.

“Against the backdrop of economic stagnation, the net zero economy is bucking the trend,” said Peter Chalkley, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit.

Image: ma li/iStock

Landmark legislation aimed at reversing biodiversity loss in the EU came into force in August. The nature restoration law requires all EU nations to restore and protect wildlife on a fifth of their land and sea by 2030. 

Populist politicians fuelled protests from some farmers, who claimed it would increase bureaucracy and dent profits, forcing concessions from the European parliament.  

Nevertheless, #RestoreNature, a coalition of environmental charities, welcomed the new law. “We are relieved that MEPs listened to facts and science, and did not give in to populism and fearmongering,” it said.

Meanwhile, in a world first, England introduced legislation requiring all new developments to boost nature. It means that if habitats are destroyed for homes, roads or other developments, equivalents must be recreated on-site or elsewhere. New habitats must deliver a 10% biodiversity gain, rather than simply replacing what has been lost. 

Image: Ricardo Frantz

Conservation interventions are succeeding in saving species around the world, according to a study published in May. 

Researchers analysed hundreds of conservation projects globally and found that interventions – including creating protected areas and eradicating invasive species – boosted biodiversity or slowed its decline in most cases (66%) compared with no action taken at all.

“If you look only at the trend of species declines, it would be easy to think that we’re failing to protect biodiversity, but you would not be looking at the full picture,” said Penny Langhammer, lead author of the study. “Conservation is, in fact, working to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.” 

A separate study found that conserving biodiversity hotspots that are currently unprotected – an area totalling 1.2% of Earth’s land – would prevent the extinction of the world’s most threatened species. This was backed up by further research in September, which said the targeted conservation of 0.7% of the planet would save our rarest species. 

Image: LFPuntel/iStock

The list of imperilled species continued to grow in 2024, but some creatures came back from the brink. The Iberian lynx (pictured) was one of them. It clawed its way off the endangered list following a decades-long conservation effort in Spain and Portugal.

In Australia, three iconic species – western quolls, bettongs and bilbies – returned to Sturt national park, New South Wales, while the UK’s crane population hit new highs. Not bad for a species that was wiped out by British hunters in the 16th century.

Other success stories include: Eagles returning to downtown Toronto, a rare butterfly coming back from the dead in Wales, a fish-eating spider making “an incredible comeback” in England, sea turtle nesting in Greece in record numbers, the return of the Florida grasshopper sparrow and a Caribbean lizard’s epic comeback.

These glimmers of good news were further reminders that conservation works. Such efforts need to be ramped up: October’s Living Planet Report warned that biodiversity has crashed by 73% globally in half a century.

Image: Diego Delso

Eco litigation ramped up in 2024 with activists winning “stunning” victories against polluters and climate laggards. 

In April, the UK government’s climate plan was ruled inadequate by the high court for a second time, paving the way for a rethink. Plans to open the UK’s first deep coal mine in more than 30 years were also quashed by the high court. The government was then defeated again in November, when a court ruled that the previous administration acted unlawfully in axing green policies. 

The Swiss government was similarly slapped down by judges in the European court of human rights. In a landmark case, it ruled that the government’s failure to curb emissions violated human rights. 

South Korea’s lack of a climate plan was also deemed to violate the constitutional rights of citizens. And in an EU first, a court ruled that the German government’s policies to tackle air pollution are unlawful and must be improved. 

Climate litigation against corporations also ramped up, a report by the London School of Economics revealed in June. Expect more such cases in 2025.   

Image: Eelco Bohtlingk

Sluggish sales of electric vehicles (EVs) appeared to be stymieing efforts to decarbonise our roads. But after a slow start to the year, plug-in cars soon gained traction, with a record number sold globally in November.  

In the race to phase out smut-belching combustion engines, Norway is winning. Data released in September showed that, for the first time, EVs outnumbered their petrol cars in the Nordic nation. No other country can make such a claim. 

But China is rapidly catching up, accounting for the majority of global EV sales in 2024. Meanwhile, in the UK, a surge in electric vehicle registrations led analysts to declare that the country had likely reached ‘peak petrol’. 

Although EVs have no tailpipe emissions, they come with their own set of environmental challenges. Ultimately, campaigners warn, society needs to reduce its car dependency. 

Image: Zaptec

In a landmark moment for the cop-op movement, a community run railway was given the go-ahead to operate in England in November. 

Aiming to connect rural communities abandoned by the existing rail network, Go-op is trying to raise £2.85m to buy rolling stock, train staff, and pay wages. 

“It’s a big step for the co-op movement,” Alex Lawrie, Go-op’s chair, told Positive News. “We see it as a template for further schemes, both developed by ourselves and by other co-ops around the country.” 

The UK’s co-op sector recorded its biggest year of growth since before the pandemic, according to the Better Business Report 2024. Separate figures showed that the number of community-owned pubs in the UK has increased by 62.6% in the last five years.

Meanwhile, in Scotland, a community owned wind farm announced in September that it will use its profits to reforest the Outer Hebrides.

The UK government is set to introduce Community Right to Buy legislation giving communities the first right of refusal when valued community assets are available. Scotland already has such legislation.    

Image: Mark Harris

A global movement to protect childhood from smartphones and social media took off in 2024, amid mounting evidence linking the technologies with poor mental health.  

Australia and Florida, US, led the way by banning children from having social media accounts. It remains to be seen how the legislation will be enforced, but Norway has pledged to follow suit.  

Elsewhere, France is trialling a so-called ‘digital pause’ at hundreds of schools, where children have to lock their phones away during the day. The Dutch have gone even further by banning the devices at all schools. No-phones policies have also been introduced at schools in England and Ireland. 

Meanwhile, a growing number of UK nightclubs are outlawing phone cameras on the dancefloor to promote the lost art of living in the moment. In France, the owners of a bistro that said ‘non’ to phones claimed the ban had “worked brilliantly”.

Image: Shashank Verma

If you’re reading this wondering where the last year went, you’re not alone. If only we could slow time, right? Well, a growing body of research suggests that you can – or at least slow your perception of time – by experiencing more awe. 

Adding to that evidence in 2024 were scientists at George Mason University in Virginia, US. In a study, they showed participants pictures of vast scenes and small spaces, such as cupboards. People were more likely to think that they had been looking at small scenes for a shorter period than they had been, while the opposite was true for larger scenes.

It adds to evidence linking awe with time dilation, which is believed to be a result of our brains trying to gather information about scenes we find memorable. Here are five ways to bring more awe into your life in 2025.

Image: Jose Galarza

Artificial intelligence (AI) brought some benefits to society in 2024, even as concerns mounted about its potential impact on humanity.   

An AI tool that scans patients’ medical records for hidden signs of cancer helped UK doctors detect more cases of the disease. The detection rate in GP surgeries using the tool surged from 58.7% to 66%, a study found. 

Elsewhere, an AI-enhanced finger-prick test for Parkinson’s was found to predict the disease seven years before the onset of symptoms, and an AI model helped spot autism in children without the need for extensive assessments. 

AI also got to work revolutionising environmental monitoring, promising real-time analytics on anything from air and water quality to deforestation. The technology’s environmental credentials, however, remain dubious given how much energy it requires. 

The European Union’s AI Act, which came into force in August, attempted to place some safeguards on the fast-moving technology. The pioneering legislation was welcomed by some experts, but others claimed that it fails to address key concerns about the development of AI.  

Image: National Cancer Institute

City life has broadly improved over the last year or so, with the biggest gains found in eastern Europe. That’s according to the latest Global Liveability Index, which crowned Vienna the world’s most liveable city for the third year running. 

Compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the index assesses 173 cities across five categories: stability, education, healthcare, culture and environment and infrastructure. 

Europe dominated the top 10, with Copenhagen and Zurich coming second and third respectively. London ranked 45th, while Honolulu, in 23rd, was the highest ranked US city.

The report landed as efforts to make some cities more liveable started paying off. In Paris, where hundreds of miles of cycle lanes have been laid, bikes overtook cars in popularity in 2024. Meanwhile, data showed that more children in London are walking and cycling to school since the city’s ultra-low emissions zone came into force.  

Related: The city where ‘the future has already arrived’ 

Image: Stefano Boeri Architetti

The perils of fake news were brought into sharp focus in August when misinformation fuelled violent, far-right riots in the UK. Disinformation also flourished during the US election. 

Amid a dawning realisation that tackling fake news is vital to preserve democracy, media literacy moved up the political agenda in 2024. 

Spain introduced a new bill targeting disinformation on digital platforms. In England, ministers announced that children will be taught how to spot misinformation as part of a planned overhaul of the school curriculum. Finland has been doing this for years. The UK’s broadcast regulator Ofcom also launched a three-year media literacy strategy. 

In France, “media literacy has flourished”, according to analysis by the London School of Economics. It also praised Germany, where “state support for media literacy is well-established and the importance of media education is embedded in the school curriculum”. There’s a long way to go – and disinformation is becoming more sophisticated – but some countries, at least, are moving to counter it. 

Image: Roman Kraft

A growing list of US states agreed to buy up medical debt and wipe it for thousands of individuals in 2024. 

In March, Arizonan officials announced that up to one million people in the state would have their medical debt wiped as part of a government partnership with the non-profit, Undue Medical Debt (formerly RIP Medical Debt). It uses private donor funds to buy up and pay off healthcare debts. Similar schemes launched in New York and Connecticut. 

Now in its 10th year, Undue Medical Debt has pardoned $15bn (£11.8bn) of health bills for almost 10 million US citizens. “How in any civilised country can you allow someone to go bankrupt just because they got sick?” Jerry Ashton, one of its founders, said to Positive News. 

Image: Omar Lopez

Cameroon became the first country to start routine vaccinations against malaria in January, a milestone described as “a transformative chapter in Africa’s public health history”.

The vaccine rollout has since scaled up across the continent with 17 countries now offering the RTS,S jab to children. 

The World Health Organization said that the vaccine had led to a 13% drop in child deaths in the countries administering it. Malaria kills around 600,000 people annually, mostly in Africa, with children accounting for around 80% of fatalities. 

A second jab, R21, was also rolled out in 2024. It’s more affordable, just as effective, and available in almost unlimited supply, according to the Center for Global Development. However, the organisation warned that, at current speed, it will “take another decade before all children in malaria endemic countries have access to malaria vaccines”.

Image: Media Lens King/iStock

The number of children who died before their fifth birthday reached an all-time low in 2022, the United Nations (UN) revealed in March. 

Its latest data showed that the global under-five mortality rate had declined by 51% since 2000. Some countries outpaced this fall, including Cambodia, Malawi, Mongolia and Rwanda, which reduced under-five mortality by more than 75%.

“Behind these numbers lie the stories of midwives and skilled health personnel helping mothers safely deliver their newborns, health workers vaccinating and protecting children against deadly diseases, and community health workers who make home visits to support families,” said Catherine Russell, executive director of the UN Children’s Fund. 

Despite the encouraging figures, the UN said that 4.9 million children under five died in 2022, mostly due to preventable or treatable causes, such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria.

Image: Hadynyah/iStock

Poverty rates in Latin America and the Caribbean fell to the lowest level on record in 2023, according to a UN report, published in November.  

Improvements to social security schemes, including pensions, helped improve living standards, the report found. In two decades, the number of pensioners living in poverty in Latin America fell by 14.3%, it added.

The decline in the region’s poverty rate was led by Brazil. However, the report does not cover the period since Argentina’s populist president Javier Milei took power in December 2023. Poverty rates in the country have since soared.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, data released in July showed that the country’s poverty rate fell to 9%, an historic low. However, despite these bright spots, the World Bank warned that global poverty reduction has slowed – a reminder that there’s much work still to be done. 

Image: Tyler Morgan

There was significant progress in the field of cancer in 2024.

In July, the world’s first personalised mRNA cancer jab entered trials – a move hailed as “one of the most exciting developments in modern cancer therapy”.

In other developments, a “kinder” treatment for children with leukaemia showed promise, a new treatment for children with brain cancer was hailed a “step change”;, and a new therapy for mesothelioma – a cancer that affects the lungs – added years to people’s lives. New tests also promised to improve treatment for brain and prostate cancer.

“It’s also been a good year for progress in cervical cancer research,” said Dr Anna Kinsella, research information manager at Cancer Research UK. “In May, our analysis showed the HPV vaccine is preventing cervical cancer across different social groups in England.” Similar results were recorded in Scotland.

Meanwhile, research showed that the cancer death rate in the UK has fallen by a third since 1993, mirroring a similar decline seen in the US. However, cases – particularly among young adults – are rising.

“While people affected by cancer continue to face many challenges, there are reasons to be optimistic when looking back at some of the scientific advances we saw in 2024,” said Dr Kinsella.

Image: Helena Lopes

A British girl who was born deaf is able to hear unaided after receiving “mind-blowing” gene therapy treatment earlier this year. Opal Sandy’s incredible story was one of many medical feats celebrated in 2024.

In the US, a man who received the world’s first whole-eye and partial-face transplant said in September that he was “back to being a normal guy”.

In other developments: ‘smart insulin’ looked poised to transform diabetes treatment, neuroscience shed new light on depression, there was rapid progress against HIV, and psychedelics appeared to help the dying accept their fate.

Meanwhile, a handful of countries defeated some debilitating diseases. Egypt’s long battle against malaria was won, while Iraq, India and Pakistan all eliminated trachoma – the leading cause of infectious blindness – as a public health problem.

Image: Opal with mother, Jo, and father, James. Credit: Cambridge University Hospitals

A “groundbreaking” new treatment for early Alzheimer’s disease was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in July. 

Donanemab works by clearing the amyloid protein that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Trials suggest it can slow cognitive decline, but not halt the disease. It’s the third such drug to be approved in the US, though UK regulators declined to make it available through the National Health Service, citing its “significant cost”. 

Meanwhile, treating high cholesterol and failing eyesight were added to the list of lifestyle changes that could reduce the risk of developing dementia. A separate study found that being vaccinated against shingles may also help delay the condition.

It came as thousands of people started trialling blood tests for dementia, which experts say could transform how we treat the disease. “It feels like we’re on the cusp of a new chapter on how we treat dementia,” said Fiona Carragher, director of research at the Alzheimer’s Society.

Image: Kampus Production/Pexels

Four-day week trials, ‘right to disconnect’ legislation, and enhanced leave packages for parents improved work-life balance for millions of people in 2024. 

In the UK, a report revealed that most of the firms that had taken part in the world’s largest four-day week trial were still operating a shorter working week one year on. The results of the pilot pointed to big gains for employers and employees. Another four-day week trial launched in the UK in November to build on the research. 

Down under, the Australian government passed ‘right to disconnect’ legislation, granting workers the right to ignore messages from their bosses after hours. Meanwhile, Sweden introduced paid parental leave for new grandparents, and the accounting giant Deloitte announced equal parental leave for UK employees.

Image: Alistair Macrobert 

Indigenous groups continue to face many challenges, but 2024 saw some high-profile wins for First Nations people. 

In Brazil, the government finally recognised the Munduruku tribe’s claim to ancestral lands in the Amazon. Covering 178,173 hectares, the Sawré Muybu has long been threatened by mining, logging and infrastructure projects, but now looks safe after the Munduruku’s claim to the land was recognised. The process of demarcation (setting the boundaries) has begun.

Greenpeace described the move as an “historic and profoundly symbolic victory not only for the Munduruku, but for all Indigenous peoples of the Amazon and Brazil”. 

Meanwhile, in a first for the US, Indigenous communities were made co-custodians of a new marine reserve off the coast of California. “This recognition is a crucial moment for our community,” said Violet Sage Walker, chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, which will look after the 4,500 square mile Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

Image: Goldman environmental prize

While petrostates derailed a global deal to halt plastic pollution in November, scientists in Japan invented a material that might achieve the same result – an “environmentally friendly” plastic that dissolves in seawater.

The novel material is claimed to be as strong as conventional plastics, despite taking just 10 hours to break down in seawater. When placed in soil, the material disappears within 10 days, scientists said, leaving behind phosphorus and nitrogen.  

The non-toxic plastic alternative is made of ionic monomers – large organic molecules – linked together by reversible salt bonds. “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 from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Saitama, Japan. 

It’s hoped that the material will one day replace existing single-use plastics, which take centuries to break down. The challenge, as ever, 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

Governments could trigger a “global cascade of positive tipping points” that would slash emissions and cut energy bills – and all they have to do is replicate existing legislation.

So claimed a report, published in September, which identified proven climate solutions that are likely to have the greatest impact globally.   

Impact was also the theme of the Earthshot prize, which in November awarded £1m each to five “gamechanging” initiatives that are saving species, protecting habitats and reducing waste. The competition is not to be confused with the Earth prize, which in April awarded $100,000 (£78,000) to the team behind a web application that predicts flooding. 

Another smart solution solving two problems at once was trialled in Devon, England. There, excess heat from data centres, which are hard to keep cool, was used to warm a public swimming pool, saving the council money on heating.

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Image: Adam Vradenburg
Main illustration: Spencer Wilson