Here are Positive climate change news of the week

So for 2022, as part of our ongoing effort to address Climate change issues, we’re going to keep track of all the positive environmental stories every week.

This article will be updated regularly with the latest good news. If you find a great positive story that we haven’t covered here, please reach out to us on social media, be it Instagram or Twitter to share your thoughts.

Positive environmental stories of this week

Wild mammals are making a comeback in Europe

Hunting and habitat loss drove many of Europe’s large mammals close to extinction, however, New data shows us that many of the continent’s mammal populations are flourishing again.

By the first half of the 20th century, many of Europe's mammals had been reduced to only a fraction of their historical levels. But many mammal populations have experienced a spectacular increase in the last 50 years.

India’s first solar-powered village

India's first solar-powered village is setting an example of "reconciliation between humanity and the planet," according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The UN chief visited Modhera in Gujarat, India, as part of a three-day trip to the country. A solar energy project commissioned in 2021 has provided its thousands of residents with more than enough renewable energy to power their homes.

Green projects in west Africa will get $1.3 million by 2025

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) is considering financing adaptation to climate change in its member states such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. The Lomé, Togo-based subregional finance organization has committed to allocate 25% of its portfolio to financing green projects by 2025, up from 10% from 2015 to 2019.

Cote D'Ivoire plans to triple forest area by 2030

The Cote government has announced a new tree-planting project to increase forest cover to 20%. It will also strengthen the protection of national parks, including one of the last remnants of primary rainforest in West Africa. The World Bank will provide $149 million to finance the project.

Mycorrhizal fungi get a conservation boost to protect ecosystems

Mycorrhizal fungi connect plant roots to the surrounding soil and facilitate the exchange of water and nutrients for sugars from the sun, playing a vital role in the health of terrestrial ecosystems. The Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), a scientific initiative focused on mapping and conserving mycorrhizal networks, has announced that it has received a $3 million general operating grant from the Schmidt Family Foundation.

UK invest in home insulation after months of protest

The UK government intends to make £1bn ($1.2bn) of public funding available for home insulation projects from early next year, expanding access to assistance previously only available to poorer homes.

The government said the proposed scheme would run from early 2023 to March 2026 and help meet a recent target of reducing energy consumption by 15% by 2030.

Four EU countries aim for 100% clean energy by 2030

Decarbonisation targets and the switch to renewable energy have accelerated in some EU countries as they seek to reduce their dependency in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The bloc as a whole now hopes to reach 82% clean energy by 2030. But a handful of EU countries are accelerating the phase-out of fossil fuels, aiming to reach 100% clean energy by the end of the decade, according to Energy.

Taiwan transforming metro into vertical farms

Taiwan is using empty subway spaces to increase demand for sustainable, clean, and organic food. Advanced and efficient vertical farming methods are being harnessed to help feed travellers fresh produce. Located in the capital Taipei's Nanjing-Fushing Station, the 40-square-meter 'Metro Fresh' hydroponic farm grows lettuce under LED lighting in a sterile environment to eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides.

An Indigenous cooperative restore Brazilian forest

An indigenous Pataxó cooperative reforested 210 hectares (519 acres) of Atlantic Forest in the Monte Pascoal-Pau Brazil Ecological Corridor with species that covered the Bahian soil before Portuguese colonization.

The project, coordinated by the Natureza Bela Environmental Group and financed by BNDES (Brazil's National Development Bank), included 50 hectares (123 acres) of agroforestry system plantation in the town of Boca da Mata, strengthening the indigenous community.

600 activists sue Sweden over climate inaction

More than 600 young people in Sweden, including climate activist Greta Thunberg, filed a lawsuit against the Swedish state on Friday accusing it of climate inaction, the first in the country.

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