Shell makes U-turn on oil phase-down pledge to ‘reward shareholders’
Shell is the latest fossil fuel giant to scale back its climate pledges in favour of increasing pay outs to shareholders. The company claims it has already reached its green target after selling interest in a Texan oilfield during 2021. Despite making record profits in 2022, Shell believes its shareholders...
Current in Change
The Netherlands offers free-to-use sunscreen as temperatures rise
At popular leisure spots in The Netherlands, free sunscreen stations will be available to locals and visitors as they head outdoors for one of the hottest summers on record. The goal is to reduce cases of melanoma, the most common form of cancer amongst the Dutch. As Europe prepares for...
Attack on secondary school in Uganda claims 41 lives
A secondary school in western Uganda was targeted by armed rebels last Friday, resulting in the loss of several students' lives. The ISIS-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group is believed to have been behind the attack. A terrorist attack took place at Lhubirira secondary school last Friday, which...
Sunak unveils ‘radical’ vision to transform UK health service
Seeking to boost doctor numbers countrywide, the government has promised ‘the biggest ever expansion in workforce training in the NHS history.’ Yet with the pay debate still in full force, many have renounced the move for failing to address the real issues at hand. With the aim of saving taxpayers...
China poised to hit clean power target five years early
China is reportedly on track to almost double its wind and solar power capacity and shatter the central government’s ambitious 2030 goal of 1,200 gigawatts way ahead of schedule. ‘China is making strides,’ says Martin Weil, a researcher at Global Energy Monitor (GEM). The NGO, which tracks operating utility-scale wind and...
Glastonbury Festival is getting a pink and purple wind turbine
Octopus Energy and Glastonbury Festival have teamed up to install a pink and purple 28-metre wind turbine in order to make this year’s Glastonbury the greenest yet. Glastonbury Festival’s ‘biggest fan’ will be in attendance this year, and no, we’re not talking about Lilly Allen or Stormzy. Thanks to a collaboration...
Global economic inequality is the lowest it’s been in 150 years
After examining new data, a renowned inequality researcher for Foreign Affairs magazine has declared that global economic inequality is lower than it’s been in 150 years. What can a closer look at the findings tell us about the future? ‘The rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer.’ This phrase is one we’re heard uttered time and time again, but how true is it in 2023? According to...
Deforestation surges despite Cop26 pledge
An area the size of Switzerland was cleared from Earth’s most pristine rainforests last year, suggesting that world leaders’ commitment to halt their destruction by 2030 is failing. Last year, an area of tropical rainforest the size of Switzerland was felled. This is according to a damning new report by the World Resources Institute (WRI), which has revealed that between the Bolivian Amazon and Ghana, the equivalent of...
Afri-Plastics Challenge grants £4.1 million to innovative winners
Nine winners of the Afri-Plastic Challenge have shared a prize pot of £4.1 million for their innovations aimed at reducing plastic waste and pollution in sub-Saharan Africa. Our global plastic problem shows no signs of stopping. Scientists have estimated that by 2050, humans will generate a massive 34 billion tons of plastic waste annually if we do not slow our current rate of production. More than half of this waste will...
Why is New York City’s air so orange?
New York City is currently shrouded in thick, orange smog, with stage performances cancelled and sports games postponed. It is the result of Canadian wildfires that have worsened due to the climate crisis. Tens of millions are under air quality alert in the US, as smoke from Canadian wildfires travels southward and covers New York City. The smog will persist for at least several days, leaving city goers in an...
