• Between 1989-2024, almost 6.2 million cancer deaths have been avoided in the EU and 1.3 million in the UK. Annals of Oncology.
• Homicides in Mexico dropped by 4.18% in 2023, marking the third consecutive year of decline. La Prensa Latina.
• In India, the number of women enrolling in higher education increased by 32% between 2015 and 2022, from 15.7 million to over 20 million. Economic Times.
• Rates of U.S. gun violence decreased in 2023. CAP 20.
• U.S. teen smoking rates have plummeted, with less than 1% now daily smokers. Health Day.
• In the EU, fossil fuels dropped by a record 19% to their lowest ever level at less than one third of the EU’s electricity generation and renewables rose to a record 44% share. Ember.
• Germany’s coal power production drops to lowest level in 60 years in 2023. Clean Energy Wire.
• Texas recently generated 80% of its power from renewable and nuclear power for more than six hours. Houston Chronicle.
• India electrified 45% of its railway network in just five years. Energy Monitor.
• 93.9% of all new vehicles sold in Norway are electric. Clean Technica.
• More than 1,000 new EV charging stations have come online in the US since last summer. Bloomberg.
• Two thousand years ago, a volcanic eruption buried an ancient library of papyrus scrolls now known as the Herculaneum Papyri. These lumps of carbonized ash cannot be opened without severely damaging them. However, thanks to the Vesuvius Challenge, these scrolls can now be read.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• India on the verge of eliminating black fever. DW.
• Between 2000 and 2020, Lao’s maternal mortality rate fell by over 250 per cent. UNFPA.
• Wild panda population nearly doubles as China steps up conservation efforts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has adjusted the status of giant pandas from “endangered” to “vulnerable”. The Straits Times.
• In England, forest coverage now is greater than at any time since the Black Death nearly 700 years ago. China’s forests have increased by about 607,000 square kilometers since 1992, a region the size of Ukraine. The European Union has added an area equivalent to Cambodia to its woodlands, while the US and India have together planted forests that would cover Bangladesh in an unbroken canopy of leaves. Bloomberg.
• EU fossil fuel CO2 emissions hit 60-year low. The Guardian.
• Clean energy was top driver of China’s economic growth, accounting for 40% of the expansion of GDP in 2023. Carbon Brief.
• China added more solar panels in 2023 than US did in its entire history. Bloomberg.
• Renewable technologies generated more electricity than Scotland used in 2022, new statistics show. Scottish Government.
• The world added 50% more renewable capacity in 2023 than in 2022. IEA.
• The best-selling car in the world last year was all-electric. Inside EVs.
• In the fourth quarter of 2023, electric vehicles made up 20% of all new passenger cars sold in the world. Bloomberg.
• There is now one fast-charging station for every 16 gas stations in the United States. Bloomberg.
• 250 million Indians came out of multidimensional poverty in the last nine years. India Today.
• In the US, poverty has fallen by 27 percentage points since 1980. Notre Dame News.
• In the US, the use of coal for electricity production decreased to the lowest level in half a century. Warp News.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• Malaria vaccine rollout begins in Cameroon. The Guardian.
• Tobacco use declines with only 1 in 5 adults worldwide consuming tobacco compared to 1 in 3 in 2000. PAHO.
• Cancer mortality is down 33% in America in the past three decades, saving an estimated 4.1 million lives, and as many as two-thirds of all cancers can now be treated as chronic conditions or cured outright. American Cancer Society (PDF link).
• Thanks to the HPV vaccine, no cases of invasive cervical cancer were recorded in women immunized at 12 or 13 years of age in Scotland. JNCI.
• 248 million people in India have escaped multidimensional poverty in the last nine years. NITI Aayog (PDF link).
• 21 megacities improved their air pollution levels between 2017 and 2022. DW.
• During 2023, violent crime plummeted to its lowest level in the United States since the 1960s, and by the end of the year inflation had been tamed and unemployment was at historic lows. The Atlantic.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• Cape Verde reaches malaria-free milestone. BBC.
• Eastern and Southern Africa have nearly achieved gender parity in primary education, with 25 million more girls enrolled in primary school today than in the early 2000s. The World Bank.
• Twenty-two states increased their minimum wages in January. The Washington Post.
• Hennepin County, Minnesota, has reduced its homeless population by almost 36% in just two years. Bloomberg.
• 2023 was one of aviation’s safest years on record with zero jet aircraft crashes. Simple Flying.
• The scimitar horned oryx has been brought back from the brink of extinction. ZSL.
• Deforestation rate of the Amazon rainforest halved in 2023. BBC.
• Global annual renewable capacity additions increased by almost 50% to nearly 510 gigawatts in 2023, the fastest growth rate in the past two decades. IEA.
• Renewables hit 55% of German electricity mix. ReNews.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• Nearly 100,000 fewer people died in wars and armed conflicts during 2023 compared to 2022. Warp News.
• Renewable energy’s share on German power grids reaches 55% in 2023. Reuters.
• Uruguay now produces up to 98% of its electricity from renewables. The Guardian.
• Scientists hail new antibiotic that can kill drug-resistant bacteria. The Guardian.
• Wage growth is beating inflation. Axios.
• Ten inspiring signs of progress from the past year. Greater Good Magazine.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• The minimum wage is going up in 22 states on Jan. 1. Axios.
• UK electricity from fossil fuels drops to lowest level since 1957. CarbonBrief.
• Good climate news in 2023. MIT Technology Review.
• The year in gun violence solutions. The Trace.
• What went right in 2023. The Wall Street Journal.
• In 1900, the average life expectancy of a newborn was 32 years. By 2021 this had more than doubled to 71 years. Our World in Data.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• 66 good news stories you didn’t hear about in 2023. Future Crunch.
• Something good happened every week of 2023. The Progress Network.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• Even though 3 in 4 Americans think crime rose this year, 2023 featured one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the United States in more than 50 years, as well as one of the largest national declines in murder on record. Jeff-alytics.
• In 2023, US states have passed 103 gun safety laws for a total of 620 since 2012. Giffords.
• Canada is promoting child care for $10 a day. Vox.
• The number of U.S. electric school buses has more than doubled since last year. US Department of Energy.
• Power generated by wind and solar in the US is slated to eclipse coal-fired electricity next year. Axios.
• More than a third of power consumed in Delhi is green. The Times of India.
• Since 2010, road traffic deaths have fallen by 5%. World Health Organization.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• FDA approves 2 gene therapies for sickle cell. One is the first to use the editing tool CRISPR. AP News.
• Australian EV sales have increased by 185% since 2022. The Guardian.
• Electric vehicles and hybrids grow to a record-high 18% of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales. EIA.
• Forecast warns when sea life will get tangled in nets — one year in advance. Nature.
• November jobs report shows labor market is flourishing in US. Axios.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• Detroit is close to recording its fewest homicides in nearly 60 years. Detroit Free Press.
• Egypt wiped out hepatitis C. Now it is trying to help the rest of Africa. New York Times.
• Murders due to gender violence in Spain have decreased by 29% in the last 20 years. Ministerio Del Interior.
• Since 2016, 25 million people in eastern and southern Africa have gained access to electricity. World Bank.
• Child and teen cancer deaths fell 24% in the last 2 decades in the US. NBC.
• Deforestation across the Amazon rainforest so far this year has slowed dramatically, down 55.8% from the same period a year ago. Reuters.
• The world’s solar capacity has doubled in the last 18 months. PV Magazine.
• Detroit’s newest road can charge electric cars as they travel on it. Axios.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.