#2020 news headlines free
The World Health Organization’s African Region was declared free from wild polio in August following decades of work by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, governments and partners. Image: Dalmatian pelicans, by Birger StrahlĤ) Africa was declared free of wild polio Further afield, the Iberian lynx is recovering after efforts to save it – the world’s most endangered feline – and the European bison – the same species coming to Kent – stepped back from the brink of extinction. The breed is the closest living relative to the ancient steppe bison and is attributed with engineering woodland habitats for butterflies, beetles and other species by felling trees and disrupting earth.Įlsewhere in the UK, projects to reintroduce beavers, white-tailed eagles, red kites and the enormous Dalmatian pelican made for exciting updates volunteers stepped in to look after young trees as part of a rewilding project in the Highlands of Scotland river restoration projects noted successes hen harriers enjoyed their best breeding year in England for nearly two decades Rewilding Britain published a reforesting roadmap, and a new project to launch a Rewilding Network is one to watch in 2021. A herd of European bison will be in their new home by spring 2022, say conservationists. They haven’t roamed the country for thousands of years, but bison are poised to return to English woodland as part of a £1m rewilding project in Blean Woods, Kent, in was revealedin July. Also in 2020, the EU’s largest oil producer promised to stop drilling: In a move described by Greenpeace as a “watershed moment”, Denmark announced in December that it will cancel all future permits for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, and phase out existing production by 2050.ģ) There was success for rewilding and species reintroductionsĪs the concept becomes more widely embraced, there was positive news when it came to rewilding and various species reintroductions in 2020. It acknowledged that the pandemic and policies to curb the climate crisis have hastened the demise of fossil fuels. What’s more, demand for oil likely peaked in 2019 and is now in terminal decline, according to a report released by BP in September. Then in April, Britain broke records for going without coal-fired power generation for the longest stretch since the Industrial Revolution. Renewable energy made up almost half of Britain’s electricity generation in the first three months of 2020, for example, with a surge in wind power helping set a new record for clean energy. Advancements in green tech have rapidly brought down the costs of wind and solar, making them highly competitive with fossil fuels. Demand for renewables was growing before the pandemic and has held steady during 2020.