In a recent referendum, Switzerland has made an impressive commitment to climate neutrality. The draft law was clearly accepted, with 59.1% of voters in favour. This decision comes just two years after a similar law was rejected. The opposition and anti-campaigns were not as successful this time around, and Switzerland is set to become climate-neutral by 2050.
The country is making efforts to switch to climate-friendly heating systems, which will be subsidised by the Swiss government. In addition, the state will support companies in switching to green technologies. The only downside to this news is that the voter turnout was only 42%.
Hawaii is set to receive a $25 million donation to kickstart the largest coral restoration project in their state history. The initiative aims to revitalize more than 190 km of reef which have been in decline. Coral reefs are crucial ecosystems for marine biodiversity and protection against coastal erosion.
The community-based project aims to combine state-of-the-art science programs with the leadership skills and cultural knowledge of the Hawaiian community. The cooperation is already visible in the name. The project is called ʻĀkoʻakoʻa, which comes from Hawaiian and is a mixture of "to assemble" and "coral".
A study has revealed that rock flour from Greenland can be used as a significant tool in capturing carbon dioxide and can support climate change combat. Rock flour is a fine dust produced by glaciers that naturally reacts with CO₂ to form minerals that can trap the greenhouse gas for thousands of years.
The research suggests that spreading rock flour over large areas could enhance the CO₂-capturing potential, contributing to global efforts to reduce emissions. Harnessing the CO₂-absorbing properties of rock flour offers a promising avenue for climate mitigation and could be integrated into sustainable carbon capture and storage strategies.
Scientists have calculated that 27 million tonnes of CO₂ could be captured if all farmland in Denmark was spread with the rock flour, which aligns closely with the country's annual CO₂ emissions.
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