After a decades-long fight, one of Germany's last remaining intact ancient woodlands, the Hambach Forest, has been saved from coal-mine expansion. The forest, located between Aachen and Cologne, will remain standing as the country phases out coal.

Environmentalists and locals had campaigned for the forest for years, even occupying treehouses to prevent felling, only to be repeatedly evicted. In October 2018, some 50,000 people protested plans to turn it into an open-pit mine and eventually won a legal battle to halt the clearing.

Meanwhile, in the US, federal lands are being opened up to drilling and extraction, but some local communities are fighting back.

Australia is producing so much solar energy that it is giving electricity away for free. To ease pressure on the grid and shift demand from peak evening hours, authorities encourage consumers to do energy-hungry tasks like laundry while the sun is shining.

Most of Australia's energy still comes from fossil fuels, but renewables advocates call this a step in the right direction.

Utrecht in the Netherlands has transformed from a car-clogged city into a haven for cyclists, beating Copenhagen on the Copenhagenization Index. Some 49% of trips in the city are now made by bike. This was achieved through a multi-pronged approach, including turning a highway into a canal and building park-and-ride facilities.

Source: www.dw.com