For years, going to school was a daily test of endurance for children living in Nizhuhe village in southwest China. Their route to the classroom involved steep mountain paths, narrow trails and an exhausting climb along the side of an 800-metre cliff. The journey could take nearly three hours, with children leaving home before sunrise…

Nepal farmers are reporting substantial crop losses from wildlife, with rhesus macaques, wild boars and porcupines among the animals frequently entering agricultural fields. A 2026 study by the National Trust for Nature Conservation found that households surveyed across 44 local government areas lost an average of 50.3% of their maize production to wildlife, while maize…

For first-generation sheep farmer Hannah Thorogood, gaining access to land beneath solar panels has opened a new chapter in her farming journey. She began with just 20 sheep on 18 acres in Lincolnshire, a scale she says was all she could afford at the time. Today, her flock has grown to more than 200 sheep,…

Melinda French Gates is committing $1 billion through 2026 to advance women’s power and influence, while her investment platform is backing women-led funds working on climate solutions. Through Pivotal Ventures, Gates has invested in Planeteer Capital, a climate-tech fund led by Sophie Purdom that backs early-stage companies developing solutions to climate change. The investment comes…

A new MIT-backed company is turning discarded plastic into structural parts for buildings and infrastructure. Atlas Building Composites has developed an AI-powered robotic manufacturing platform that shreds single-use plastic, melts it, and fuses it with American-made fiberglass. The resulting composite is then formed into parts such as foundations, decks, and trusses using large-scale 3D printing….