France to plant 1bn trees by 2030 - Shareables Hope & Optimism #11

This week: 415mm ppl not in poverty, planting 1bn trees, and 100% renewable energy [View this email in your browser]( Hey everyone, It’s subtle and you may have to look for it, but it’s starting to feel like overall energy is starting to trend up around the world. While we don’t want to count our chickens before they hatch, it’s a slight reassurance to us that, over the long arc of time, optimism trumps all due to humanity’s collective desire for growth and improvement. Let’s check out some of those amazing things below. If it's your first time reading or a friend sent this to you, you can [subscribe here](. Image courtesy of UNDP India/Dhiraj Singh [(1) 415mm people left poverty in a 15-year period]( Here’s an absolutely staggering stat for you: 415 million people in India left multidimensional poverty in a recent 15-year period. The current US population is approximately 335 million; this is roughly 1.25x that number. The scale of the challenge in front of us is immense, but we’re certainly making some significant progress. Multidimensional poverty looks at multiple indicators ranging from access to education and health, to living standards such as housing, drinking water, sanitation and electricity. Using this measure, even before accounting for the impacts of COVID-19, roughly 1.2 billion people in 111 developing countries are living in acute multidimensional poverty - they live on less than $1.90 per day. By 2025, the UNDP hopes to lift another 100 million people out of multidimensional poverty. However, the complexity and interconnectivity of poverty symptoms require tailored solutions for the different poverty patterns present in each country. As an example, a lack of electricity and clean cooking fuel are usually simultaneously observed, while extreme communities can lack nutrition, cooking fuel, sanitation, and housing all at the same time. In Lao PDR, for example, due to the lack of cooking fuel, children gather firewood so they can’t go to school. It doesn't make sense to pay and build a school before addressing the fuel problem. Fortunately, the UNDP is leveraging cutting-edge data and analytics to identify high impact spend areas and should make their bold goal of lifting another 100 million people out of poverty much more achievable. [(Full article)]( Image courtesy of Christophe Ena/EPA-EFE [(2) France to plant 1bn trees by 2030]( This summer, 72,000 hectares of forests in France were burned in blazes, which is 6 times more than the average of the last 10 years. You can imagine the chaos that ensued and the dangers that French firefighters were put in. Rescue efforts involved hundreds of firefighters, foresters, elected representatives, and security actors. France President Emmanuel Macron announced during his thank you speech to the firefighters that France will be planting 1 billion trees (10% of the country’s forest area) to capture carbon, preserve biodiversity, and to help recover from the damage. Macron also announced a new forest strategy for 2030, which allocates €150 million to departmental fire and rescue services and €250 million to growing the amphibious aircraft fleet. It’s saddening that it takes these catastrophes to surface the vulnerable realities of our natural environments, but we’re inspired to see leaders and countries around the world lead by example and index more on climate-friendly solutions. [(Full article)]( Image courtesy of Pexels [(3) Greek renewables power 100% of electricity demand]( A few weeks ago, for at least five hours, Greece was able to power 100% of the country’s electricity needs using only renewable energy, reaching a record high of 3,106 megawatt hours. In the 8 months up to August this year, solar, wind, and hydro made up 46% of Greece’s power mix. The Green Tank, an environmental think-thank based in Greece, called it a "record of optimism for the country's transition to clean energy, weaning off fossil fuels and ensuring our energy sufficiency.” However, like most European countries, this ongoing transition to clean energy isn’t without obstacles. Due to the Ukraine war, Greece cut reliance on Russian gas by boosting coal mining and increasing liquefied natural gas imports, leading to setbacks in its decarbonization plan. Fortunately, renewables, excluding large hydro sources, surpassed all other energy sources and left fossil gas in second place for the country. The country continues to set its eyes on improvement and aims to have renewable green energy compose at least 70% of its energy mix by 2030. In order to fund these efforts, the government is trying to attract €30 billion in European funds and private investments to upgrade the electricity grid, increasing it to a 25 gigawatt capacity from the current 10. [(Full article)]( “One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.” - Lucille Ball As always, we'd love to hear your feedback regarding the newsletter. Let us know if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas and email us directly at newsletter@sbly.com. If you come across great news that you feel compelled to share, send it over to us [using this form here]( and we'll try to include some submissions in the upcoming emails! Thanks for reading! [:heart:][:wave:] See you in a few days for another happy start to the week! 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