What Went Right This Week: The Good News That Matters

New law a ‘victory of a lifetime’ for England’s renters

England’s 11 million private renters have been granted the most significant boost to their rights in decades thanks to a landmark bill passed by the UK government.

At the heart of the Renters’ Rights Act is a ban on no-fault evictions, a discriminatory practice that has pushed thousands of people into homelessness

“[This] is the victory of a lifetime for renters,” said Sarah Elliott, chief executive of the housing and homelessness charity Shelter. “England’s 11 million renters will finally be unshackled from the gross injustice of no-fault evictions that have made thousands homeless.”

Another element of the act is Awaab’s law, which obliges social landlords – including councils and housing associations – to fix emergency health and safety hazards within 24 hours of them being reported. It’s named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died in 2020 after prolonged exposure to mould.

The act also empowers tenants to keep pets and challenge unfair rent increases, while prohibiting landlords from rejecting would-be tenants because they have children or are on benefits. The government has yet to set a date for when the changes will come into force.

Image: Kelly Sikkema

Slowing deforestation rate ‘a hopeful trend’

Deforestation has slowed in every region of the world over the past decade, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

Describing the findings as “a hopeful trend”, the FAO also noted that more than half of forests are now covered by long-term management plans, while one fifth are within legally established protected areas. 

The FAO’s latest data estimates that the world lost 10.9m hectares of forest annually in the last decade – down significantly on the 13.6m hectares lost per year in the previous 10 years, and the 17.6m hectares lost in the decade before that. In total, forests cover 4.14bn hectares, about one-third of the planet’s landmass, it said.     

However, despite the hopeful findings, the FAO warned that the world is still losing far too much of its forests.

Read more: Five workable solutions to deforestation

Image: Vlad Hilitanu

Breath test could ‘transform’ pancreatic cancer diagnosis

A breath test for pancreatic cancer is being trialled in the UK in the hope that it could transform the diagnosis of a disease that often goes undetected until it’s too late. 

Pancreatic Cancer UK, the charity funding the pilot, described the trial as the “most significant step toward a lifesaving breakthrough in 50 years”.

Data shows that only 4.3% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the UK survive the disease for ten years or more – a stat which has barely budged in 50 years. 

However, that could soon change thanks to a simple breath test, which comes off the back of a two-year study by Imperial College London. Researchers analysed more than 700 breath samples from people with and without the disease, and found that volatile organic compounds present in the breath can indicate early stages of the disease. 

“The breath test has the potential to revolutionise the early detection of pancreatic cancer,” said Diana Jupp, CEO of Pancreatic Cancer UK. “While more years of development are still needed before we can put this exciting new technology into the hands of GPs … thousands of patients with an unknown diagnosis will now help refine it in the real-world.” 

Image: Pancreatic Cancer UK

Data debunked a myth about the energy transition

Climate skeptic politicians routinely peddle the narrative that the green energy transition is pushing up energy bills. A new study has found that the opposite is true. 

According to research by University College London, the UK’s burgeoning wind power sector cut £104.2bn from the country’s energy costs between 2010 and 2023. 

The study, which has yet to be peer reviewed, said that cheaper energy from windfarms resulted in electricity bills being £14.2bn lower than they would have been if gas had been required to generate the same amount of power.

A further £133.3bn savings, researchers added, came from wind power pushing down gas prices by weakening demand and not having to build more gas infrastructure. When factoring in the £42.3bn citizens were charged in green subsidies, the overall savings were £104.3bn. The research does not cover the period following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which sent gas prices sky rocketing. 

“Our study demonstrates that the energy transition is not a costly environmental subsidy, it is a compelling financial investment,” the report’s authors said. 

Image: Eclipse Chasers

Bereaved parents brought hope to a divided land

A grassroots movement of bereaved Palestinian and Israeli families is working to build peace where politics has failed, Positive News reported this week.

United by unimaginable loss, the Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) is made up of Israeli and Palestinian parents who have lost children during the conflict. It was founded in 1995 but has renewed purpose since the latest war in Gaza and the fragile ceasefire deal.

“Once you recognise your joint pain, that you share the same colour of tears, it becomes a completely different story,” said the PCFF’s Robi Damelin.

Read more here.

Illustration: The Project Twins 

A ‘living reef’ took shape off Wales

A “living reef” is taking shape off the coast of Wales, where 50,000 native oysters have been deployed to restore the seabed. 

The oysters were dropped in the Daugleddau Estuary in Pembrokeshire, where they will filter seawater, store carbon and provide shelter for other marine species.

The project, led by the Marine Conservation Society, is part of a wider effort to restore “hero” species such as oysters, seagrass, and kelp along the UK’s western coastline. 

“These adult oysters are more than just a species reintroduction – they’re foundational to marine ecosystem health, and their return signals the beginning of a wider recovery,” said the charity’s Bridget Orchard. 

Image: Sue Burton/Marine Conservation Society

Climate solutionists scooped a top award

A pioneering climate scientist and a solar trailblazer have been crowned winners of a global award showcasing solutions to environmental problems.  

Prof Robert Jackson (pictured) from Stanford University, US, was instrumental in highlighting the contribution of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – to global heating. Cutting this, he said at the Blue Planet Prize, held in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, “would have a more immediate impact” than cutting CO2.   

The scientist shared the award with the UK’s Dr Jeremy Leggett, who quit a job in big oil to launch Solarcentury, a pioneering solar company. He is also the founder of Highland Rewilding, which has a scalable plan to build low-carbon, affordable housing using timber sourced from regenerative woodlands.

“We cannot expect to communicate with people facing the cutting edge of inequality using the language of environmental disaster,” said Leggett, after receiving his award.

“We must argue for the lower energy bills, more affordable homes, and growing job numbers that would result in increasingly nature-based economies. Fossil-fuel phase outs would then happen by default.” 

Read more: 12 obvious ways to reduce emissions that nobody is talking about

Image: Blue Planet Prize

The Booker Prize expanded to children’s fiction

Organisers of the prestigious Booker Prize have announced a new award for children’s fiction – one that will be judged by young readers as well as adults. 

Launching in 2026, the Children’s Booker Prize will celebrate the best contemporary fiction for children aged eight to 12 years old, written in or translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland. 

“The Booker Prize Foundation exists to inspire more people to read the world’s best fiction – because if you can imagine a different world, you can help to create a better one,” said Gaby Wood (pictured), its chief executive. 

“The possibility of welcoming young readers into our growing global community is hugely exciting. We hope they discover stories and characters that will keep them company for life.” 

Image: David Parry/Booker Prize Foundation

Arachnid’s sighting an ‘epic species rediscovery’

A spider not seen in Britain for four decades has been rediscovered on the Isle of Wight – just in time for Hallowe’en. 

The tiny, orange-legged arachnid Aulonia albimana – a member of the critically endangered wolf spider family – was last recorded in the UK in 1985. However, a recent survey of Newtown National Nature Reserve yielded two sightings, the National Trust announced this week.

“This is one of those unforgettable discoveries,” said entomologist Mark Telfer, who led the search. “To find a species thought lost for 40 years is thrilling.” 

Wolf spiders, of which there are around 38 species in the UK, are named so because of their hunting technique, which involves chasing prey and then pouncing on it like a wolf. 

Image: National Trust

Viewing art ‘boosts our wellbeing’

Looking at art in a gallery provides an immediate boost to our wellbeing, according to a first-of-its-kind study. 

The research by King’s College London recruited 50 volunteers who were either sent to view art in a gallery or shown reproductions in a non-gallery setting. 

Those viewing art saw a 22% drop in cortisol, compared to 8% for the other group. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are linked to chronic diseases including heart disease, also dropped by up to 30%. 

“Our study provides compelling evidence that viewing art in a gallery is ‘good for you’,” said Dr Woods, who led the research. “In essence, art doesn’t just move us emotionally – it calms the body too.”

Read the full story here.

Image: Pauline Loroy
Main image: Vitaly Gariev