What went right this week: the good news that matters

Speaking of urban greenery …

Car-sized urban gardens are creating a buzz in Britain – and not just among pollinators.

Highlighting how parking spaces can be converted into urban oases, three ‘parklets’ scooped a silver award at the coveted Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival in London.

The demonstration gardens, created by Surrey county council, come amid a growing desire to reclaim the public realm from motor vehicles.

Surrey county council’s Matt Furniss said the parklets highlight “how we can provide a better balance between roads and pedestrians in our town centres”. The featured gardens will be installed in locations across Surrey at the end of the festival.

Image: Surrey county council

The positive tipping points movement gathered pace

A who’s who of climate scientists gathered at the Global Tipping Points conference in Exeter, England, this week to discuss looming planetary boundaries and how to trigger an unstoppable wave of progressive climate action – so-called positive tipping points.

Offsetting the stark picture painted by some speakers, such as renowned Brazilian scientist Carlos Nobre – who warned that the Amazon rainforest is turning into a savannah – many had messages of hope.

Economist Kate Raworth (pictured) spoke about how her ‘doughnut economics’ theory – which seeks to find a balance between meeting the needs of people and planet – has been adopted by scores of cities worldwide. Marten Scheffer, a complex systems theorist at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, meanwhile, argued that society has reinvented itself before – and will do again.

Those behind the conference, which Positive News attended, urged decision-makers attending Cop30 in November to take heed: “Only with… decisive policy and civil society action can the world tip its trajectory from facing unmanageable climate tipping point risks to seizing positive tipping point opportunities,” they said in a statement.

Follow our series on positive tipping points here.

Image: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung

Businesses went green at Britain’s first eco hackathon

Hackathons are typically associated with software development, but this one showcased more sustainable solutions.

Businesses, including Apple, Unilever and BP, from various sectors gathered at Britain’s first eco-focused hackathon, held at Glasgow Science Centre.

Among the standout inventions were an air filtration system that could be retrofitted to existing buildings, and a tracking device that monitors air purity, humidity and temperature, by a student team using recycled smartphone parts.

Apple’s head of product development and sustainability, Lisa Jackson, told the crowd: “We can only solve challenging questions like climate change if we work together, collaborate and innovate. That’s what today is about.”