42 Positive Environmental Success Stories — August 2026

The media has an important role to play in combatting climate doom. Therefore, this monthly news round up of positive environmental and climate change news, is designed to spark joy and show that progress is being made. We pick two positive headlines a day, ranging from renewable energy and preservation to eco-innovation, and arrange the articles according to their publication date. We also include some dates related to nature and wildlife for your calendar.

Environmental and Animal Awareness Days In The Next Month

Organic September – (Tuesday 1st to Wednesday 30th September 2026) The goal of the Soil Association's month-long Organic September campaign is to increase public awareness of the numerous advantages of eating and farming organically.

The Great British Beach Clean – (Friday 18th to Sunday 27th September 2026) The Great British Beach Clean invites people from all over the United Kingdom to visit the coast to support a beach clean-up. The Marine Conservation Society's conservation efforts are then guided by the data gathered from the litter.

Fair Trade Fortnite – (Monday 21st September to Sunday 4th October 2026) Fair Trade Fortnight honours the farmers and labourers who produce the world's food and advances fair trade.

Positive News Round up — Monday, 3rd August

In what activists have dubbed a “victory for common sense,” a contentious Scottish seabird hunt has had its licence denied for the first time in 400 years. (Edie)

In India, more than 4 out of 5 houses have access to tap water, a stark difference to six years ago when less than one in six rural households had access. The difference amounts to an extra 124 million households. (Optimist Daily)

Positive News Round up — Tuesday, 4th August

Concerned about the possibility of starting wildfires, farmers and landowners are calling for a temporary ban on disposable barbecues in England and Wales. (The Guardian)

The world achieved a significant energy milestone in March by adding a third terawatt of solar power. (YaleE360).

Positive News Round up — Wednesday, 5th August

Rising faster than other distributed energy sources, Bangladesh's rooftop solar capacity may already exceed 1 GW. (PV Magazine)

Toronto Zoo has declared the birth of a female pygmy hippo calf. (The Guardian)

Positive News Round up — Thursday, 6th August

With food-sharing app Olio, Lidl GB and Neighbourly are expanding their cooperation to approximately 200 stores. Following a successful trial in twenty stores, which prevented almost 1,200 kg of food waste weekly. (Edie)

Danish multinational energy company Ørsted reports that a 250 MW/500 MWh Old 300 Storage project in Needville, Texas, co-located with a 430 MW solar project, is now commercially running. (PV Magazine)

Positive News Round up — Friday, 7th August

Handicrafts, sarees, curtains, mats, and bags are made in Bangladesh from the agricultural byproduct of bananas, the fibre from the stems. (Mongabay)

Under a historic alliance between Kāi Tahu and the Department of Conservation, five Māori co-managed marine reserves opened on July 1, 2026 along the Otago coast of New Zealand. (Happy Eco News)

Positive News Round up — Monday, 10th August

More than seven decades following the last verified sighting of the big cat in Kazakhstan, the nation has released its first tiger into the wild. (Mongabay)

First formal scientific consensus statement on the part of wildlife in mitigating climate change came from the UNFCCC negotiations in Bonn. (Happy Eco News)

Positive News Round up — Tuesday, 11th August

Sweden said on July 23 that by January 1, 2028, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances will not be allowed in consumer goods. The list includes clothes, shoes, waterproofing chemicals, kitchenware, cosmetics, and ski wax. (Optimist Daily)

Through the Water Cup competition of the Paani Foundation, community watershed restoration in Maharashtra turned drought-stricken towns into agricultural plenty. (Happy Eco News)

Positive News Round up — Wednesday, 12th August

House Sparrow numbers are starting to stabilise in the UK, though more needs to be done to reverse loss of 30m that almost led to species vanishing. (The Guardian)

From end-of- life solar cells, researchers find near 100% silver recovery. (PV Magazine)

Positive News Round up — Thursday, 13th August

With eight solar plants bigger than 1 MW commissioned over the first half of the year, Finland more than doubled its installed utility-scale solar capacity. (PV Magazine)

The market is for recycling discarded solar panels could hit $1 trillion by 2060, based on a study Published in Nature. (Techxplore)

Positive News Round up — Friday, 14th August

Released into isolated forests, rescued orangutans are now raising newborns and generating new wild populations. (Good News Network)

Re:wild and the Bezos Earth Fund have set aside $100 million apiece for a project supporting 100 critically endangered and extinct-in-the-wild species worldwide. (Mongabay)

Positive News Round up — Monday, 17th August

A new study from Ecuador's Chocó region, one of the most biodiverse stretches of Pacific coast forest on the continent, shows cleared tropical rainforests can recover 90 percent of their species diversity within a single human generation. (Optimist Daily)

Between December 2026 and May 2027, Portugal installed a total of 372 MW of solar energy. (PV Magazine)

Positive News Round up — Tuesday, 18th August

According to a study, children's lungs grew larger and more robust once the most polluting vehicles were barred from entering London. (The Guardian)

Ikea is to launch a preloved second hand site where loyalty card members can connect directly to one another to buy and sell pre-owned Ikea items locally. (The Guardian)

Positive News Round up — Wednesday, 19th August

For the first time in 100 years an otter has been spotted in the Bronx River, providing a clear sign that the once befouled waterways in New York are recovering some of their ecological health. (The Guardian)

Myanmar is home to houses built for less than $1,000 and utilise local materials such as bamboo have survived a 7.7 magnitude earthquake, just weeks after they were built to provide disaster-proof shelter. (Good Good Good)

Positive News Round up — Thursday, 20th August

California has mandated that replacement tires must be energy efficient, making them the first state to block the sale of older tires and make vehicles on the road greener. (The Guardian)

A newly discovered species of horned lizard in Thailand, has been named after Rhaenyra's dragon in 'House of the Dragon' thanks to a scientific discovery. (Good Good Good)

Positive News Round up — Friday, 21st August

A Filipino Zero-Waste Refill Store has saved 10,000 containers from landfills. (Happy Eco News)

The Guardian explores, when emissions reduce such as in London, what are the positive effects on peoples health. (The Guardian)

Positive News Round up — Monday, 24th August

Wild beaver kits have been born for the first time in 500 years in Norfolk. (The Guardian)

Between January and July 2026, Norway installed 43 MW of solar power. (PV Magazine)

Positive News Round up — Tuesday, 25th August

Water quality from rivers that feed into the Great Barrier Reef are showing signs of improvements, according to new research. (The Conversation)

The United Kingdom has approved a 400 MW solar project with a 600 MW co-located battery. (PV Magazine)

Positive News Round up — Wednesday, 26th August

Scientists used electronic tags that allowed narwhals to measure water temperature and salinity as they travelled around Greenland, helping to map warm water hidden in the countries fjords. (The Conversation)

Recently, evolutionary biologist Santiago Ron and colleagues at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador found a new frog species lurking in plain sight for more than a century. (Good Good Good)

Positive News Round up — Thursday, 27th August

A trail camera in Colorado captured a rare sighting of endangered lynx kitten and its mother. (Good Good Good)

Ireland surpassed 3 GW of installed solar capacity, according to Irish PV association Solar Ireland. (PV Magazine)

Positive News Round up — Friday, 28th August

Some chefs are calling on restaurants and pubs to switch gas too electric to reduce costs, emissions, and temperatures by as much as 10*c. (The Guardian).

Analysis from solar and storage technical advisory company Intertek CEA indicates that global PV installations are expected to reach 638 GW in 2026. (PV Magazine)

Positive News Round up — Monday, 31st August

A plant last recorded in 1855, in Sri Lanka, has been found by researchers who discovered it growing in a lowland forest fragment along the Sitawaka Ganga River. (Mongabay)

Turkmenistan has started to fix methane leaks according to the latest UN data. The source has been the countries ageing oil and gas facilities, with the move hailed as a breakthrough. (The Guardian)