There is much to worry about at the moment on multiple fronts but there is always good news to be found. So for the glass half full people amongst you, we thought that we would bring you some positivity for the New Year.

Back in November 2018 we blogged here about the need for investment firms to disinvest from ‘sin’ stocks. Many investment managers claim that ‘engagement’ works with these companies but we are yet to see this. Since then disinvestment from fossil fuels has continued apace.

The Altor Foundation has as one of its objective, poverty alleviation. You can read about some of the projects it has funded here. The good news is that the general trend globally is a sharp reduction in extreme poverty.

As a partnership we have chosen to become a B Corp and as a part of this, a carbon neutral company. More and more firms are choosing this route and now we have news of the world’s first carbon negative country.

After 30 years of research, scientists have developed an effective vaccine for malaria, which currently kills around half a million people every year. The vaccine is 77% effective, extremely safe, and can be produced at very low cost – coming soon to the whole world. In addition scientists have found a new microbe that prevents mosquitos from spreading the disease.

Having taken the decision to rehabilitate criminals rather than simply lock them up, The Netherlands now has just 30 people serving life sentences (in UK its 8,500). Crime has not risen. Reoffending has fallen. And empty prisons are being turned into art galleries and cinemas.

Portugal’s controversial decision to decriminalise all drugs seems to have worked. Overdoses are down 90%, HIV from needles is down from 907 per annum to 18, and drug use has not increased. There are solutions that don’t require shouting at users.

There are plenty more good news stories here and you can subscribe for regular good news e-mails. It is also worth following Russ Jones on Twitter for his summary of good news.