The 2010s amounted to "a decade lost" for slowing climate change, as nations around the world failed to substantially rein-in the heat-trapping emissions generated by power plants, factories, cars and trucks, and other sources that burn fossil fuels, a United Nations report said Tuesday.
The Earth's average temperature is now on track to soar by close to 4 degrees Celsius – or 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit – by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial levels. Scientists have broadly concluded that the planet needs to keep warming to within 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Rapid rates of warming, meanwhile, are already essentially locked-in: Even ambitious new efforts to slash carbon emissions, as represented in nations' commitments under the 2015 Paris climate accord, will still produce 2.9 to 3.4 degrees of warming.
The report, from the UN's World Meteorological Organization, renewed calls for yet more urgent action to drastically reduce emissions around the world.
"There is no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline, in greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere despite all the commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement. "We need to translate the commitments into action and increase the level of ambition for the sake of the future welfare of mankind."
Despite rapid growth in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, sharp declines in coal-fired power generation in developed nations, and recent high-profile investments in electric vehicles and EV charging infrastructure, global emissions are next expected to peak by the end of the next decade.
"The effects of climate policies have been too small to offset the impact of key drivers of emissions such as economic growth and population growth," the report said, characterizing the finding as a "rather bleak fact."
Already, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is comparable to 3-5 million years ago, when temperatures were roughly 2-3 degrees warmer and sea levels were 30-60 feet higher, the WMO said.
"In this critical period, the world must deliver concrete, stepped-up action on emissions," Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme said in a statement. "We face a stark choice: set in motion the radical transformations we need now, or face the consequences of a planet radically altered by climate change."
Student loan collection company Navient agreed to cancel $1.7 billion in debt and paid more than $140 million in other penalties to settle a lawsuit over abusive lending practices. Josh Shapiro, the attorney general of Pennsylvania who led negotiations in the settlement, joined Cheddar to go over the details of the company's predatory lending. "What Navient would do is charge [borrowers] these exorbitantly high rates, even though they knew people couldn't pay them or they would likely default on them," he explained.
The January 6 committee has subpoenaed four tech giants for more information on what they did and didn't do leading up to last year's deadly Capitol insurrection. Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit were asked to assist the investigation in August, but the committee says their responses have been 'inadequate.' Craig Timberg, a national technology reporter at the Washington Post, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more details about the subpoenas, why this is happening now, and how it might impact social media companies moving forward.
With the Australian Open set to begin on Monday, Novak Djokovic is once again being threatened with deportation from Australia after his visa was briefly reinstated and revoked again over alleged discrepancies. Djokovic’s team will sit for an Immigration hearing on Saturday.
Makena Kelly, politics reporter at The Verge, joins Cheddar News to discuss what's next for net neutrality as Biden's other nominee for the FCC, Gigi Sohn, awaits votes from the committee and Senate.
Jewell Jackson McCabe, chair of the Keep Love Alive Campaign and founder of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and Marvin Owens, chief engagement officer of Impact Shares and former senior director of Economic Development at the NAACP, join Cheddar News to reflect on racial issues still prevalent in America.
Hagar Chemali, Host of 'Oh My World' on Youtube and Former Spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the UN, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to share her expert insight into what the future of diplomacy could look like as the Russia-Ukraine crisis deepens.
Markets opened higher on the first trading day of the new year as investors continue to watch inflation and the rapid spread of the omicron variant in the U.S. Frances Newton Stacy, Optimal Capital Dir. of Strategy/Market Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Markets opened lower this morning as investors rounded out a wild 2021. Jay Hatfield, CEO Infrastructure Capital Advisors, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss which sectors and industries to watch in the new year.
Markets opened higher as investors react to positive data on the labor front, with weekly jobless claims falling to 198,000 for the week ending December 25. Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the market open.
