The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a new report providing multiple options for how the world can survive and adapt to climate change.
"The climate time bomb is ticking," said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres in a press release. "But today's IPCC report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate time bomb. It is a survival guide for humanity."
The IPCC's Synthesis Report is the most comprehensive document from the agency since the 2015 Paris Agreement and is intended to serve as a set of guidelines for governments around the world to keep warming within 1.5°C.
The agency stressed that carbon emissions have only increased since the agency established that temperature limit in 2018. Global temperatures are currently 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels, which the agency said has caused more frequent and intense extreme weather events around the world.
"Mainstreaming effective and equitable climate action will not only reduce losses and damages for nature and people, it will also provide wider benefits," said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee. "This [report] underscores the urgency of taking more ambitious action and shows that, if we act now, we can still secure a liveable sustainable future for all."
The UN panel is calling for "climate resilient development" to reduce emissions and increased investment in developing clean energy sources and new transportation options that emphasize walking, cycling, and public transport.
"Transformational changes are more likely to succeed where there is trust, where everyone works together to prioritize risk reduction, and where benefits and burdens are shared equitably," Lee said. "We live in a diverse world in which everyone has different responsibilities and different opportunities to bring about change. Some can do a lot while others will need support to help them manage the change."
For the first time microplastics have been found deep in the lungs of living humans. The trace materials potentially came from everyday items such as plastic bottles and bags. Dr. Jessica Shepherd, the chief medical officer at Verywell Health, joined Cheddar News to talk about the report's findings and to discuss the possible risks people might face. "The study’s most important part is we need to decrease our pollution, and we need to think about different ways to consume outside of plastic," she said.
An estimated five billion people lack access to affordable and safe surgical care around the world. For World Health Day, Cheddar News spoke with Kristie Magee Porcaro of Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization assisting with cleft lip and palate surgeries, about how they work to better it around the globe.
There has been notable disagreement in the medical community about a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose. The FDA last week authorized a second booster dose for older and immunocompromised individuals, as some agency officials did not support the idea. The FDA made the decision without meeting with its advisory committee, as it had ahead of its recommendations on the previous COVID-19 vaccine doses.
The CDC followed in the footsteps of the FDA and authorized a fourth dose as well. Reports say the agency also did not discuss the move with its own advisory team of vaccine experts. Now, a growing number of doctors are speaking out against the decisions - leaving people confused about whether they should get another vaccine dose. Dr. Julie Morita, a member of the CDC's advisory committee to the director, and the executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Talmon Marco, CEO of H2Pro, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how to bring environmentally friendly hydrogen to scale, and what this means for hydrogen's many use cases.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 7, 2022, with updates on Ukraine urging NATO for military aid for their war with Russia, the SEC investigating Amazon, microplastics being found deep inside human lungs for the first time, and more.
Patients who have grown frustrated with lingering COVID-19 symptoms and unanswered questions are now not only the subjects of "long covid" research, but also partners in pushing this research forward. Harlan Krumholz, professor of medicine at Yale University, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
A record number of tornadoes were observed in March, topping the previous record set last year. Cheddar News speaks with NOAA’s Harold Brooks about what the implications are of an early tornado season.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 6, 2022, with updates on the FDA’s meeting to discuss a second COVID booster shot, more on the war in Ukraine, tornadoes on the Gulf coast, a third suspect arrested in connection to the mass shooting in California, Darwin’s lost notebooks mysteriously returned, and more.
Two of naturalist Charles Darwin’s notebooks that were reported stolen from Cambridge University have been returned, two decades after they disappeared.
