Climate

• [New] Under the influence of climate change, Australia's already highly variable rainfall is likely to become far less predictable, with one in 20-year maximum rainfall events predicted to become one - in-15 - year or even one-in-five-year events by the end of the century.
• [New] Satisfying the global demand for high-protein foods will accelerate deforestation and biodiversity loss, strain global water supply, accelerate climate change, intensify inhumane treatment of animals, and worsen food safety and insecurity issues.
• [New] The Biden administration might revive some version of the German text, or at a minimum insist that the Security Council does more to address risks associated with climate change in countries on its agenda.
• [New] As a result of the work of the Taskforce, water companies have identified opportunities to increase the number of overflows they will improve over the next five years.
• [New] Markets outside North America may see double-digit growth in the second half of 2021, while Baker Hughes Co. predicted a modest recovery in Latin America, the North Sea and the Middle East.
• [New] With Democrats gaining control of both the House and Senate, the Biden Administration will likely seek to pass sweeping reforms that would change the US approach to climate change.
• [New] President Biden's first order of business will be to reestablish the US as a global leader on climate change.
• [New] As a key element of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the European Green Deal, restoring Europe's damaged ecosystems will help to increase biodiversity, mitigate and adapt to climate change, and prevent and reduce the impacts of natural disasters.
• [New] Climate change falls to #9 globally but will be back on the board agenda as a priority in 2021.
• [New] The United States will work to support international humanitarian relief and resilience efforts aimed to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and to support the capacity of most vulnerable communities to prevent, respond to, and mitigate primary and secondary impacts of COVID-19.
• [New] The United States will join the approximately 190 other countries that participate in the global vaccine distribution arrangement, engage with the COVID-19 Tools (ACT) accelerator, and make recommendations on a framework for donating future U.S. vaccine surplus.
• [New] The United States will take steps to enhance humanitarian relief and support for the capacity of the most vulnerable communities to prevent, detect, respond to, mitigate, and recover from impacts of COVID-19, such as food insecurity and gender-based violence.
• [New] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to limit global warming to 1.5 °C, the goal of the Paris Agreement, Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide would need to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050.
• [New] Biden on Wednesday will end construction on Trump's border wall, end the ban on travel from some Muslim-majority countries, rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization, and revoke the approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
• [New] As companies all over the world adapt to changes associated with different work environments, developer population growth is expected to increase in the coming years, with population growth recovering its pre-pandemic dynamism by as early as 2021.
• [New] With the expectation that up to 2% of the global Gross Domestic Product will need to be spent on an annual basis to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, there is room for all to operate.
• [New] The Biden administration is widely expected to put greater resources into Earth science programs at NASA, as part of a broader emphasis on climate change.
• [New] As the Biden administration prepares to restore US leadership on the global stage, enhanced coordination with Latin America and the Caribbean on vital issues such as climate change, human rights, and a rules-based trading system beckons as a strategic opportunity.
• [New] Biden's commitment to return the US to the Paris Agreement and his Build Back Better plan, his centerpiece plan for a green economic recovery, will pave the way for more US investment in clean energy in Latin America and cooperation on issues from Amazon conservation to climate resilience.
• [New] Environmentalists said Biden's actions - some of which could take years to be implemented - will renew the U.S. commitment to safeguarding the environment and signal to the world that America has returned to the global fight against climate change.
• [New] COVID-19, a jobs crisis and extreme weather are expected to be the most serious risks facing the world in the next two years, followed by cybersecurity threats and digital inequality.
• [New] The coronavirus crisis should spur the world to wake up to long-term risks such as climate change, collapsing asset prices and weapons of mass destruction.

Last updated: 25 January 2021