Map showing the near-surface air temperature differences from the 1981-2010 average for January to September 2021. Data are from the ERA5 reanalysis product. Graphic: C3S / ECMWF

State of the Climate in 2021: Past seven years are on track to be the seven warmest on record – “Extreme events are the new norm”

GENEVA, 31 October 2021 (WMO) – Record atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and associated accumulated heat have propelled the planet into uncharted territory, with far-reaching repercussions for current and future generations, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The past seven years are on track to be the seven warmest on record, according to the provisional WMO […]

Average annual global wealth growth rate, 1995-2021. Graph: World Inequality Lab

Global wealth inequalities are close to early 20th century levels, at the peak of Western imperialism – “The share of income presently captured by the poorest half of the world’s people is about half what it was in 1820”

8 December 2021 (World Inequality Lab) – […] An average adult individual earns PPP €16,700 (PPP USD23,380) per year in 2021, and the average adult owns €72,900 (USD102,600). These averages mask wide disparities both between and within countries. The richest 10% of the global population currently takes 52% of global income, whereas the poorest half […]

Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, 1959-2021. Global CO2 emissions bounced back after COVID-19 restrictions and reached pre-pandemic levels in 2021. Graph: Global Carbon Project

Global carbon emissions rebound to pre-pandemic levels after unprecedented drop in 2020 – “The fast recovery in CO2 emissions, following last year’s sharp drop, should come as no surprise”

By Pep Canadell, Corinne Le Quéré, Glen Peters, Pierre Friedlingstein, Robbie Andrew, and Rob Jackson 3 November 2021 (The Conversation) – Global carbon dioxide emissions have bounced back after COVID-19 restrictions and are likely to reach close to pre-pandemic levels this year, our analysis released today has found. The troubling finding comes as the COP26 climate talks […]

Missouri Governor Mike Parson answers media's questions on Tuesday, 13 July 2021, in Kansas City, Missouri. Parson, a Republican, is digging in on his belief that mask mandates don't work despite a health department analysis showing reduced COVID-19 infections and deaths in cities that require face coverings. The Republican governor on Thursday, 2 December 2021, ripped into a report on the analysis by The Missouri Independent. Photo: Shelly Yang / The Kansas City Star / AP

Missouri health department found mask mandates work, but Republican governor didn’t make findings public – “It’s devastating to see what the Missouri governor did”

By Rudi Keller, Derek Kravitz, and Smarth Gupta 1 December 2021 (Missouri Independent) – Mask mandates saved lives and prevented COVID-19 infections in Missouri’s biggest cities during the worst part of the delta variant wave, an analysis by the state Department of Health and Senior Services shows. But the analysis, conducted at the request of Gov. […]

Map showing blended land and sea surface temperature anomalies in October 2021, relative to the 1981-2010 base period. The unusually warm temperatures across much of the Northern Hemisphere land resulted in the warmest October on record for the Northern Hemisphere land, surpassing the previous record set in 2019 by 0.11°C (0.20°F). The 10 warmest Octobers for the Northern Hemisphere have occurred since 2003. Graphic: NOAA / NCEI

October 2021 was Earth’s fourth-warmest October on record and warmest on record over Northern Hemisphere land areas

By Jeff Masters and Bob Henson 15 November 2021 (Yale Climate Connections) – October 2021 was Earth’s fourth-warmest October since global record-keeping began in 1880, 0.89 degree Celsius (1.60°F) above the 20th-century average, NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, NCEI, reported November 15. NASA also reported October 2021 as the fourth-warmest October on record, 1.23 degrees Celsius (2.21°F) […]

Aerial view of deforestation in Labrea in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest in September 2021. Photo: Victor Moriyama / Amazônia em Chama / Greenpace Disclosure

Amazon deforestation soars to 15-year high – “This is not surprising. The result of pulling apart Brazil’s environmental policy is deforestation.”

By Manuela Andreoni 19 November 2021 RIO DE JANEIRO (The New York Times) – Brazil’s pledge this month to end illegal deforestation in eight years drew much praise from global leaders, but an official report this week cast doubt on that commitment after it showed that the rate of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest was at its […]

Primary energy intensity improvement, 2011-2021 and projected to 2020-2030. The 2021 estimate is based on World Energy Outlook 2021. The Net Zero Emissions Scenario is the IEA Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, 2020-2030 intensity improvements, ten-year average. Graphic: IEA

Energy efficiency gains are too slow for a sustainable climate path

By Ben Geman 17 November 2021 (Axios) – A new International Energy Agency report shows rising investment in energy efficiency and gains in the efficiency of the global economy, but both lag levels needed for a sustainable climate path. Why it matters: Boosting efficiency is vital to meeting climate goals. By the numbers: Global energy intensity — that is, […]

Map showing the percent change in reported 12 month-ending count of U.S. drug overdose deaths by jurisdiction, April 2020 - April 2021. Graphic: National Center for Health Statistics / CDC

U.S. overdose deaths reached record high as pandemic spread – Drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 Americans in yearlong period ending April 2021 – “These are numbers we have never seen before”

By Roni Caryn Rabin 17 November 2021 (The New York Times) – Americans died of drug overdoses in record numbers as the pandemic spread across the country, federal researchers reported on Wednesday, the result of lost access to treatment, rising mental health problems and wider availability of dangerously potent street drugs. In the 12-month period […]

Map showing the area of the Gulf of Mexico covered by the U.S. oil and gas lease sale on 17 November 2021. Source: US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Graphic: The Guardian

“Huge climate bomb”: U.S. auctions off oil and gas drilling leases in Gulf of Mexico after climate talks – “Coming in the aftermath of the climate summit, this is just mind boggling”

By Oliver Milman 17 November 2021 (The Guardian) – Just four days after landmark climate talks in Scotland in which Joe Biden vowed the US will “lead by example” in tackling dangerous global heating, the president’s own administration is providing a jarring contradiction – the largest ever sale of oil and gas drilling leases in the Gulf […]

Projected coal demand in the Stated Policies Scenario in the World Energy Outlooks 2021, 2020, and 2016. The International Energy Agency’s flagship outlook in October 2021 projected that under nations’ existing policies, global demand doesn’t begin falling again for several years. Then it declines but in 2050 is still at 70 percent of today’s levels. The IEA’s roadmap for reaching net-zero global emissions by 2050 requires a 55 percent decline by 2030. Graphic: IEA

After COP26: The long road to phasing down coal – “It is hard to shut down coal facilities because few countries have sufficient spare capacity in their electricity systems to be able to do so”

By Ben Geman 16 November 2021 (Axios) – Let’s leave to history to see whether the COP26 deal to “phase down” coal instead of “phase out” makes any real-world difference, but what’s clear is that any meaningful “phasing” at all is hard. Why it matters: Coal is the most carbon-intensive fuel. Any pathway to meeting the Paris Agreement […]

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