November 2021

There are stark warnings from scientists that a failure to agree to much deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions will result in catastrophic and irreversible climate change. But as Henry Ridgwell reports from Glasgow, Scotland, hopes are already fading that the COP26 climate summit will result in any new deal to save the planet. 

Camera: Henry Ridgwell
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First doses, pending approval, will be administered this week
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The U.S. Supreme Court heard challenges Monday to a Texas law that imposes a near total ban on abortion after six weeks. 

The Republican-backed Texas law bars abortions once cardiac activity has been detected in an embryo, which typically happens at six weeks – a point when some women are not yet aware they are pregnant.

The law also allows members of the public to sue people who may have facilitated an abortion after six weeks, taking enforcement out of the hands of state officials. 

The justices heard separate challenges to the law from President Joe Biden’s administration and from abortion providers. 

In their questioning of lawyers appearing before the court Monday, the justices suggested the law’s atypical enforcement structure could be problematic. 

Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked whether defendants who are sued under the law could ever get a “full airing” of the constitutional claims on the right to an abortion. The law allows defendants to bring up such claims only after they have been sued. 

Barrett was one of five conservative justices who allowed the Texas law to take effect while legal challenges to it played out in court.

Brett Kavanaugh, another of the justices who let the law take effect, also raised potential problems with its unusual structure. He said the law “exploited” a “loophole” in court precedent in how it is enforced with lawsuits. He raised the possibility that the court could “close that loophole.” 

Liberal Justice Elena Kagan said the law was written by “some geniuses” to evade legal principles. 

In the cases brought before the Supreme Court Monday, the justices are not directly considering the constitutionality of the right to an abortion.

Abortion rights, however, were part of arguments made to the court by lawyers challenging the Texas law.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the Texas law “clearly violates” Supreme Court precedents, referring to Roe v. Wade, the decades-old ruling that gives women the right to an abortion in most circumstances. The 1973 Supreme Court decision recognizes a constitutional right to an abortion before a fetus is viable, typically around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The high court is being closely watched on issues of abortion after it allowed the restrictive Texas law to take effect in September. 

The court became more conservative under President Donald Trump, who appointed three justices to the nine-seat bench. Conservatives now hold a 6-3 majority.

The court scheduled oral arguments for December 1 to hear a case concerning a Mississippi state law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. That case directly asks justices to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

A poll released by Monmouth University in September found that 62% of Americans believe abortion should either always be legal or be legal with some limitations. Twenty-four percent said it should be illegal except in rare circumstances such as rape, while 11% said it should always be illegal.

Some information in this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters. 

 
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President Joe Biden said he is disappointed that China and Russia have yet to come up with new commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, as the U.S. approaches a major climate summit with what his administration says are strong new goals. 

Those include a set of new U.S. climate commitments that build on previous global agreements; the unveiling of plans for a $3 billion President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience to tackle climate awareness, financing and adaptation efforts; and a raft of domestically focused legislation that aims to shore up American infrastructure while also cutting greenhouse gas pollution by well over one gigaton in 2030. That legislation has occupied the U.S. Congress for months, with members of the legislative body negotiating fiercely throughout — but ultimately, failing to bring the matter to a vote before Biden left for the summit last week. 

China, the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that cause global warming, announced last Thursday it has no new significant goals to reduce climate-changing emissions. Nor is the nation sending its head of state to the U.N. Climate Change Conference, in Glasgow. On Monday, China’s government announced that President Xi Jinping will only address the summit in the form of a written statement. 

Biden said late Sunday that he found it “disappointing” that China and Russia have not made any new climate commitments.  

“The disappointment relates to the fact that Russia and — and — and including not only Russia, but China, basically didn’t show up in terms of any commitments to deal with climate change,” Biden said.  “And there’s a reason why people should be disappointed in that. I found it disappointing myself.”

This year’s summit builds on a legally binding agreement that 196 parties — including the U.S., Russia and China — signed in 2015, in Paris. The international treaty commits those countries to embark on emissions cuts that aim to limit the planet’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

The U.S. has previously faltered on its own climate commitments, with former President Donald Trump announcing in 2017 that he was withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement. That took effect in November 2020, but Biden rejoined the deal on his first day in office. And critics note that some of his administration’s climate commitments are not as large as those promised by other developed nations.  

“We go into (the summit) with roughly 65% of the world’s economy in line with a 1.5 degree commitment, with still some significant outliers, one of those significant outliers being China, who will not be represented at the leader level at COP-26,” said U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday. “And who we do believe has an obligation to step up to greater ambition as we go forward.”

Administration officials have repeatedly described China as the U.S.’ biggest adversary and said the relationship between the two powers is a challenging one. But, Sullivan said, that should have no impact on this globally important issue. 

“They are perfectly well capable of living up to their responsibilities,” he said. “It’s up to them to do so. And nothing about the nature of the relationship between the U.S. and China, structurally or otherwise, impedes or stands in the way of them doing their part.”

The summit continues through Tuesday.
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The COVID-19 pandemic global death toll has hit the 5 million mark, according to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The center reported early Monday a grim milestone of 5,000,425 global deaths from the COVID outbreak. 

The new death tally comes just months after 4 million deaths from COVID-19 were recorded in June.

The milestone arrives as some countries struggle to get one vaccine into their citizens’ arms, while other countries have begun inoculating their population with booster shots. 

In an open letter appealing to the leaders of the G-20 nations who are meeting in Rome, the World Health Organization stressed the disparity in vaccine distribution between wealthy and low-income countries. 

“The current vaccine equity gap between wealthier and low resource countries demonstrates a disregard for the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable,” the statement said. “For every 100 people in high-income countries, 133 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, while in low-income countries, only 4 doses per 100 people have been administered.”

The WHO letter further warned that inaction is needed for a lasting change in the fight against the pandemic. “Vaccine inequity is costing lives every day, and continues to place everyone at risk,” the letter noted. 

“History and science make it clear: coordinated action with equitable access to public health resources is the only way to face down a global public health scourge like COVID-19. We need a strong, collective push to save lives, reduce suffering and ensure a sustainable global recovery.”
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The COVID-19 pandemic global death toll has hit the 5 million mark, according to the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

The tally comes a little more than four months after 4 million deaths from COVID-19 were recorded in June.

The milestone arrives as some countries struggle to get one vaccine into their citizens’ arms, while other countries have begun inoculating their population with booster shots.

“The current vaccine equity gap between wealthier and low resource countries demonstrates a disregard for the lives of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable,” the World Health Organization recently said in an open letter to the leaders of the G-20 nations who are meeting in Rome.“For every 100 people in high-income countries, 133 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, while in low-income countries, only 4 doses per 100 people have been administered.”

The WHO letter also warned, “Vaccine inequity is costing lives every day, and continues to place everyone at risk. History and science make it clear: coordinated action with equitable access to public health resources is the only way to face down a global public health scourge like COVID-19. We need a strong, collective push to save lives, reduce suffering and ensure a sustainable global recovery.” 

 
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Australians are being allowed to travel overseas without COVID-19 restrictions for the first time in almost 600 days. Previously they needed government permission to go overseas under strict measures designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

After more than 18 months, Australia is reconnecting with the world as vaccination rates increase. There were tearful reunions at Sydney Airport as the first overseas passengers landed after restrictions came to an end.

Australians can now travel freely overseas without needing official permission.

Returning travelers flying home into the states of New South Wales and Victoria no longer face mandatory hotel quarantine.

They must, however, be double vaccinated and only Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families can return home at this stage. Australia will reopen quarantine-free entry to fully vaccinated Singaporeans from Nov. 21, but it is unclear when other foreign nationals, who have been mostly banned since March 2020, will be permitted to enter.

Thousands of Australians have been stranded overseas during the pandemic by some of the world’s toughest border controls. Authorities placed limits on the number of travelers allowed back because of constraints on the quarantine system.

Melbourne Airport has also been preparing for the resumption of large-scale passenger numbers.

Chief executive Lyell Strambi said pandemic border closures have been hard on staff.

“We have not really stopped flying, so we have been able to keep things working and making sure that everything is in great shape,” Strambi said. “But the stop-start nature of the whole episode we have been through has been really tough. In particular for the employees of the airport. We would normally have 20,000 people working at the airport. I think a few times there we were down to as low as 500 people. So, it has been really hard on those individuals in particular.”

Internal border controls remain in parts of Australia. Residents in Sydney and Melbourne, for example, can now fly freely to Paris, France but not to Perth in Western Australia.

Travelers from New South Wales and Victoria, which have been at the center of delta variant outbreaks this year, can only enter Western Australia with an approved exemption permit and must be double vaccinated. Queensland state authorities plan to ease their internal border restrictions on Dec. 17.

Australia has diagnosed 170,000 coronavirus cases during the pandemic, and 1,700 people have died. More than 77% of eligible Australians have been fully vaccinated. 

 
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A wooden canoe used by the ancient Maya and believed to be more than 1,000 years old has turned up in southern Mexico, officials said on Friday, part of archeological work accompanying the construction of a major new tourist train.

The extremely rare canoe was found almost completely intact, submerged in a freshwater pool known as a cenote, thousands of which dot Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, near the ruins of Chichen Itza, once a major Maya city featuring elaborately carved temples and towering pyramids.

Measuring a little over 1.6 meters in length and 80 centimeters wide, the canoe was possibly used to transport water from the cenote or deposit ritual offerings, according to a statement from Mexican antiquities institute INAH.

The institute described the extraordinary find as “the first complete canoe like this in the Maya area,” adding that experts from Paris’ Sorbonne University will help with an analysis of the well-preserved wood to pinpoint its age and type.

A three-dimensional model of the canoe will also be commissioned, the statement added, to facilitate further study and allow for replicas to be made.

The canoe is tentatively dated to between 830-950 AD, near the end of the Maya civilization’s classical zenith, when dozens of cities across present-day southern Mexico and Central America thrived amid major human achievements in math, writing and art.

It was found while workers building a tourist rail project championed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador were inspecting the area surrounding the cenote which is near a section of the project that will connect with Cancun, Mexico’s top beach resort.

Lopez Obrador has pitched the so-called Maya Train as tourist-friendly infrastructure that will help alleviate poverty in Mexico’s poorer southern states, while critics argue it risks damaging the region’s delicate ecosystems. 

 
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More than 100 world leaders are gathering for a summit Monday as work begins at a two-week U.N. climate conference, with areas of focus expected to include pledges for emissions targets and funding to help developing nations cope with impacts from climate change.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is serving as host of the conference in Glasgow, Scotland, is expected to stress the urgency of acting, saying humanity has waited for too long.

“If we don’t get serious about climate change today, it will be too late for our children to do so tomorrow,” Johnson will say, according to excerpts released by his office.

John Kerry, the U.S. climate envoy, told reporters ahead of Monday’s summit that goals for the conference include raising “global ambition very significantly,” and for countries to commit to what he called a “decade of action” in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Kerry also highlighted the need to deal with the financial aspect of climate change, both the deployment of committed funds and helping developing nations with the damage they suffer.

“We also know that there’s real loss and damage out there, that there are nation-states that are talking about where their people are going to move because the sea level is rising. There are areas where people can no longer live. And there are migrants moving around the planet as a consequence of the destruction of habitat,” Kerry said. “I don’t think you can galvanize the kind of global action that you need to be able to accomplish our goals if we’re not being sensitive and thoughtful about people up and down the economic food chain and people who have done nothing, in most cases, to contribute to the problem.”

The climate summit follows a meeting of G-20 leaders in Rome where they agreed to work to reach carbon neutrality “by around mid-century” and pledged to end financing for coal plants abroad by the end of this year, but failed to agree on phasing out coal domestically.

“While I welcome the #G20’s recommitment to global solutions, I leave Rome with my hopes unfulfilled — but at least they are not buried,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on Twitter.

The leaders issued their final communique Sunday at the end of a two-day summit.

They also addressed efforts to reach the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with a global commitment made in 2015 with the Paris Climate Accord to keep global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5 degrees.

“We recognize that the impacts of climate change at 1.5°C are much lower than at 2°C. Keeping 1.5°C within reach will require meaningful and effective actions and commitment by all countries,” the communique said.

U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking at a press conference in Rome on Sunday, said while people were disappointed that Russia and China leaders didn’t “show up” with commitments about climate change, the leaders who did attend made “significant progress.”

“I think you are going to see we have made significant progress and more has to be done,” he said. “It’s going to require us to continue to focus on what China’s not doing, what Russia is not doing and what Saudi Arabia is not doing.”

The grouping of 19 countries and the European Union accounts for more than three-quarters of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

In October, two dozen countries joined a U.S.- and EU-led effort to slash methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.

Coal, though, is a bigger point of contention. G-20 members China and India have resisted attempts to produce a declaration on phasing out domestic coal consumption.

Climate financing, namely pledges from wealthy nations to provide $100 billion a year to support developing countries’ efforts to reduce emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change, is another key concern. Indonesia, a large greenhouse gas emitter that will take over the G-20 presidency in December, urged developed countries to fulfill their financing commitments both in Rome and in Glasgow.

Some information in this report came from the Associated Press and Reuters. 
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