At the annual UN General Assembly, that traffic-snarling symposium of international hand-wringing and high dudgeon now underway in New York City, the peril of climate change is always a prominent topic.
But as Taylor Swift might say, it hits different after the summer of 2023.
The year saw a record-setting wildfire season in Canada, more than 11,000 dead from catastrophic flooding in Libya and a record 23 separate billion-dollar weather disasters in the U.S. in just the first eight months.
And it香蕉视频直播檚 far from the only existential crisis that will confront Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when he arrives Tuesday for two days of meetings with world leaders, environmental crusaders and civil-society luminaries.
His trip comes on the heels of news Monday that Canadian intelligence agencies are investigating what Trudeau called 香蕉视频直播渃redible香蕉视频直播� information linking India香蕉视频直播檚 government to the killing of a prominent Sikh leader in British Columbia.
Russia香蕉视频直播檚 war in Ukraine grinds on relentlessly, the global angst augmented by last week香蕉视频直播檚 ominous meeting in Vladivostok between President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The uneasy truce of the UN香蕉视频直播檚 own Black Sea grain deal has collapsed, all but cutting off the developing world from one of the planet香蕉视频直播檚 most vital sources of food, cooking oil and fertilizer.
West Africa has seen no fewer than eight military coups since 2020, most recently in Niger and Gabon, while Haiti remains racked by political chaos and gang violence, all in the midst of an unchecked cholera outbreak.
And the UN香蕉视频直播檚 ambitious effort to check off a laundry list of sustainable development goals 香蕉视频直播� a particular focus for Trudeau 香蕉视频直播� has largely stalled, hampered by political intransigence and sluggish post-pandemic economies.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a serious moment in the life of the world,香蕉视频直播� said Bob Rae, Canada香蕉视频直播檚 ambassador to the UN, who cites climate, conflict and sustainability as the three biggest challenges facing this year香蕉视频直播檚 multilateral mosh pit.
香蕉视频直播淭here was sort of a school of thought that said, 香蕉视频直播楨very day, everything香蕉视频直播檚 getting better, it香蕉视频直播檚 not getting worse.香蕉视频直播� Right now, we can香蕉视频直播檛 say that.香蕉视频直播�
UN Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres acknowledged as much in his news conference Thursday.
香蕉视频直播淲e will be gathering at a time when humanity faces huge challenges 香蕉视频直播� from the worsening climate emergency to escalating conflicts, the global cost-of-living crisis, soaring inequalities and dramatic technological disruptions,香蕉视频直播� he said.
香蕉视频直播淧eople are looking to their leaders for a way out of this mess. Yet in the face of all this and more, geopolitical divisions are undermining our capacity to respond.香蕉视频直播�
In the U.S., the climate alarms are flashing red.
A report Monday from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration catalogued the highest number of climate-related disasters ever recorded in a single calendar year 香蕉视频直播� one that still has three months to go.
So far, 2023 ranks as the ninth-warmest in the continental U.S. in 129 years, with new temperature records being set just last month in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida and a potentially historic hurricane season now underway.
香蕉视频直播淭he world is increasingly coming to grips with the reality that climate change is not a future event, it香蕉视频直播檚 a current event,香蕉视频直播� Rae said.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 a today issue, and it香蕉视频直播檚 as much about resilience, adaptation and really investing in infrastructure and other ways of protecting people香蕉视频直播檚 health and safety for the current crisis, which will be ongoing.香蕉视频直播�
The sense of urgency was palpable on city streets all over the world Friday and through the weekend, with massive protests unfolding throughout Europe, southeast Asia, Africa and the U.S.
Thousands marched in cities across Canada, part of a co-ordinated show of force in advance of the UN meetings and Climate Week in New York, where the protests culminated Sunday in a massive rally that attracted tens of thousands.
香蕉视频直播淐limate must be a centrepiece of inside and outside organizing 香蕉视频直播� an electoral and popular force that cannot be ignored,香蕉视频直播� said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the climate standard-bearer for progressive Democrats.
香蕉视频直播淭his issue is the biggest issue of our time, and because of that we must be too big and too radical to ignore.香蕉视频直播�
Instead of talking about ambitious but unrealistic new emissions targets, the UN will instead press members on how they plan to hit existing ones, said Catherine Abreu, founder and executive director of the climate group Destination Zero.
香蕉视频直播淭his is a moment of honesty and inflection,香蕉视频直播� Abreu told a news conference last week.
香蕉视频直播淲e need to get real about the fact that despite the targets that we have been setting over the course of the last decade, we are not delivering on those promises.香蕉视频直播�
In particular, Guterres will be focused on some of the biggest gaps between promises made and promises kept, one of which is the transition away from fossil fuels, she added.
香蕉视频直播淐ountries 香蕉视频直播� including, in particular, major producers like Canada 香蕉视频直播� will be asked how they plan to align their production of fossil fuels 香蕉视频直播� with their promises under international climate treaties,香蕉视频直播� Abreu said.
香蕉视频直播淭here is an open question as to how Canada will align the positions that it香蕉视频直播檚 taking in those international fora with the action that it is taking here at home.香蕉视频直播�
One such action reared its head Monday when the federal government, which has been under pressure from Indigenous communities to rescind its support for the controversial Line 5 pipeline, did precisely the opposite.
Government lawyers filed a brief urging a U.S. appeals court to reverse a June 2026 deadline to shut down the cross-border oil and gas conduit if it can香蕉视频直播檛 be rerouted around an Indigenous reserve in Wisconsin in time.
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