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By Alister Doyle [[link removed]] | Climate Correspondent

‘Not rocket science’

A U.N. Climate Ambition Summit [[link removed]] on Wednesday will test governments' willingness to make a "quantum leap" to combat climate change after a slew of studies showing they are far off track.

Pushing for more action by world leaders meeting in New York, tens of thousands of climate protesters marched at the weekend with banners such as "No more fossil-fuelled greed" and "Declare a climate emergency".

So far, there is a glaring mismatch between promises and action on climate change. The United Nations has warned that "much more needs to be done" [[link removed]] to get on track to limit rising global temperatures to goals set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Governments have, for instance, all embraced scientific findings that global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut by an unprecedented 43% this decade from 2019 levels [[link removed]'s%20Intergovernmental%20Panel%20on,be%20cut%2043%25%20by%202030.?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=context-climate]. And yet carbon dioxide emissions hit record levels in 2022.

Major economies - including top greenhouse gas emitters China and the United States - have shown little sign they will sharply step up existing climate goals this year.

"I would of course be very happy if several of the G20 (Group of 20) countries will be able to come to the summit and announce a quantum leap in their efforts to reduce emissions," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. Read our correspondent David Sherfinski’s preview of the main issues [[link removed]] for the summit.

Activists mark the start of Climate Week in New York during a demonstration calling for the U.S. government to take action on climate change and reject the use of fossil fuels in New York City, New York, U.S., September 17, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

World leaders at U.N. headquarters in New York are also reviewing the stalled Sustainable Development Goals [[link removed]] (SDGs), with Guterres urging "renewed impetus".

Climate action is number 13 of the 17 SDGs, which make up a blueprint for a better planet by 2030, led by no more poverty (SDG1) and zero hunger (SDG2).

Our correspondent David writes that just 15% of the SDGs are on target [[link removed]], with most held back by the COVID pandemic, economic headwinds and the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

There has, of course, been a huge green shift in the world economy since the Paris Agreement, with plunges in the cost of wind and solar energy and other renewables.

Christiana Figueres, the former U.N. climate chief who was an architect of the Paris accord, says there is a "front page paradox" - climate change is in the headlines but action lags.

"The big picture of what we need to do is not rocket science [[link removed]]," she writes for Context, pointing to the solutions: turbo-charge investments in clean energies, impose a moratorium on all new oil and gas exploration, and regenerate nature.

A man rides a bicycle on a flooded streets after rain in Dhaka, Bangladesh, August 4, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

Disaster distress

In Bangladesh, meanwhile, Ripon Mondal worries about his father’s distress after a drought ruined the family's watermelon crop - part of an underestimated crisis of mental health linked to climate change [[link removed]].

One 2019 study found that exposure to higher temperatures and humidity, along with worsening floods, raised the likelihood of Bangladeshis experiencing both anxiety and depression.

Yet the country of 170 million people has just a few hundred mental health practitioners, meaning many suffer in silence, our correspondent Tahmid Zami reports. SDG3 is "good health and wellbeing".

"Disasters hit minds too, and in multiple ways," said Tawhida Shiropa, founder of the Moner Bondhu mental healthcare platform.

An Amazon delivery worker pulls a delivery cart full of packages during its annual Prime Day promotion in New York City, U.S., June 21, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Too hot to work?

In the United States, delivery drivers for Amazon are opening a new front in the fight for labour rights: protection from sweltering heat.

From McDonalds and Burger King to UPS, Amazon and the Postal Service – U.S. workers have staged protests over dangerous working conditions brought on by extreme heat.

Worldwide, the period June-August was the hottest on record. Amazon says it ensures air conditioning, plenty of rest time and other measures to protect workers' health.

Watch our video report [[link removed]] by Avi Asher-Schapiro, Ashley Jiang and Jacob Templin. SDG8 seeks "decent work and economic growth".

"It's like opening an oven in your face," said driver Dorian Arnold, who said the inside of his delivery van could easily reach 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit (38-43C).

Enjoy the week and please get in touch [mailto:[email protected]?subject=Africa%20Climate Summit: "opportunity" awaits] with ideas!

Alister

This week's top picks Why is 2023 so hot? A rare Pacific volcano is among the suspects [[link removed]]

Wild-card volcanic eruption under the Pacific Ocean may be adding to heat in 2023 caused by humanity's greenhouse gas emissions

UN wants cash and commitments to rescue stalled development goals [[link removed]]

Summit this week aims to kickstart progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set back by climate, COVID and economic woes

UN Climate Ambition Summit seeks 'quantum leap' on emissions cuts [[link removed]]

The gathering, aimed at raising the bar for climate action ahead of COP28, will be preceded by a march against fossil fuels

The Amazon drivers striking for safe conditions in extreme heat [[link removed]]

As summer heat hits record highs, U.S. workers have staged protests over dangerous working conditions caused by extreme heat

How urban heat islands are making cities dangerously warm [[link removed]]

Urban heat islands can face higher temperatures than green or rural areas, increasing risk of illness and death for city residents

'It torments you': US workers lack protection from extreme heat [[link removed]]

As record temperatures hit the United States and endanger workers' health, labor advocates say legal protections are insufficient

Climate change takes heavy toll on mental health in Bangladesh [[link removed]]

As Bangladesh faces increasingly extreme weather from floods to storms, psychologists fear rise in anxiety and depression

What's in a mosquito bite? How warmer climates spread disease [[link removed]]

Global warming and shifts in agriculture are helping mosquitoes to thrive and spread West Nile virus to Europe from Africa

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