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The Graphic Truth: The Earth is getting hotter, and it’s our fault
Happy Earth Day! Activism on behalf of the Big Blue Marble is heating up — but, sadly, so is the planet itself.
Earth — so hot right now. The Earth’s surface temperature is rising thanks to human activities like burning fossil fuels, which adds heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. In other words, global warming, a central aspect of climate change, is getting worse.
Last year was the hottest on record, and the 10 warmest years since 1850 have all occurred in the past decade. Earth also just saw its hottest March on record, and it was the 10th month in a row to set a global heat record.
We’re already experiencing the rippling consequences of climate change, including more frequent and intense extreme weather events and rising sea levels.
Are governments doing enough to address these problems? Is climate change one of your biggest concerns? Share your thoughts with us
Insurance companies are feeling the heat of climate crisis
To understand how bad the problem of climate change has become, it helps to follow the money.
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer breaks down the impact of climate change on property insurance premiums, which effectively quantifies the growing risk of catastrophic weather events. Last year alone, extreme weather damage cost the world a staggering $165 billion. Formerly once-in-a-generation weather events like the California wildfires of 2017 or Hurricane Harvey in 2018 are becoming more and more common, leading to devastating financial consequences for homeowners and hikes in insurance premiums.
Insurance companies are raising rates in high-risk areas like California, warning that soon, the state may be impossible to insure altogether. It’s another reminder that even though climate change has become a political issue, those with a financial interest in the impact of extreme weather can’t afford to be complacent. Sometimes, the coolest head in the room is the one stuck in the sand.
Watch the full interview on GZERO World: Climate change: are we overreacting?
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
- Hard Numbers: Greece’s wildfire tragedy, Pakistan’s cable car nightmare, Japan’s radioactive water, Sudan’s hungry children ›
- Alberta wildfires send smoke far and wide – and south ›
- Smoky skies part of new normal as planet heats up ›
- The Graphic Truth: The rising (insurance) costs of climate change ›
- The global water crisis and the path to a sustainable future - GZERO Media ›
Climate change: are we overreacting?
Climate experts agree that climate change is real and human-caused. But how far should the world go to combat it? Will the worst-case scenarios forecast by climate scientists end up a reality?
On GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, author Bjorn Lomborg says the answer is no. Climate change is indeed a problem, he says, but “it’s not the end of the world.”
We're not talking about ‘we need to double or triple [renewable energy capabilities].’ We need a hundred-fold increase,” Lomborg tells Ian Bremmer. “We are far away from this actually being something that will scale even in rich countries and certainly not in poor countries.”
Lomborg worries that policy priorities are out of whack and billions of dollars are being wasted on incremental climate mitigation when there are so many urgent issues, like education or maternal mortality, where that money could be used more effectively.
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
Ian Explains: Can we save the planet without hurting the economy?
“How much are we willing to sacrifice to stop climate change?”
That’s how the conversation is usually framed, that fighting climate change requires some sort of trade-off: save the planet vs. maintain living standards, reduce carbon emissions vs. increase profits, lower global temperatures vs. lift more people out of poverty.
On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer argues that this framing is actually a false choice. In the last decade, the underlying technology and economics of decarbonization have improved so much, we no longer need to choose between investing in climate mitigation and economic growth. In fact, clean energy technology like solar panels, wind turbines, and advanced battery storage have become, in many ways, more affordable than fossil fuels.
But despite the clear advantages of decarbonization, powerful interests like Big Oil, fossil fuel workers, and petrostates seem determined to cling to the status quo and slow down the green transition. Can competing interests put aside their differences and short-term goals to come up with a climate policy that works for everyone?
Watch more on this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television (check local listing) and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
- Climate crisis can't be hijacked by global competitions: Justin Vaisse ›
- Geoengineering: science fiction or a solution to the climate crisis? ›
- Want to fix climate change? This is what it’ll take. ›
- What Africa has to say about climate change ›
- The Graphic Truth: Has climate change hurt or helped farmers? ›
- Climate change is "wreaking havoc" on supply chains ›
Is life better than ever for the human race?
Pinker shares his counterintuitive take on the state of the world. How does his optimism (as welcome as it might be) stack up against the undeniable sorry state of the world today? From war in Ukraine to a persistent pandemic to a resurgence of extreme global poverty, things feel...bad. And yet, Pinker remains relatively positive.
Watch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld and on US public television. Check local listings.- Ian Explains: Is the world better today thanks to human progress? ›
- “Health is a human right”: How the world can make up progress lost to COVID ›
- Staving off default: How unsustainable debt is threatening human progress ›
- AI governance: Cultivating responsibility ›
- What Ukraine's digital revolution teaches the world ›
- Tech innovation can outpace cyber threats, says Microsoft's Brad Smith ›
- From CRISPR to cloning: The science of new humans - GZERO Media ›
Podcast: UN Secretary-General António Guterres explains why peace in Ukraine is his top priority
Listen: The challenges facing the world today, from conflict in Ukraine to climate catastrophes across the globe, cannot be solved by one country alone. The need for multilateral solutions between nations, even between warring nations, has never been greater. And yet, as diplomats, ministers, and heads of state converge on the United Nations in New York this week for the 78th annual UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General fears that we are entering a time of increased global fragmentation.
"We really need stronger and reformed multilateral institutions to be able to coordinate on what is becoming a multipolar world" Secretary-General António Guterres tells Ian Bremmer in an exclusive interview for the GZERO World podcast. "I would remind you that Europe, before the First World War, was multipolar. But because there was no multilateral governance institutions at the European level, the result was the First World War."
Whether it’s the costly war in Ukraine, lurching towards its third year, or the ongoing climate crisis that, in Guterres’ words is quote “boiling” the planet, the Secretary-General and Ian discuss a wide-array of pressing global issues. And don’t forget our brave new world of artificial intelligence, which will need a new global regulatory framework of its own.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.- António Guterres: Ukraine war united NATO, but further divided the world ›
- Podcast: How we avoid irreversible damage & "total disaster": The UN chief's warning for a world experiencing multiple crises ›
- What to watch at the U.N. General Assembly ›
- Ian Explains: The UN General Assembly meets amidst converging crises ›
- UN chief: We must avoid the mistakes that led to World War I - GZERO Media ›
- UN Chief António Guterres on mounting global crises: "Hope never dies" - GZERO Media ›
- Podcast: Challenging the climate change narrative with Bjorn Lomborg - GZERO Media ›
Ian Explains: The UN General Assembly meets amidst converging crises
There’s no shortage of global crises facing the United Nations as heads of state and top diplomats converge on New York City next week for the annual UN General Assembly.
But this year, things seem particularly dire. Whether it’s the costly war in Ukraine, lurching towards its third year with no end in sight, or the ongoing climate crisis that UN Secretary-General António Guterres says is “boiling” the planet, it’s clear that the thorniest global issues cannot be solved by one nation alone. Oh, and don’t forget our brave new world of artificial intelligence.
But at a time of increased geopolitical fragmentation, can the Secretary-General get hundreds of member nations to agree on what needs to be done? And what to do first?
On this week’s show, Ian Bremmer sits down with Secretary-General Guterres for an exclusive interview ahead of UNGA 2023.
Watch the upcoming episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer on US public television this weekend (check local listings) and at gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld.
Fmr. U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the day of his court appearance in New York after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. Photo taken in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., April 4, 2023.
Hard Numbers: Trump leads early, NPR & PBS quit Twitter, stopgap for Darien, global warming juices baseballs
49.3: FiveThirtyEight launched its national polling averages for the 2024 Republican presidential race this week, and Donald Trump leads the pack with 49.3% support. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis trails well behind with 26.2%, while fmr. VP Mike Pence and fmr. UN ambassador Nikki Haley are at 5.8% and 4.3%, respectively. Research finds that national polls done a year ahead of the election can reasonably predict the nominee.
2: NPR will stop posting on Twitter, becoming the first major outlet to ditch the bluebird since the platform began labeling news orgs that receive government funding as “state-affiliated media.” That designation is normally applied to outlets in autocratic countries that allow no editorial independence. Twitter CEO Elon Musk recently told the BBC (another “state-affiliated” media outlet) that he may change the label to “publicly funded.” PBS followed NPR's lead on Wednesday, so two major US media outlets have now said "bye-bye birdie."
88,000: The US, Panama, and Colombia are launching a two-month campaign to stem the northward flow of migrants across the perilous Darien Gap, which spans the Colombian-Panamanian border. Since January, more than 88,000 people have braved the crossing, over six times the number from the same period last year.
1: Did the Sports Almanac account for this? A recent study analyzing the past six decades of baseball and temperature data finds that thinner air from global warming accounted for 1% of home runs from 2010-2019. The number is expected to jump to 10% by 2100 – though the data is inconclusive on whether this can help the Mets.