China makes news. And it's important for, well, the survival of the rest of us.

Xi Jinping says at UNGA:

China will "scale up" national climate targets, aim to reach peak emissions "before" 2030 and carbon neutrality "before" 2060.

fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_6… Xi Jinping: "Humankind can no longer afford to ignore the repeated warnings of Nature and go down the beaten path of extracting resources without investing in conservation."

Last week, I drove through California's San Joaquin Valley, where hundreds of thousands of workers pick and pack almonds, melons, carrots, grapes and much of the other healthy produce we eat.

The air was smoky. Temperatures soared past 100 by midday.

nytimes.com/2020/08/25/cli… With so much smoke in the air, the air pollution agency put out a health advisory. Good advice, in theory, said Leonor Hernández, a farmworker and mother of three.

“But we need to work, and if we stay indoors we don’t get paid.”

In 2016, when she was critical of Trump, Nikki Haley had said: “During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices.” Her role seems to have been to counter those who point out racism in America, which is all the more striking after Trump repeatedly referred to the coronavirus as the "China virus," a term described as racist.

That montage of Kamala Harris' female family members was quite something. And notable that she is calling out her political ancestors. And her mother. "I know a predator when I see one."

Extreme heat is not a future risk. It’s now. And people who are poor and marginalized are most vulnerable.

See what it’s like to live in a warming world.

nytimes.com/interactive/20… For the last 60 years, every decade has been hotter than the last, and 2020 is poised to be among the hottest years ever.

Meanwhile, no word on this in Trump-Modi public comments today

https://twitter.com/ndtv/status/1232304555716530176

Our story from the Delhi neighborhood, where "mobs of Hindu men, many of their foreheads marked by a saffron stripe, angrily patrolled the streets carrying sticks, iron bars and baseball bats, threatening to beat up journalists or any outsiders." nytimes.com/2020/02/25/wor…

Climate change is likely to usher in a future of unpredictable rains -- more intense droughts and more intense cloudbursts.

So water needs to be stored and shared. That raises huge challenges between countries. In this case, Egypt & Ethiopia:

nytimes.com/interactive/20… The Blue Nile begins here on Lake Tana in Ethiopia, its islands dotted with ancient monasteries.

Loukina Tille: “We got the feeling WEF was locked in a bubble of positivity.” Greta: as long as science is ignored, we will not be able to solve this crisis. Our "demands have been completely ignored."

Business titans, having brushed off scientists warnings for decades, are now talking a lot about climate change. We look under the hood as Davos comes to a close.

nytimes.com/2020/01/23/bus… “What is going to cause the change?” Alison Martin of Zurich Insurance said. “If capital actually does start to fly, if it does actually make choices.”

Greta up now. “We don’t need to lower emissions. our emissions have to stop” She rebukes world leaders for “empty words and promises”

Calls for banks, governments to immediately stop investing in fossil fuels and stop taxpayer subsidies.

Negotiations are stuck on the rules of a global carbon trading system. It’s going to be a loooooong Friday.

https://twitter.com/DrSimEvans/status/1205447327479193600

Former French lead climate negotiator @LaurenceTubiana on what's at stake in these negotiations: "This year is really about the integrity of the Paris Agreement."

Good morning from Madrid. It’s a foggy Wednesday. Ministers from various countries have arrived to hash out the last rules of the Paris agmt (yes they’re still talking about rules)

Jennifer Morgan of ⁦@Greenpeace in the plenary room⁩: “where are the adults in the room?” .@GretaThunberg today is keen to focus on the science but excoriating the decision makers here. “Countries are finding clever ways around having to take real action.”

I wrote a story last week about cities trying to decongest their streets of cars - and the pollution they produce.

Then I landed in Manila, awash in cars, trucks, diesel belching buses - and this fearless bicyclist weaving through traffic. There are “Jeepney” taxis, “pedicabs,” attached to bicycles, “sidecars” attached to motorcycles and lots and lots of SUVs.

The UN Climate Action Summit is due to start soon. Expect to hear from several champions of coal.
nytimes.com/2019/09/22/cli… Here's what's at stake: nytimes.com/2019/09/21/cli…

It's Saturday. The sun is shining on United Nations headquarters. Hundreds of young people are in the house for the Youth Climate Summit, hosted by @antonioguterres, and no one, absolutely no one has forgotten what happened yesterday... @antonioguterres This historic global protest led by children across the world. nytimes.com/2019/09/20/cli…

Subcommittee chair @USRepKeating and host of meeting: "So far our generation has failed to adequately address the climate crisis."

https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1174323623638839296

@USRepKeating Greta says she doesn't have any testimony to submit. Instead submits IPCC report from last October. "I don’t want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to scientists.....Then I want you to take real action."

Greetings from Plymouth. Yes, the one in England, famous for its gin. No, that’s not why I’m here. I’ve come to see Greta Thunberg and the solar powered racing yacht she’ll be sailing to New York. Why is she sailing to New York? Because she doesn't fly because of its outsized carbon footprint. So she's setting sail tomorrow afternoon.

What's it like to live without much water in the tap? Lessons from Chennai, India. nyti.ms/2LJORD7 It’s hot, muggy and there are these bright plastic water pots everywhere

Ok. I've been fan girling Alma Guillermoprieto for most of my adult life. I try to read everything she writes. Sometimes more than once. I missed this talk about reporting out in the world because I was out reporting in the world, It deeply resonates. nybooks.com/articles/2019/… Like this: "What is your relationship to a row of coffins in the rain, in a small town hidden away in a country you’ll probably never visit? Why should I be telling you about them?"

Australians go to the polls on May 18. I wanted to know if climate change is on voters' minds. So I went on a road trip -- and talked to people. nyti.ms/2H3XUuu From Sydney, I rented a car and drove west, into rural New South Wales state. I spoke to farmers and ranchers, politicians and activists, scientists and sheep shearers. I stopped at a few pubs to hear what was on voters' minds.

Morning from Rovaniemi, Finland. I’m at the arena, where they normally play hockey. Today it’s where foreign ministers from 8 Arctic Council gather to talk about one of the most fragile and important parts of the world. Stay tuned. Foreign ministers met last night for a last crack at coming up with a joint declaration they could all agree on, with the U.S. opposing mention of the Paris Agmt, the global accord aimed at averting the worst effects of climate change.