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Health

IPCC UN local weather report is our ‘remaining wake-up name,’ say consultants

A devastating new UN report warning of certain devastation caused by climate change has been dubbed humanity’s “last wake-up call” by environmental experts.

Speaking to CNBC on Tuesday, environmentalists outlined the role businesses, countries and individuals can play in containing the crisis. They also shared their hopes for the party’s 26th UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, in November.

The United Nations IPCC climate panel released a highly anticipated report on Monday warning that efforts to limit global warming to nearly 1.5 degrees Celsius, or even 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, are in will be “inaccessible” for the next two decades without an immediate, rapid and comprehensive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Implement “ambitious action now”

Meeting policymakers’ temperature targets for 2050 will be difficult but achievable, said Emily Kreps, global director of capital markets at CDP, a nonprofit that helps companies manage their climate impact.

However, this requires “ambitious action” from companies, governments and capital markets, she told Squawk Box Asia on Tuesday.

This should be considered our final wake-up call.

Emily Kreps

Global Director of Capital Markets, CDP

The threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius outlined in the report is a crucial global goal, as it also makes so-called tipping points more likely. Tipping points refer to an irreversible change in the climate system that includes further global warming.

“This should be seen as our last wake-up call,” said Kreps, who encouraged companies to set “concrete and concrete goals”.

Ulka Kelkar, director of climate at the World Resources Institute India, agreed that the pace of change must “accelerate quickly”.

For example, the exit from fossil fuels and the introduction of renewable energies must happen at five times the speed. In the meantime, the development of new, more sustainable technologies needs to move forward, she said.

This is particularly urgent in developing countries like India, which have the ability to circumvent practices that are harmful to the environment.

“Over here we have to start thinking a step forward, we have to skip,” she told Street Signs Asia.

“(That means) more renewable energy to produce (a) large-scale hydrogen that can be used in all of our industries” – from fertilizers and chemicals to steel making, she added.

Expectations for COP26

The report comes as a series of extreme weather events that are wreaking havoc around the world.

In the past few weeks alone, Europe, China and India have been hit by floods. Forest fires have also devastated the United States, Canada, Greece, and Turkey.

The UN report makes it “clear that these events are related to climate change and human impact on the climate,” Mans Nilsson, executive director of the Stockholm Environment Institute, told Squawk Box Europe.

Industrialized countries (must) seal the agreement on a long overdue climate finance package.

Ulka Kelkar

Director, World Resources Institute India

World leaders will discuss the issue further when they meet at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, in November.

Kreps said she hoped the conference would produce nationally determined contributions and “science-based goals”.

Meanwhile, Kelkar’s expectations were threefold.

“Developed countries (must) make the deal on a long overdue climate finance package,” said Kelkar, especially to adapt to the extreme events of recent times.

“The second major area is clean technology partnerships: something like green hydrogen, something like the circular economy that uses materials more efficiently. The third is the rules of carbon trading, a market-based tool that enables all of this mitigation. ”,“ She added.

– CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.

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Health

The Pandemic as a Wake-Up Name for Private Well being

As Mr Vilsack said, “It is time to change the food system in this country faster.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, when most businesses and entertainment venues had to close, toilet paper wasn’t the only commodity removed from market shelves. The country suddenly faced a flour and yeast shortage when millions of Americans “stuck” at home got into a baking frenzy. While I understood their need to relieve stress, feel productive, and perhaps help others who are less able or so inclined, bread, muffins, and cookies weren’t the healthiest items to emerge from pandemic kitchens.

When high calorie foods and snacks are at home, they can be difficult to resist when there is little else to trigger the release of enjoyable brain chemicals. Unsurprisingly, smoking rates rose during the pandemic, adding another risk to Covid vulnerability.

And there was an alcoholic drink run. National alcohol sales during a week in March 2020 were 54 percent higher than in the comparable week of the previous year. The Harris poll confirmed that almost one in four adults drank more alcohol than usual to cope with pandemic-related stress. Not only is alcohol a source of nutritionally empty calories, its wanton consumption can lead to reckless behavior that further increases susceptibility to Covid.

Long before the pandemic spiked calorie consumption, Americans were eating significantly more calories each day than they thought, in large part due to the immediate availability of ultra-processed foods, especially those that tease, “You can’t only eat one. ”(Example: Corn on the cob is unprocessed, canned corn is only minimally processed, but Doritos are ultra-processed).

In a brief but carefully crafted diet study, Kevin D. Hall and colleagues from the National Institutes of Health secretly gave 20 adults diets high in ultra-processed foods or unprocessed foods that were high in calories, sugar, fat, sodium, and fiber Dietary fiber was matched to protein content. The unsuspecting participants, told to eat as much as they wanted, were consuming 500 more calories a day on the ultra-processed diet.

If you’ve read my column for years, you already know that I’m not a fanatic when it comes to food. I have a lot of containers of ice in my freezer; Cookies, crackers, and even french fries in my closet; and I enjoy a burger every now and then. But my daily diet is mostly based on vegetables, with fish, beans, and non-fat milk being my main sources of protein. My consumption of snacks and ice cream is portioned and, in addition to daily exercise, has enabled me to stay weight stable despite years of pandemic stress and occasional despair.

Marion Nestle, professor emeritus of nutrition, food research and public health at New York University, says, “This is not rocket science.” She does not preach withdrawal, only moderation (except maybe a total ban on soda). “We need a national obesity prevention policy,” she said, “a national campaign to help all Americans get healthier.”

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Business

Lengthy-haul Covid signs ought to be a ‘wake-up name’ for younger folks, Texas Youngsters’s physician says

Around 10 to 30% of all Covid patients suffer from long-distance symptoms. Sinais Center for Aftercare. These numbers should be a “wake up call” for young people and motivate them to avoid infection, said Dr. Peter Hotez of Texas Children’s Hospital on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith”.

Patients with post-acute Covid syndrome typically suffer from severe fatigue, shortness of breath, digestive problems, “brain fog” and a racing heart. Some may even develop type 1 diabetes after contracting Covid, said Dr. Hotez. Endocrinologists are still trying to understand exactly why this is happening.

Another question that researchers still cannot answer is whether long-distance symptoms will remain in Covid patients for the rest of their lives. Millions of Americans are already infected, according to Hotez, and those who experienced mild symptoms and were able to stay home to recover are most likely to have problems with post-acute Covid syndrome later, according to later research.

Of all the lingering effects of Covid, Hotez said to Smith, “The ones that worry me most are the cognitive deficits. We call it ‘brain fog’ which makes it sound like it’s not that serious, but it is. You know people have it. ” terrible difficulty concentrating and that’s why it was so devastating because it’s difficult for people to get back to work. “

The post-acute Covid syndrome will have a significant impact on the economy and the health system, said Hotez. Covid has a “severe psychiatric burden”, even for people who were not infected. They can suffer from “post-traumatic stress” from losing a loved one, earning a living, or simply dealing with pandemic living conditions.

“As horrific as the deaths are and as heartbreaking as the deaths, this will be just one of many pieces of Covid-19 that will be with us. It’s also a wake-up call for young people,” Hotez said.