From Foreign Waters

  New Zealand is facilitating the virtual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Summit because of a pandemic that has kept the global borders closed to practically all travelers for a very long time.   In her address, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated that the Summit would chalk a path towards recovery from this crisis.    The 21 APEC leaders will discuss areas where members will cooperate on easing out border checks for trade and economic growth instead of attempting to settle longstanding disputes.   However, profound strains remain between the 21 countries. These tensions have brought up issues regarding who can join a Pacific trade alliance and whether America will get an opportunity to host future meetings.   Tensions are expected, however, during this week’s talks among the 21-economy group over Taiwan’s bid to join a regional trade pact and the United States’ bid to host the 2023 round of meetings. | @Reute...

Levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases have reached another record high, “with no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline”, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned. Despite pledges made under the Paris Agreement to combat climate change, concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide all surged by higher amounts in 2018 than average for the past decade. Levels of CO2 – the main gas driving global warming – reached new highs of 407.8 parts per million (ppm) in 2018, up from 405.5ppm the previous year, a report by the UN body shows. This concentration is now 47 per cent higher than before the Industrial Revolution began in 1760, when CO2 levels were around 280ppm. “We need to translate the commitments into action and increase the level of ambition for the sake of the future welfare of mankind,” said WMO secretary general Petteri Taalas. The last time Earth experienced comparable concentrations of carbon dioxide in...