UN: "2021 is literally going to be catastrophic"

• On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged nations to take greater action on climate change to end the "war on nature," saying "the state of the planet is broken."

What he's saying: “2021 is literally going to be catastrophic based on what we’re seeing at this stage of the game,” Beasley told a special meeting covering COVID-19, per Reuters.

• The WFP chief also said that famine is "knocking on the door" of dozens of countries.
• 2021 is likely to be “the worst humanitarian crisis year since the beginning of the United Nations," Beasley added.
• "We’re not going to be able to fund everything ... so we have to prioritize, as I say, the icebergs in front of the Titanic.”

World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also told the UN General Assembly Friday that people "simply cannot accept a world in which the poor and marginalized are trampled by the rich and powerful in the stampede for vaccine.

• “This is a global crisis and the solutions must be shared equitably as global public goods," he said, urging countries to invest in a global vaccine-sharing program.
• "Sharing the fruits of science is not charity, it’s in the best interests of every nation."