Axios PM

An analog clock with only two symbols instead of twelve: the symbols read 'AM' and 'PM'.

December 02, 2020

Mike Allen

Good afternoon: Today's PM — edited by Justin Green — is 437 words, a 2-minute read.

💉 Vaccines begin: The U.K. has approved Pfizer's COVID vaccine for public distribution, and Russia will start vaccinating people with its Sputnik V vaccine next week.

1 big thing: The "war on nature"

A resident stands on his roof as the Blue Ridge Fire burned back in October in Chino Hills, Calif. Photo: Jae C. Hong/AP

Apocalyptic weather is the new normal because humans are "waging war on nature," the UN declared today.

“The state of the planet is broken,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, reports AP. “This is suicidal.”

The big picture: 2020 will go down as one of the three warmest years on record.

The World Meteorological Organization said this year is set to end about 2.2°F warmer than the last half of the 1800s.
That's a half degree away from the limit set by the Paris climate accord, which could be exceeded by 2024, the WMO said today.

Among the dozens of extremes of 2020, from the WMO report:

Record 30 Atlantic named tropical storms and hurricanes.
Death Valley had the hottest temperature on Earth in the last 80 years.
Record wildfires in the western U.S. and record heat in Australia.
Record wildfires and a prolonged heat wave in the Arctic.
Record low Arctic sea ice was reported for April and August, and the yearly minimum, in September, was the second lowest on record.

Between the lines: It's projected to get worse before it gets better, judging by current fossil fuel production projections, reports Axios' Ben Geman.

Reproduced from The Production Gap Report: 2020 Special Report; Chart: Axios Visuals

The bottom line: Guterres urged American students and citizens to do “everything you can” to get their governments to curb emissions more quickly, because no climate plan works without the U.S. playing a major role.

2. Pic du jour

A man in a full protective get-up walks through the decorated piazza of Covent Garden in London.

3. Catch up quick

Democratic leadership urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to use a $908 billion bipartisan coronavirus relief framework as a basis for jump-starting negotiations. Go deeper.
Discovery launched its new global entertainment streaming service called discovery+. Go deeper.
Uber is in advanced talks to sell its Uber Elevate unit to Joby Aviation, Axios has learned from multiple sources. Go deeper.
Hispanic lawmakers are pressing President-elect Joe Biden to name either California Attorney General Xavier Becerra or DNC chair Tom Perez to lead the Justice Department. Go deeper.
🎧 Axios Re:Cap examines GM's investments in charging infrastructure, battery technology and new models. Listen here.

4. 1 smile to go: Hope for Olympics-goers

The Olympic rings, placed on a floating monument in the Tokyo Gulf, yesterday. Photo: Ahmet Furkan Mercan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A mobile app could be among the measures used to track the health of fans from abroad if they are permitted to attend next year’s Tokyo Olympics, AP reports.

The big picture: The cost of these Games has reportedly increased by billions due to the one-year delay.

Selling tickets would be an obvious way to offset some of those costs.

Between the lines: Japanese citizens aren't happy about this development, as they've been among the world leaders in curbing the spread of the virus and fear an influx of foreign travelers could put that progress in jeopardy.