UN issues sweeping global environment assessment
The U.N. Environment Programme’s Global Environment Outlook, produced this week by nearly 300 scientists from 83 countries, calls for a joint approach to climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and pollution, urging rapid transitions away from fossil fuels, sustainable agriculture, and major reductions in waste and pollution. The report warns emissions hit a new high in 2024 and projects warming could reach 2.4°C by 2100 without systemic change, noting over 1 million species face extinction and up to 40% of global land is degraded; the article also notes the U.S. government did not attend the U.N. Environment Assembly.
📌 Key Facts
- Report authored by ~300 scientists from 83 countries under UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook
- Emissions reached a new high in 2024; projected warming of ~2.4°C by 2100 without change
- U.S. government did not attend the U.N. Environment Assembly that produced the report
📊 Relevant Data
In the United States, people of color experience higher average exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) compared to White people, regardless of income levels or regions. White people, who comprise approximately 59% of the population, are exposed to lower-than-average concentrations from emission sources causing 60% of overall PM2.5 exposure, while people of color experience greater-than-average exposures from sources causing 75% of overall exposure.
Study Finds Exposure to Air Pollution Higher for People of Color Regardless of Region or Income — US EPA
In the United States, Black Americans experience the highest burdens for premature mortality from PM2.5 and O3 air pollution attributable to the oil and gas lifecycle, with Black and Asian Americans facing the greatest absolute disparities in health outcomes such as premature deaths, preterm births, and childhood asthma. Black Americans constitute about 13.6% of the population, Asian Americans about 6.3%, and these groups have relative disparities above the national average across most pollutants and lifecycle stages.
The health burden and racial-ethnic disparities of air pollution from the major oil and gas lifecycle stages in the United States — Science Advances
In the United States, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black Americans have the highest mortality rates from excessive heat, with national data showing Native Americans followed by Blacks having the highest rates from natural hazards including heat and cold. Black Americans (13.6% of population) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.3% of population) face elevated risks compared to White Americans (58.9% of population).
Racial Disparities in Climate Change-Related Health Effects in the United States — PMC (NIH)
In the United States, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic birth parents have higher odds of cardiovascular events during labor and delivery associated with temperature increases, with Black birth parents showing an odds ratio of 1.22 per 1°C increase compared to 1.07 for White birth parents. Black Americans are 13.6% of the population, Hispanic 19.1%.
Racial Disparities in Climate Change-Related Health Effects in the United States — PMC (NIH)