Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.

COP28 nations agree for first time to transition away from fossil fuels

Summary: Representatives from the more than 190 governments that took part in the most recent UN climate change conference, or COP28 summit, have approved a document that calls for a transition away from fossil fuels for the first time.

Context: This is far from the only outcome of this meeting, where nations come up with goals and standards meant to help address the ever-increasing problems associated with human-amplified climate change, but it was the most contentious, especially since the meeting was hosted in the UAE, a petrostate, and because the OPEC oil cartel attempted to put its thumb on the scale, warning its members that language favored by many non-petrostate nations calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels would present a threat to their continued economic well-being; ultimately, member-nations agreed on language that calls for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner,” which is similar, but not exactly the same thing, and leaves a lot of room for interpretation—though many environmentalists are claiming this as a watered-down victory, as it brought the term “fossil fuels” into the final COP document for the first time, and could serve as a foot in the door for more concrete fossil fuel-related goals at future meetings.

—The Wall Street Journal

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UN General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza

Summary: The United Nations General Assembly has voted 153 to 10 in favor of a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, with 23 nations abstaining and only Israel, the US, Austria, the Czech Republic, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay opposing it.

Context: This resolution is non-binding, and follows a UN Security Council vote on the same issue last week that failed because the US vetoed it, but it’s still considered to be a pretty big deal as it indicates how little support Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip has in the international community—and this is something that’s beginning to show up in US statements on the matter, as well, the government segueing from a posture of “we’ll support Israel no matter what” to Biden recently saying that the Israeli government is losing international support because of the seemingly indiscriminate nature of its bombing campaign in the region, and the massive (and growing) humanitarian crisis it’s creating, as a consequence.

—The Associated Press

Poland's Donald Tusk wins confidence vote, sets pro-EU path

Summary: Poland’s new government, led by former Polish Prime Minister and former President of the European Council Donald Tusk, has won a vote of confidence, 248 to 201, and Tusk has said that he’ll help nudge the country back into line with European values after a period of heightened nationalism and anti-European sentiment.

Context: This could represent a significant pivot for Poland, as the outgoing Law and Justice party has run things since 2015 and struck a fairly oppositional stance against all things EU while pulling the country in a generally radical right-wing direction; Tusk, in contrast, says he wants to double-down on the country’s support of Ukraine and its NATO allies, wants to increase trade relations with other EU nations, and wants to unravel the government overhauls the Law and Justice party was trying to implement, purportedly in order to disempower the judicial system and to lock its own power into place.

—Reuters

YouTube remains the reigning social media champion amongst young people in the US, with TikTok nipping at its heels, and both are used “almost constantly” by 1 in 5 US teens, according to a new report from Pew Research.

—Axios

87%

Portion of Russia’s pre-Ukraine-invasion military that is either dead or injured, according to a new classified US intelligence assessment leaked by a congressional source.

That means about 315,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or injured since February 2022 (out of the around 360,000 personnel it had at the time), and that’s alongside the (estimated) destruction of around two-thirds (2,200 of its 3,500) total tanks.

That said, Russia’s military has since grown substantially, and there’s reason to question the credibility of this leak at a moment in which Ukraine’s allies (including US intelligence agencies) are looking to bolster public sentiment of its successes in order to help it procure more support.

—The Wall Street Journal

Trust Click

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