TV Aerials Middlesbrough: Vox Sentences: Bon voyage, Paris Agreement

Tuesday, 5 November 2019

Vox Sentences: Bon voyage, Paris Agreement

Cheriss May/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Trump begins withdrawal from Paris climate agreement; Mormon family attacked near US-Mexico border.

Vox Sentences is your daily digest for what’s happening in the world. Sign up for the Vox Sentences newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday, or view the Vox Sentences archive for past editions.

Pompeo’s open letter on climate change

The Trump administration formally notified the United Nations of their intent to pull out of the Paris climate accords via a letter from the Department of State. [Vox / Umair Irfan]
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a statement justifying the action as “the US approach incorporates the reality of the global energy mix and uses all energy sources and technologies cleanly and efficiently, including fossils fuels, nuclear energy, and renewable energy.” [New York Times / Lisa Friedman]
Trump spoke of his intention to withdraw from the accords in June 2017 but Monday was the first day that paperwork could officially be filed with the UN. [Axios / Amy Harder]
In spite of this move, 25 governors banded together and are pledging to uphold the standards of the Paris Agreement. [Newsweek / Shane Croucher]
Retreating from his earlier strategy of backing up the decision to leave the agreement by denying climate change, Trump has pivoted to touting his own policies as a more reasonable solution to the crisis. [Time / Justin Worland]
A study, named “World scientists’ warning of a climate emergency,” consolidates the opinions of 11,258 scientists across disciplines from 153 countries into a warning that climate change is accelerating thanks to human action and labels the effect a crisis. [Washington Post / Andrew Freedman]
Another report by the Universal Ecological Fund found many of the commitments of the Paris Agreement to be insufficient. [Reuters / Timothy Gardner]
But, as negotiators frantically attempt to piece together the deal after America reneged, the accords might not survive. [Vox / David Roberts]

Women and children with US ties killed in Mexico

At least nine US-Mexico dual citizens are thought to have been killed by a drug cartel ambush in northern Mexico. [AP News]
A Mormon family was traveling in an SUV between the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora when they came under gunfire. The bullets are thought to have ignited the gas tanks, scorching the cars and several of their passengers. [Slate / Elliot Hannon]
President Trump offered to assist Mexico in eradicating gangs. “This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!” read one of Trump’s tweets. [NPR / Bill Chappell]
Mexican Security Minister Alfonso Durazo relayed that six children survived the attack and two are still missing, during a press conference; Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declined Trump’s proposal. [Bloomberg / Cyntia Aurora Barrera Diaz and Lorena Rios]

Miscellaneous

Microsoft Japan says productivity increased by 40 percent when it moved to a four-day workweek. [NPR / Bill Chappell]
The internet is no longer the bastion of freedom that it’s claimed to be. [Vox / Rani Molla]
Krispy Kreme will allow a student who drives to Iowa to purchase donuts every weekend to resell them as an independent contractor in Minnesota. [Chicago Tribune]
Nigeria’s first-ever submission to the Oscars was disqualified by the Academy because the film is mainly in English. [The Wrap / Steve Pond]
Russia claims that Trump offered Putin assistance to fight forest fires, despite the lack of aid going to help with California’s blazes. [NPR / Shannon Van Sant]