Welcome back to another week of Nature Labs! There are a couple of important international events we highly recommend keeping an eye on this week, as well as a few other stories that we think are worth your attention.
G20 in Rio de Janeiro
World leaders from 20 of the most influential nations and biggest economies are gathering for their yearly summit, this time in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro. Poverty and regulating digital currency are on the official order paper, but in all likelihood it will be a summit defined by division. Climate policies, trade disputes, global conflicts and a global rules-based order under threat will cloud – and possibly disrupt – discussions and the agenda as a whole. And with the rise of BRICS (an alternate G20 for nations that are mostly in the west’s bad books), there are also questions about the role of the G20 and the future of world order. So, yeah, you know, it’s kinda high stakes and worth keeping an eye on.
Here are a few articles to help you understand this year’s G20 and what it all means:
Trudeau lands at G20 summit in Brazil. Here’s what’s on the agenda
Trump shock waves ripple through fragmented G20
BRICS Expansion, the G20, and the Future of World Order
Oh, and in case you didn’t know, Canada played a big role in the formation of the G20:
How Canada made the G20 happen
COP29 in Baku
Over in Azerbaijan, the world continues to gather to discuss climate change and how best to mitigate its threat. How’s it going you ask? Well, the US, China, and India are all absent and they’re the world’s biggest economies and emitters… So, um, not a great start. Can the 29th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (they seriously need to work on this name thing) still have an impact and drive international consensus on climate change? Well, seeing as nation-states (countries, like Canada) can’t seem to find domestic consensus around the best way forward, it’s becoming harder to envision global consensus and action happening, especially without the biggest emitters present and engaged. But, you know, hope springs eternal and who are we to pop the international gathering’s balloon?!
Here are a few articles we think might help you better understand COP29 and the debate surrounding its existence:
Cop29 bingo: a beginner’s guide to climate acronyms
COP29 primer: Canada’s priorities at the global climate talks, and the Trump impact
COP29: What is holding back negotiations so far?
With its big players absent, is Cop29 futile?
COP29: Useless talkfest or powerful driver of change?
FIRST READING: The Taliban is there, Putin picked the venue — Canada at COP29
Cop summits ‘no longer fit for purpose’, say leading climate policy experts
Oh, and in case you forgot, here’s what at stake:
World’s 1.5C climate target ‘deader than a doornail’, experts say
But, wait, there’s more!
The G20 and COP29 might dominate this week’s news, but here are a few other stories we think you should be aware of:
- A Quebec Referendum?
No, this isn’t an article about Canadian history. It’s forewarning about an historical event that could change Canada forever. Check out award-winning journalist Paul Well’s Substack for more:
- A Sixth Mass Extinction?
And you thought COP29 was the only high-stakes environmental story of the week. Can’t forget about the even bigger environmental threat: biodiversity (or the collapse of)! Look, we’ve covered this story extensively in your lessons, but here’s Dr. Jane Goodall’s take on the debate. You know Dr. Jane, right? The famous primatologist who has helped lead the world’s longest-running scientific study! She’s got some cred.
‘The sixth great extinction is happening’, conservation expert warns
- A Parliamentary Crisis?
Ottawa is a bit dysfunctional these days, have you heard? Maybe you should get caught up on exactly how dysfunctional Parliament has become.
Parliament on the road to an unprecedented confidence crisis, but there are off-ramps
- A Brighter Future for Canada’s North?
The Premier of the Northwest Territories certainly thinks the answer is yes, and believes a better future for the north means a better future for Canada as a whole. And Premier Simpson is calling on all Canadians to help make his vision a reality. What do you think?
Unlocking the North: A Critical Moment for Canada’s Future
- A Zombie Apocalypse?
It’s already upon us, we just haven’t noticed yet because we’re too busy looking at our phones! Look up! (Actually, look up after you read this essay published in England’s The Guardian.)
Okay! Good times! Lots happening! Not all for the better! Hopefully you understand a bit more about what’s happening in your world today – why it matters and how it relates to what you’re learning in class.