United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned world leaders at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt that humanity will have to urgently work together or face annihilation, in the fight against global warming. In particular, the US and China must join forces to make a “historic” pact happen between rich emitters and emerging to hold the rise in temperatures to the Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era that most experts believe today is a lost cause without drastic action. Notes: Facebook’s parent Meta Platforms is planning to begin large-scale layoffs this week, in the first broad headcount reduction in the company’s 18-year history, Wall Street Journal reports, citing people aware of the plans. The layoffs are expected to affect many thousands of employees and an announcement is expected as early as Wednesday, according to the Journal. Meanwhile, Twitter is now reaching out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs and asking them to return as they are needed for crucial jobs, Bloomberg reports. Apple is telling customers they’ll have to wait longer to get its latest iPhone models after anti-virus restrictions were imposed on a factory run by Foxconn, a major contractor, in central China, Associated Press reports. “We now expect lower iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max shipments than we previously anticipated. Customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products,” according to AP. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned world leaders gathered at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt that humanity will have to urgently work together or face annihilation, in the fight against global warming. He called for a “historic” pact between rich emitters and emerging economies that would see countries double down on cutting emissions, holding the rise in temperatures to the more ambitious Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial era. Current trends would see carbon pollution increase by 10 percent by the end of the decade and Earth’s surface heats up by 2.8C. “Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing. Global temperatures keep rising. And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible,” he said. “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.” The UN chief asked countries to agree to phase out the use of fossil fuels and coal, the most carbon-intense fuels, by 2040 globally, with members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) hitting that mark by 2030. The world must resist the temptation to put climate change on the backburner because of the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the global economic slowdown and inflation, the UN Chief said. The science is clear: any hope of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees means achieving global net zero emissions by 2050. But that 1.5-degree goal is on life support – and the machines are rattling. We are getting dangerously close to the point of no return, Guterres said. In particular, the US and China must join forces, he said. “Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish. It is either a Climate Solidarity Pact – or a Collective Suicide Pact.” Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds