Lagging UN sustainable goals, North America's opioid crisis, and Clean Air Act loophole

Today ChatGPT read 1338 top news stories. After removing previously covered events, there are 3 articles with a significance score over 7.

[7.7] UN forum reports 15% of Sustainable Development Goals on track for 2030. — UN News

The weeklong forum by the UN Conference on Trade and Development spotlighted the widening $4 trillion investment gap in achieving Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, emphasizing that currently only 15% of these goals are on track to be met. The forum also hosted discussions led by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which called for an annual investment of $680 billion until 2030 to overhaul agrifood systems in low and middle-income countries. While international investment in renewable energy has almost tripled since the 2015 Paris Agreement, the forum underscored that only 5% of sustainable funds are allocated to developing nations.

[7.4] Record opioid deaths in North America; crisis surpasses HIV/AIDS epidemic. — The Conversation

Opioid-related deaths in North America reached a record level in 2022, with over 109,000 fatalities in the United States and over 7,400 deaths in Canada. The opioid overdose crisis has been ongoing for over two decades and has surpassed the worst years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Strategies to address the crisis include 1) treating substance use disorders as a public health problem, 2) finding better treatments through research, and 3) stopping the international spread of the epidemic through greater regulation and oversight.

[7.1] Clean Air Act loophole hides pollution from wildfires. — The Guardian US

A legal loophole in the Clean Air Act has allowed the US Environmental Protection Agency to exclude pollution caused by natural events, such as wildfires, from clean air tallies in over 70 counties. This has enabled local regulators to claim that the air is cleaner than it actually is for more than 21 million Americans.

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Vadim