The past 10 years were the hottest decade on record – and 2019 was the second-warmest year ever, “just shy of the record set in 2016”, according to analysis reported by many outlets including the New York Times. The Washington Post notes the findings “detail a troubling trajectory”: “The past five years each rank among the five hottest since record-keeping began. And 19 of the hottest 20 years have occurred during the past two decades.” The Financial Times emphasises that “man-made climate change was the main contributor” to this outcome. The Guardian notes that the four temperature datasets used to arrive at these conclusions are “compiled from many millions of surface temperature measurements taken across the globe” and produced by the UK Met Office with the University of East Anglia (UEA), as well as Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US, and Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. BBC News notes some of the recent extreme weather events, including two major heat waves in Europe last year, the hottest mean summer temperatures in Australia, as well as new record temperatures set in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the UK. A piece in the Atlantic considers the life of “the median American”, born in 1981, and how the climate and weather have changed over the course of their lifetime.

The World Economic Forum’s annual risks report found that, “for the first time in its 15-year history”, climate featured in all the top positions, according to the Guardian. The paper notes the reports is released ahead of the forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, next week, “which will be attended by the chief executives of some of the world’s biggest and powerful companies”. With the financial world “finally starting to grasp the urgency of the climate crisis”, BusinessGreen asks if Davos “will be different this year”.

While the fires put Australia in the “Davos firing line” next week, Politico reports that the session on the country’s fires at the international conference hosted by the WEF in Switzerland “doesn’t include any Australian speakers”. According to Reuters, the Australian government has “softened” its climate change rhetoric as bushfires continue to burn across the country, with science minister Karen Andrews branding climate denial “a waste of time”. However, the Guardian has a piece on “climate doubters” within the current Australian Coalition government. Meanwhile, the Guardian also reports on comments made to the paper by the director of Australia’s National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF), who says the government’s decision to cut funding to a climate change adaptation research body in 2017 has left Australia “not well positioned” to deal with fires. The Guardian also has a story about the New South Wales government failing to act on a pledge to provide towns with renewably sourced emergency backup power during disasters, such as the on-going bushfires. Finally, the New York Times has a piece suggesting Aboriginal knowledge should be leveraged to help stop the fires.

A piece in the Diplomat reflects on the geopolitical struggles climate change will bring to Australia, which is surrounded by “developing countries…that do not have the resources, skills, knowledge, and infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the coming decades”.

There is continued coverage of the EU’s €100bn “Just Transition Mechanism”, with Bloomberg reporting that Poland is “poised to gain most” from the new funding, taking away €27bn.

In the US, the Hill reports that Republicans are working on a climate plan after Democrats “unveiled sweeping climate legislation last week”. InsideClimate News says that during the recent Democratic presidential debate there were signs from the potential leaders of a strong climate push. The Washington Post reports on a new plan by Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg to make new buildings ‘zero-carbon’ by 2025. The Hill reports that Bloomberg wants to to slash carbon pollution by 50% in the US economy by 2030.

BBC News reports that British Airways’ owner IAG has filed a complaint to the EU arguing Flybe’s rescue by the UK government breaches state aid rules, while EasyJet and Ryanair said taxpayer funds should not be used to save their rival company. The news comes as the Daily Mirror reports that Conservative health secretary Matt Hancock that British people should carry on taking short flights. despite what the paper calls the “climate crisis”.

The Press Association reports on comments by the Labour leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy that the UK should refuse trade deal if US does not back climate agreement. The MP told an audience “we must use trade to support climate action, not hamper it”. Clive Lewis, who until recently was Nandy’s leadership rival, joined in this call, saying corporations are “raping our planet” and Brexit is about “trade deals that don’t give a damn about climate”, according to the Press Association.

Meanwhile, New Scientist has an “exclusive” story claiming the “UK government is looking to announce a new, more ambitious blueprint to reduce its carbon emissions soon after the country leaves the European Union on 31 January”. The publication notes the plan would come ahead of the UK hosting the major COP26 summit in Glasgow at the end of the year. Climate Home News reports on comments by last year’s COP president president Carolina Schmidt blaming big emitters, including Brazil, Australia, China and the US, for what were generally regarded as low-ambition climate talks. BBC News reports on a Scottish Police Authority report that says the event in Glasgow will cost several hundred million pounds.

Another Press Association story reports on the introduction of the government’s new Agriculture Bill, which will pay farmers for “public goods”, such as protecting water and air quality, boosting wildlife and tackling climate change.

Finally, the i has an “exclusive” frontpage story claiming a surge in electric car use “could lead to power cuts unless action is taken”, based on an official report by the government-commissioned Electric Vehicles Energy Task Force. (Carbon Brief published a factcheck in 2017 that examined this claim.)

In an interview with the BBC, the broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough has warned that “the moment of crisis has come”. The interview marks the launch of the BBC’s “Our Planet Matters” series, which will be “shining a light on climate issues”. BBC News has a piece explaining what this “year-long series of special programming” will include “a new hour-long documentary” by Attenborough himself, as well as “a new monthly Climate Check podcast from BBC Weather, and coverage of debates and events around the globe”. BBC Radio 4 features a show presented by poet Michael Rosen on “communicating climate change”. BBC News also has a feature titled: “Climate change: Where we are in seven charts and what you can do to help.” The BBC’s announcement is covered by the Press Association.

A Financial Times editorial considers the deal by the government to support the regional airline Flybe, listing climate change as part of the case against the decision. “Britain’s air passenger duty is among the highest in the world. It is a poorly-structured tax and due for reform. But reducing it for domestic flights, when rail fares are continuing to rise, undermines the government’s commitment to be a global leader on climate change.” The editorial notes that reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 was one of prime minister Boris Johnsons’s key election “guarantees”= and concludes that “airline taxes should instead be rising to help fund cleaner alternatives such as rail and electric cars and buses — or so they can be funnelled into development of low-carbon electric aircraft”. The Daily Telegraph has an opinion piece by the climate sceptic Ross Clark that concludes “there’s little logic to the Flybe bailout”, claiming the decision will primarily benefit “wealthy Londoners ”. Meanwhile, EurActiv reports on a new survey by the European Investment Bank which found “most Chinese, Europeans and US citizens” intend to fly less for holidays this year to limit their emissions.

Meanwhile, an editorial in the Evening Standard considers the growing threat posed by climate change ahead of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos: “A survey today among those attending next week’s gathering of political leaders and businesspeople shows they think it has overtaken weapons of mass destruction as the biggest threat to mankind.”

A new study uses surveys of almost 2,000 tourists in 53 ski areas in Austria to assess how climate change could affect ski tourism demand in different resorts. The results show “that snow is the most important factor for destination choice”, the study finds, and “destinations with marginal snow conditions are likely to face severe demand losses (up to 60%)”. For destinations with “medium snow reliability” in future, the surveys suggest that “dynamic pricing has the potential to compensate”. However, “if all destinations are affected by deteriorating snow conditions, total demand reduces by 64% if snow reliability is low”, the researchers say.

The US could see millions of additional violent crimes over this century as global temperatures rise, a new study suggests. The researchers “combine empirical models from previous studies with 42 state-of-the-art global climate models” to assess how climate change could influence violent crime rates, taking into account “key factors like regionality and seasonality, and appropriately combining multiple of sources of uncertainty”. The results suggest “that the United States should expect an additional 3.2 (2.1–4.5) or 2.3 (1.5–3.2) million violent crimes between 2020 and 2099, depending on greenhouse gas emissions scenario”, the paper says.