In a speech timed for World Environment Day, the U.N. chief drew on new data and projections to make a case against Big Oil. The European Union's Copernicus service, a global reference for tracking world temperatures, said that last month was the hottest May ever, marking the 12th straight monthly record high.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent and its temperatures are rising at roughly twice the global average, two top climate monitoring organizations reported on Monday, warning of the consequences for human health, glacier melt and economic activity.

The agency warned on Monday that over 70 per cent of the world's workforce is likely to be exposed to excessive heat during their careers. It also warned of air pollution, pesticides and other hazards that could lead to health problems including cancer.

The agencies were referring to “e-waste,” which is defined as discarded devices with a plug or battery, including cellphones, electronic toys, TVs, microwave ovens, e-cigarettes, laptop computers and solar panels. It does not include waste from electronic vehicles, which fall into a separate category.

The to-do list of global priorities has grown for this year’s edition of the World Economic Forum’s gabfest of business, political and other elites in the Alpine snows of Davos, Switzerland, which runs Tuesday through Friday.

Majid al-Suwaidi, COP28 Director-General, said Monday night's draft was meant to get countries to start talking and presenting what are deal-killers for them, which are called “red lines.”

A new draft released Monday afternoon on what's known as the global stocktake — the part of talks that assesses where the world is at with its climate goals and how it can reach them — called for countries to reduce “consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner."

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres returned to the summit on Monday and said it was “time to go into overdrive, to negotiate in good faith, and rise to the challenge.”

The United Nations weather agency is reporting that glaciers shrank more than ever from 2011 and 2020 and the Antarctic ice sheet lost 75 percent more compared to the previous ten years, as it released its latest stark report about the fallout on the planet from climate change.

A prominent developing-world leader on the issue of climate change said Monday that global taxes on the financial services, oil and gas, and shipping industries could drum up hundreds of billions of dollars for poorer countries to adapt and cope with global warming.