Nothing is happening remotely fast enough to save the planet

Driving the news, part 1: This morning the UN released its latest tally of the "emissions gap" — the difference between where greenhouse gas output is heading and estimates of what's needed to keep temperature rise in check.

• Why it matters: "There is no sign of GHG emissions peaking in the next few years; every year of postponed peaking means that deeper and faster cuts will be required," it states.
• By the numbers: "By 2030, emissions would need to be 25 percent and 55 percent lower than in 2018 to put the world on the least-cost pathway to limiting global warming to below 2˚C and 1.5°C respectively," the report finds.
• What's next: The data will help inform discussions next week, and nations are slated to submit updated emissions pledges under the Paris Agreement next year. Under current pledges, the world is on course for a 3.2°C rise by century's end, the report states.
• Go deeper: In bleak report, U.N. says drastic action is only way to avoid worst effects of climate change (Washington Post)

Driving the news, part 2: The buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere isn't slowing down and reached fresh records in 2018, separate data from the UN's World Meteorological Organization data shows.

• What they found: Growth in atmospheric CO2 levels from 2017–2018 was very similar to the 2016–2017 rise and "practically equal to the average yearly increase over the last decade," the findings released Monday state.
• Details: Concentrations of two other major GHGs — methane and nitrous oxide — increased more in 2017–2018 than average increases over the prior 10 years.
• Why it matters: “There is no sign of a slowdown, let alone a decline, in greenhouse gases concentration in the atmosphere despite all the commitments under the Paris Agreement," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement with the report.
• By the numbers: The CO2 concentration rose by another 2.3 parts-per-million to reach 407.8 ppm. Per Taalas, “It is worth recalling that the last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was 3–5 million years ago."

A clean energy investment slowdown

Combined investment in clean energy projects in developing nations fell sharply last year, per newly released data from the research firm BloombergNEF.

Why it matters: The overall decline is largely due to a drop in China, which is by far the world's largest GHG-emitting nation.

• "Investment in new wind, solar, and other non-large hydro renewables projects in the country fell to $86 billion in 2018 from $122 billion in 2017," a summary notes.
• However, tallies also dipped for Brazil and India.

But, but, but: It's worth noting that some of the drop is because wind and solar keep getting cheaper.

• And if you remove China, Brazil and India from the equation, clean energy investment in emerging economies grew somewhat in 2018, BloombergNEF said.

One level deeper: The amount of coal-fired power produced in developing nations increased in 2018 and accounts for a combined 47% of generation in 104 emerging markets surveyed.

• However, the pace of new coal-fired capacity added to power grids in these markets is slowing.

Go deeper: WMO: Carbon dioxide levels hit the highest recorded in human history

Between the lines: The four biggest stories about Sanders and Iran were about the senator introducing legislation, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), to block "Pentagon funding for any unilateral actions" taken by President Trump "to wage war against Iran without congressional authorization."

The big picture: Sanders' frequent criticisms of America's involvement in "endless wars" have boosted his case about the urgency of prioritizing domestic issues — and also served as an attack on his opponents for supporting the Iraq War, which became deeply unpopular.

• Sanders, who hammered Hillary Clinton in 2016 for voting to authorize the war in 2002, has also gone after Joe Biden for the vote.
• Among the stories that generated the most interactions about 2020 candidates and Iran was a piece from progressive magazine The Nation: "Bernie Sanders Is the Anti-War Candidate."

By the numbers: Of the 100 biggest stories about 2020 candidates and Iran since last Thursday, stories about Sanders generated 877k interactions on social media (likes, comments, shares).

• That's more than 200,000 more than Joe Biden, the next highest.

Our 2020 attention tracker is based on data from NewsWhip exclusively provided to Axios as part of a project that will regularly update throughout the 2020 campaign.

See all past editions of the tracker here.

The state of play:

• Tsai's campaign invoked imagery of the months-long Hong Kong protests, and advocated for a Taiwanese identity separate from mainland China's, the Wall Street Journal writes.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping previously signaled the need to bring Taiwan under the control of the Communist Party using the "one country, two systems" model, the same system used in Hong Kong, per the Wall Street Journal.
• Yes, but: Beijing’s heavy-handed approach with Hong Kong has shown Taiwanese voters what “one country, two systems” really means — and they "don't want Taiwan to become another Hong Kong," voter Chen Ya-ting told the WSJ.

Go deeper: China steps up political interference ahead of Taiwan's elections

• Iran's General Staff of Armed Forces said Flight 752 was shot down "unintentionally" after departing from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, per a statement cited by the Washington Post.
• In a tweet, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the crash was the result of "U.S. adventuring," adding, "Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims, and to other affected nations.”

Context: Iran repeatedly denied accusations that it was responsible for the crash. The head of Iran's national aviation department said at a press conference on Friday, "What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane."

• U.S. and allied intelligence assessments indicated that Iranian missiles downed the aircraft amid increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
• The New York Times obtained a video on Thursday that appears to show an Iranian missile hitting a Ukrainian airliner near Tehran's airport — where the flight "stopped transmitting its signal."
• Wednesday's crash came hours after Iran fired missiles at two bases in Iraq that housed American forces in retaliation for the U.S. killing Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Go deeper... What we know: Ukrainian Boeing 737 crashes in Tehran

The state of play: American firefighters joined those in New South Wales and Victoria this week, along with the Australian Defense Force and some 3,000 Defense Force Reservists to help tackle fires that have killed at least 25 people this bushfire season.

• U.S. firefighters joined efforts in Victoria on Saturday, putting in control lines in Mount Buffalo National Park.

In Victoria, a state of disaster declaration was not renewed after midnight on Jan. 11, due to milder conditions. Weather is forecast to be steady for the next few days, with more moisture in the air to limit fire behavior and aid containment, Incident Controller Paul Bates said Saturday evening.

• "We're a long way from the end of this. We're at only mid-January, and we've got a long way to go in terms of our fire season," Neville said Saturday.
• "We've still got several weeks of this fire to go," Bates emphasized.

In New South Wales, there are roughly 135 bush and grass fires burning. Nearly 50 fires were uncontained as of early Sunday morning, NSW Rural Fire Service said — and all fires have been downgraded to the lowest emergency warning.

The impact: Since September, Australia's bushfires have claimed the lives of 19 people in New South Wales, three in Victoria and three in South Australia, per Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

• At least 25 million acres of land have burned, including 12 million in NSW, per News.com.au.
• 2,097 homes have been destroyed since Jan. 1, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service's latest update.

The big picture: The intense heat has caused more than 20 firestorms — or unusual thunderstorms partially fueled by heat from the flames — over the past week, according to NASA, which notes that "strong winds from these storms can fan fires into raging infernos." Smoke particles from the fires have spread east over the Pacific Ocean.

Go deeper:

• In photos: Deadly wildfires rage across Australia
• Australia's wildfires cause New Zealand glaciers to turn brown

Editor's note: This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.

By the numbers: Sanders is the top choice for president for 20% of likely attendees to the Democratic caucus, the poll shows. Warren stands in second place at 17% and Buttigieg takes third at 16%, while Joe Biden stands at 15%.

Methodology: The latest poll tallied 701 likely Democratic caucus-goers from Jan. 2-8. The poll's margin of error is -/+ 3.7 percentage points.

• Due to the poll's margin of error, all four top candidates are in a statistical dead heat.

Be smart: Sanders clawed back 5 percentage points from the November poll, when Buttigieg was the first choice among 25 percent of likely caucus goers. Warren came in first among 16 percent of those polled, while Biden and Sanders were each the favorite of 15 percent at the time.

Yes, but: Sanders beat his competitors in Q4 fundraising, raking in $34.5 million — while Buttigieg followed at $24.7 million.

• Sanders' "anti-establishment message hasn’t changed for 50 years, and it resonates with working-class voters and young people who agree the system is corrupt and it will take a revolution to fix it," the New York Times' Sydney Ember wrote in December.

Go deeper: Bernie Sanders is the dominant Democrat of the Trump era

Editor's note: This piece has been updated to show that Sanders has gained momentum in the January poll.

Driving the news: MIT has released an unredacted version of the 61-page Goodwin Procter report into Epstein's donations to the university.

• The report recounts a 2013 conversation in which Ito suggested the swapped-donations strategy as a means to conceal the origin of Epstein money.
• The following year, Epstein took credit for a $2 million donation from Bill Gates and a $5 million donation from Leon Black, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management.

Gates denied to Goodwin Procter that his donation had anything to do with Epstein, while Black refused to talk to the law firm.

• "We were unable to connect with representatives of Mr Black," Goodwin Procter lead investigator Roberto Braceras tells Axios.
• Goodwin Procter managed to find no evidence that the Gates and Black donations were made at Epstein's behest, or that they represented Epstein money laundered via the billionaires.

On Friday, MIT announced that it had placed a mechanical engineering professor, Seth Lloyd, on paid administrative leave following the Goodwin Procter review, as Axios reported.

My thought bubble: MIT is currently putting together "a clear and comprehensive gift policy" and "a process to properly vet donors". But if the Leon Black donations were indeed Epstein-related — and there's no evidence to suggest that they weren't — the results of this investigation suggest that Epstein and Ito have already demonstrated an easy way to circumvent any such policies.

Go deeper: Exclusive: MIT and Jeffrey Epstein's billionaire enablers

What they're saying: The reason “comes down to what industries are expanding and which ones are contracting,” Megan Greene, a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, tells Axios.

• By the numbers: Women make up 22% of employees in goods-producing sectors (like mining, construction and manufacturing), as of last month.
• But they make up 54% of services-oriented jobs, including gigs in industries like health care and retail.
• The services sector is healthy, while manufacturing has seen pain from the trade war. Additionally, services make up a bigger chunk of the U.S. economy.

Other factors may also be at play. For one, the unemployment rate is at a half-century low, shrinking the pool of readily available workers and forcing companies to consider candidates they otherwise wouldn’t have.

Between the lines: Another employment survey of households by the Labor Department shows a persisting gap between men and women. By that measure, 84 million men say they have jobs, while 74 million women say are employed.

• "Men are more likely to hold jobs not counted on pay­rolls, in­clud­ing the self-em­ployed and farm la­bor­ers,” as the Journal notes. 
• “And women are more likely to hold multiple jobs.” A sin­gle per­son can be counted twice if they hold multiple jobs in the data shown above.

Go deeper:

• A more inclusive jobs rebound
• Black people are jumping back faster into the workforce

• Presidents have previously tried to uplift refugee resettlement programs with “bipartisan pride,” and to generate goodwill domestically and internationally, the Washington Post writes.
• Trump has already capped the number of refugees the U.S. will accept at a historic low of just 18,000 from a high of 110,000 in 2016.

What’s happening: Republican governors of Tennessee, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Nebraska along with others have written letters to the U.S. State Department or publicly announced they will continue accepting refugee resettlements, representing some of the reddest states in the country.

• They join more than two dozen other states that plan to continue taking refugees, according to Axios' compilation of news reports, press releases and public statements.
• Not all states have released their decisions.

Abbott has previously withdrawn Texas from the national refugee resettlement program and sued for the right to block Syrian refugees from settling in the state, the Texas Tribune reports.

• Meanwhile, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price both called on Abbott to continue allowing refugees to settle in Texas.

Both Tennessee and North Dakota have also sued for the right to refuse refugee settlements, but have now both said they plan to continue accepting refugees.

Go deeper:

• Chart: How immigration levels in the U.S. have changed since 1900
• Refugee resettlement agencies sue Trump admin over executive order
• Trump lowering the number of refugees permitted into U.S. to 18,000