This archive report was first published on 28 December 2019.
Published on December 28, 2019, as the world bids farewell to the 2010s, it is clear that the decade has been marked by significant events and trends that will shape the future of humanity.
The decade began with the international financial crisis, but the world survived it. The rise of smartphones and Twitter dominated social media, with President Donald Trump's daily messages and frequent invective becoming a hallmark of the era.
However, the decade was also marked by significant challenges, including climate change, which has emerged as a major threat. The Arctic ice cap has melted, temperatures have hit record levels, and forest and bush fires have ravaged the Amazon and Australia, raising fears about rising sea levels and pollution of the world's oceans.
Despite the commitment made by world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a conference in Paris four years ago, the impetus has drained away, and the results of UN-sponsored talks in Madrid earlier this month were inconclusive.
US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Paris accord and his characterization of climate change as a
