>> this is a w news. trees and climate change, countries at the cop26 climate summit have reduced -- committed to reducing methane. there is agreement two and a deforestation by the year 2030. immediate action is required to save melting ice in the arctic. also coming up, a neck and neck

race for head of one of the u.s. states that has many americans holding their breath. the outcome could be a marker for the political direction the country will take next. >> we were attacked in the nit. >> the pain of not knowing whether a loved one is dead or alive. it is a fate suffered by hureds of thousands acrs the obe whose famils have been torn apart by conflict. we meet a mother in nigeria desperate to hear from her missing children. brent: welcome. united states and the european union have him build a plan to slash global methane gas emissions. the was department of state thing they global methane pledge has gained support of more than

100 countries. the agreement comes as world leaders work to take tangible steps to combat global warming at the united nations climate meeting. more rapid progress could be made if the pledge is to cut the amounts are kept. here is president biden speaking a short while ago. . present biden: reduce our methane emissions as quickly as possible. it is one of the most potent greenhouse gases there is. it amounts to about half of the warming we are experiencing today. together, we are committing to reduce our methane by 30% by 2030. we can go beyond. brent: let us get down to glasgow.

from our environmental editorial team. tell me about this methane gas deal. how big of a deal is this commitment to slash global methane emissions? >> this is a huge deal. methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, it is stronger than carbon dioxide and quota leaders have -- and world leaders have pledged to reduce the level of methane by 30% by the end of the decade. for many climate activists and campaigners and anyone who cares about the future of the planet this is a huge win for keeping the global warming to lessen preindustrial temperatures. -- less than preindustrial temperatures. it is a gas does not last very long in the atmosphere. we are so close to passing that

threshold to these really dangerous levels of warming. it is what scientists have said is an easy fix. we have all of the technology we need. we can plug methane lea. we will be able to have a much better chance of combating climate change. brent: if we look at the plan with methane gas admissions and couple that with the agreement to stop deforestation by the year 2030. add that to the paris climate agreement, is enough being done to slow global warming at the levels that scientists like to see? >> no. scientists are clear how well world leaders can fulfill their promises to keep global warming below two degrees celsius. despite making promises, they are pursuing policy that puts us

on track for about 2.7 degrees of warming. that difference might sound abstract, but it translates into enormous differences in extreme weather events when you think about the temperature. what scientists say would need to happen is, to quote a report, we would need to stop all fossil fuel exploration today. that we need to happen immediately. the ipcc says by 2030 we would need to cut emissions by about 45% before continuing to get into the net zero gold by the middle of the century. that is not happening yet. world leaders are not putti in the. policies needed to achieve this. even if we are seeing some positive steps taken today. brent: reporting tonight with the latest from the u.n. climate conference in glasgow, scotland.

thank you. in another announcement, more than 100 countries have agreed to and deforestation by the year 2030. the pledge has been backed by countries that are home to more than 85% of the earth's forest. campaigners warn that agreements in the past have failed. it also permits 10 -- a decade of habitat destruction. >> this is the kind of devastation world leaders want to avoid in the future. >> they have made a landmark commitment to work together to reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030. reverse. that means a more leaders than ever before have now signed up to protect our forests. from countries to the north and the south with nations like

china, russia, brazil, some of the largest forest did states in the world. -- forested estates in the world. >> the challenge will now be to put words into action. >> now we have to enter into the concrete implementation after more than one century of deforestation. we have to stop deforestation and to reinvest in new forests. that is what we are going to do with this in romans pledge that we announced today -- in this pledge that we announced today. >> roughly half of the world's forests ha already been felled. time is running out to protect

the planet's lungs. trees' survival is essential. brent: i am joined by an environmental scientist in the u.s.. let me get your reaction to this announcement, this agreement in deforestation globally by -- ending deforestation globally by the year 2030. >> it is important. tropical deforestation admits as much greenhouse gas, mostly co2 than all of the economies of the union. weekend hold that that is a major achievement -- it we can hold that that is a major achievement. tropical deforestation contributes in a major way to the loss of biodiversity. brent: if you look at the

numbers, this agreement means that we still have a decade of deforestation that will take place. we know that we are alone -- losing the amazon rain forest every day. do we have a decade's time to spare when it comes to saving the lungs of our pnet. >> we would have preferred to stop deforestation tonight. we should have done it 50 years ago. we need toe reastic. this is a hard nut to crack. there have been many attempts before. there waa declaration of forests that was supposed to halt and howeforestation by 2020. deforestation has -- half deforestation by 2020.

deforestation has continued. many actors, public and private, national, international, if we make that commitment to 2030, we will see that. we need to work really hard to get there. brent: what about the science? if we have lost 50% of the forests on the planet, is it possible to plant enough trees to replace that completely? to do that in a manageable amount of time? can we actually repair the damage we have done? >> two issues here. a new forests with the young priest does not provide a -- the same ecosystem. this is a primary forest that has been there forever, it does not have the same biomass o biodiversity. it is a weaker sink of carbon.

that is an issue. forests have been cleared to make way for pastureland, cities, mining, infrastructure, we start to meet land scarcity. planting trees on degraded land is a win-win. if some communities -- some communities need the land for their livelihoods. we need to invest in more intensive forms of land fulfillment to create that space. brent: professor, we appreate your te and insights tonight. >> thank you. brent: the devastation that global warming is rigging on the planet can be seen everywhere. it is heating up -- they and arctic is -- the and arctic is

heating up. >> they longtime rallying cry has become today -- the longtime rallying cry has become today's reality. it is warming three times faster than the rest of the planet. >> this is serious for everybody. >> he is the special envoy for arctic matters, taking for the new arctic strategy. it is bolder than previous plans, especially the call to an oil and gas drilling in the delicate region. >> we have to act weekly. we say -- quickly. we want to say that coal and oil to stay in the ground. >> we see that big oil companies

like shell and others are drilling for oil there and hoping that the ice will melt so that they can make it easier to drill. european banks are funding those projects. european insurance companies are insuring them. >> even if the you could get countries to agree to and drilling, -- the eu could get couny to agree to stop drilling, that would not be enough. >> no new drilling and not just in the arctic b no new fossil fuel supply investment anywhere. is what is going to protect the arctic. >> in her words, to speak science to power, she created the arctic race camp protest site at the 2017 world economic forum. it has traveled to other global gatherings and now to glasgow. she has enlisted big names to

help break down just how bad things are. an actor is one of them. >> 17 million of these bottles are melting every minute. every second. 17 million bottles a second. what are we going to do about it? >> that is the question that leaders now face at cop26. e calls on them to have courage to do what may seem impossible. we see what the coronavirus situation, people have done me than they ever thoug possible. we rose to the challenge. we have to do the same with climate change. >> with no such thing as a vaccine against climate change, it is only prevention that can save the planet. brent: let us get a roundup of some of the other headlines this hour. ethiopia has declared a state of emergency as forces are advancing towards the capital. they claim control of two key

cities 400 kilometers away from --. they are advising residents to prepare to defend their neighborhoods. -- accepting the deal would he accepted jewish settlers on the contested land. at least 60 people are confirmed dead in nigeria, a day after a high-riseuilding that was under construction collapsed. seven people have been rescued from the rubble but up to 100 are still missing. the president has asked for rescue efforts to be stepped up. in afghanistan, suicide bombers have attacked a military hospital, killing many and wounding more.

special forces are at the scene and they are blaming islamic state for the last. -- blast. >> responding again to an explosion in the city. this time the target was the country's largest military hospital, the suicide bomber detonated their device at the entrance. further attackers entered the compound, shooting their weapons. >> when i realized i was ok, i ran away. the blast was very powerful. the second one even more so. i was cut from the class from my car. the class hit me in the face and on the head -- glass hit me on the head and fe. >> i am tired of this war. how long must we endure this mystery? ho mucmore c the afgn peop take? >> the taliban since its special

forces were lowered into the hospital complex from the helicopter to clear the building. no group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the taliban suspects it was carried out by islamic state insurgents who has carried out a series of attacks in the city in recent months. brent: voting is underway in the state of virginia to unlock a new governor. the state has been governed by democrats support -- for the past seven years. the gubernatorial races and and and. the vote in virginia is seen as an important gauge of public sentiment across the entire country. the mood is divided as ever. a swing from blue to red from democrat to republican's, what have important consequences beyond virginia state. it has been all hands on deck

with the democrats, the final stretch of this campaign. >> a democratic heavyweight in richmond, virginia, a former u.s. president -- and former u.s. president barack obama help campaign for terry, the state's democratic elect for governor. he needs all the help he can get to secure a win. >> there is a mood, a politics of meanness. and division, and conflict. of tribalism and cynicism. that is one path, but there is another path. >> according to obama, that path is personified by terry. that means his opponent, stands

for all of the unpleasant things that the former president mentioned. >> he has traveled all over virginia, it has been amazing what is happening everywhere we go. >> youngkin makes inroads with democrats who are considering going republicans. for the democrats that is a problem. >> democrats are concerned about the state of this race. he is having all of the big name democrats coming into the campaign, shows how democrats are worried about showing up there base -- turning up there base voters. >> they are frustrated with president biden's performance. >> i think that they are going to come back up when some things start to happen. when we get something done. >> i think, given the

environment right now, i'm not that concerned that biden is having hiccups. >> those hiccups are worrying to biden though. the president made a last-minute campaign appearance because he needs a victory. a democratic win in virginia that can be sold as a win over republicans nationwide. >> gothic, republican party is for nothing, not a joke. -- think about it,, the republican party is for nothing, not a joke. >> taking forever to pass presidential initiatives despite having a majority in congress. it would have problems for the democrats and the president. >> a democratic loss in a state that has treated blue, the analysis about what this is about the biden presidency and the state of the democratic party. most importantly, what is what

to happen next in the midterm elections. >> democrats fear that they will lose their majority in congress. that would render president biden to be a lame-duck president. brent: to help us understand what is going on in the u.s. i am doing power wash and bureau chief. -- i am joined by our washington bureau chief. we are already talking about a drastic swing, in public sentiment, opinion. are we forcing the issue here? have the voters actually had time to form an opinion about the current political situation? >> yes and no. the problem for president biden is that all of the big promises he made during his campaign he could not fulfill them. a promise he would be able to

rake deals with the republicans. -- make deals with the republicans. the election happening, right now. brent: what would a democratic loss in this race, what would it mean for the national party? >> it would be nothing less than just devastating for biden and also his party. especially in virginia, the states where they have made tremendous rounds. in the presidential election, they one virginia by 10%. losing this state one year or even less in the white house could be the first indication of what they 2020 midterm elections might look like. this is really watched very closely, what is happening here and which result we shall see. brent: we know that the

democratic candidate has told voters that winning this election also means defeating donald trump. how does donald trump fit into all of -- into the governor's race in virginia? >> the democrats, the party, their strategy in virginia has been trying to attach his opponent to a former president trump in hopes to bring democratic enthusiasm which was really low at this election back. youngkin has been endorsed by trump and has been reluctant to align himself to trump. for democrats, this is seen as a test of trump's strength in the republican electorate. trump has pushed youngkin from

the sidelines. this is an indicator of how big trump still is within the republican party. brent: hey very busy day in the united states. -- a very busy day in the united states. hundreds of thousands of people across the world have been separated from their families due to armed conflict or terrorism. many missing people are never heard from again. since the start of the conflict in nigeria, more than 24,000 people have been reported missing to the international red cross. humanitarian organizations believe the real number is even higher. dw met one mother who has not seen her children in years. >> she used to eat with her family. now she eats alone. she lost her children when

jihadists rated her village -- raided her village. she does not know if they survived. >> we were attacked in the night. everyone ran for their lives. i cannot gather my children and we got separat. i have not seen them since. >> she has no photos. no pieces of clothing. it was seven years ago when the jihadists came. her children were 13, 10, and five. >> i have suffered deeply. i cannot sleep. i stay away from other people. i cannot do the things i used to

do. s>> she is one buhe is not thonly oneere. ssing pple forears is a id between hope and desir. yo canee a l of th through our engagement. they find it difficult to sleep, to eat. they find it difficult to resume activities because they are carrying this burden within them. >> this tree symbolizes my chilen. each time i feel sad i water it. i feel better. >> the little tree is her hope in the long, dark wait for news.

brent: the top story we are following for you, more than 100 countries have signed onto a pledge to cut methane gas emissions. led by the u.s. and the european union, the plan is to reduce methane emissions by 50% by the year 2030. it focuses on methane leaks and not extraction. you are watching dw and news. i will take you -- you are watching dw news. i will take you through "the day." ♪

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♪ anchor: it is 9:00 p.m., live from paris. these are the headlines. afghanistan hospital under attack, 25 people dead, 50 injured. leaders gathered in glasgow for the cop26 summit, amongst them, a pledge to stop deforestation and cut methane. the biden administration facing tests and local elections across the u.s. the people of virginia are