Rich countries to pay for climate damage: BBC News Review

Rich nations agree to pay poorer countries

for damage caused by climate change.

This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil. And I'm Beth.

Make sure you watch to the end to learn vocabulary to talk about this story.

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and try the quiz on our website.

Now, let's hear the story.

People in the world's poorest countries

suffer the devastating effects of climate change more

than anyone else. Now, rich nations have agreed to pay

into a fund to help countries damaged by the industrial activity

of the developed world.

The UN's climate chief says this will benefit the most vulnerable around the world.

Some are calling the deal

a historic victory, but others worry it is not enough.

You've been looking at the headlines, Beth.

What's the vocabulary?

We have 'empty', 'game changer' and 'hot air'.

This is News Review from BBC Learning English.

Let's have a look at our first headline.

This is from The Conversation.

So, the headline is saying this could be a breakthrough,

that means a really big development, or it could be an 'empty promise'.

And we're looking at the word 'empty'.

Now, Beth, I always have a mug of tea before we start recording.

I've drunk it now and it is 'empty'.

There's nothing in it. Is there a connection in the meaning?

Well, we do often associate 'empty' with physical objects.

So, like your mug is empty,

it contains nothing now, but it's not only for the inside of objects.

So, we can also use it with words.

Things that you say, like promises.

Yeah. And when we use it in that way we are saying

those words are meaningless, really.  

Exactly. So, the headline writer says

'empty climate promise', that means they think that the developed

countries might not actually give the money to the developing countries.  

And we can use 'empty', in this sense, with other nouns. For example, 'empty words'

or 'empty threats'. That's when you say you will do something,

but you don't. Exactly. In fact, Neil,

don't you say every week that you'll buy me a coffee and then you don't.

Yes. That is an 'empty' promise.

I also say to my kids

"you're getting nothing for Christmas because your room is so untidy",

but that is an empty threat.

Of course I'm going to buy them something for Christmas.

Let's have a look at that again.

Let's have a look at our next headline.

This is from RTE.

And we are looking at the expression 'game-changer'.

Now, I know what a 'game' is.

It's the World Cup at the moment.

There are 'games' on every day. But, together with 'changer',

there's a different meaning. What's the sense?

Well, a 'game changer' means something is

so significant that it actually changes the way that something is done,

or the way that it is thought about. Now, 'game' here

doesn't mean a game that you play.

It's actually just the situation, and the situation here

is that developed countries are giving money to poorer nations

because of climate damage.

Yeah, and that new agreement is seen as a significant development

so we can call it a 'game-changer'.

Are there any other uses?

Well, it's usually used for big things rather than minor developments.

So, we can use it with ideas, like inventions, or events.

Yes, and talking of inventions, the really obvious

and good example is the smartphone.

It has been a complete 'game-changer'.

It changes the way we do lots of things.

Yeah. We can now connect to the internet anywhere.

Let's take a look at that one more time.

Let's have a look at our next headline.

This is from The Telegraph.

And the expression we are looking at is 'hot air' and the meaning

seems obvious, 'air' which is 'hot', like a hairdryer. Right?

Well, that's not what it means here,

so 'hot air' is actually something that sounds impressive,

but, in reality, it means nothing. It's nonsense!

Yeah. So, according to the writer,

all of the discussion, all of the agreements were nonsense.

They were meaningless. They were 'hot air'.

Now, 'hot air' is quite informal, isn't it?

Yes, it is. And it's also quite rude. If you say that

what someone is saying is 'hot air',

then they're probably going to be quite offended.

OK. I'll avoid that expression, then.

Are there any alternatives we could use?

Yeah, well 'hot air' is informal and rude and

there are some even ruder expressions, we're not even going to mention them here.

But you could say that someone is talking rubbish,

or talking nonsense. Again, a little bit informal and rude.

And, as we often see, there is a double meaning in this headline.

Can you explain it?

Yeah, so, with climate change, the planet is literally heating up, it's getting hotter.

So, yeah, here we've got 'hot air', and that is what the planet has.

OK. Let's have a look at that one more time.

We've had 'empty', meaningless.  

'Game-changer', something that causes a significant change.

And 'hot air', it sounds impressive, but it's nonsense.

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Thank you for joining us and goodbye. Bye.