A think tank has suggested that the year 2021 wasn't as bad as 2020. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is a non-profit body of experts specializing in foreign policy and international affairs. It celebrated its centenary in 2021. It stated that 2021 "wasn't as tumultuous as 2020". There was still plenty of bad news. Perhaps the worst was the failure to properly address the climate change challenge. This led to the UN declaring "a code red for humanity". Other top stories included coronavirus, mass migration, the supply chain crisis, and the Taliban returning to power.
The CFR said 2021 did bring some good news. It said: "For a moment in early summer, it seemed that COVID-19 was in the rearview mirror." On the brighter side, more than 9 billion covid-19 vaccinations were given. Notable achievements in 2021 included NASA's Perseverance rover successfully extracting a sample of Martian rock for the first time. In health news the WHO declared China free of malaria. There was also good news regarding sustainability with the first passenger aircraft to use 100 per cent sustainable fuel.