A man is taken to hospital amid hot weather in Saudi Arabia. Temperatures are rising around the world. AFP
A man is taken to hospital amid hot weather in Saudi Arabia. Temperatures are rising around the world. AFP
A man is taken to hospital amid hot weather in Saudi Arabia. Temperatures are rising around the world. AFP
A man is taken to hospital amid hot weather in Saudi Arabia. Temperatures are rising around the world. AFP


We need an ugly but effective solution to our climate problem


  • English
  • Arabic

June 02, 2025

British author Roald Dahl told the story of Pravdinsk in northern Russia, where the ground was frozen so hard it was impossible to bury a corpse in winter. “So, do you know what they do? They simply sharpen his legs and knock him into the ground with a sledgehammer.” But with record heat striking Siberia, this macabre technique will not be needed.

Places in the far north-east hit 21.5°C overnight – shattering records by more than 10°C. The current extreme weather is not just confined to Russia. The UAE had its hottest day yet recorded in May, as Sweihan near Al Ain sweltered at 51.6°C. The country’s summers are now 10 days longer than they used to be.

Parts of Britain have declared a drought after the driest and sunniest spring since records began in 1836. Yet this follows the wettest 18 months in national history. Switzerland had a different problem, after the collapse of a melting glacier destroyed the village of Blatten on Wednesday.

So, what is going on?

In 2015, countries signing the Paris Agreement on climate change agreed to limit global warning to “well below” 2°C by the end of the century, and to target not exceeding 1.5°C. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change thought 1.5°C would not be reached until 2040. Now, it is set to be broken in two years.

The battleground is now the 2°C target. Now, that is likely to be overtaken around 2045, on the basis of the average over several years. Indeed, we could experience a year above 2°C as soon as 2029. Likely overall warming by end-century will be 2.5°C, a level that would have been thought disastrous a decade ago. Blatten is not the first place to be wiped out by unchecked climate change, and it will not be the last.

The risk is growing of dramatic and irreversible climatic shifts: an Arctic free of ice in the summer before 2030, the dieback of the Amazon rainforest, a loss of 90 per cent of coral reefs by 2050. Atlantic oceanic circulation could collapse, bringing severe flooding to the US east coast and, paradoxically, freezing temperatures to Europe.

It is no surprise that global warming continues to increase while emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are at record levels.

There is some positive news from China, which might reach a peak in carbon dioxide emissions this year. It is adopting renewable and nuclear power, and switching from oil-fuelled to electric vehicles on a massive scale. As the world’s biggest polluter, it leads the overall trend. But backsliding in the US could undo some of this progress. Right-wing parties in Europe have seized on climate policies as a populist line of attack.

  • Flooding in the Al Barsha area of Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Flooding in the Al Barsha area of Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Vehicles being recovered near Al Maktoum airport in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Vehicles being recovered near Al Maktoum airport in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • Flooding in the Al Barsha area of Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Flooding in the Al Barsha area of Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Flooding along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Flooding along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • Flooding along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
    Flooding along Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Antonie Robertson / The National
  • Cars move through floodwater in Al Qudra, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Cars move through floodwater in Al Qudra, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Flooding on Dubai's Al Khail Road. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Flooding on Dubai's Al Khail Road. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • People abandon their cars on Sheikh Zayed Road due to heavy rain. Antonie Robertson/The National
    People abandon their cars on Sheikh Zayed Road due to heavy rain. Antonie Robertson/The National
  • Flooding on Al Khail Road. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Flooding on Al Khail Road. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Flooding in Oman. Photo: Royal Oman Police
    Flooding in Oman. Photo: Royal Oman Police
  • A damaged car in Derna, Libya. Reuters
    A damaged car in Derna, Libya. Reuters
  • A destroyed vehicle in Derna. AFP
    A destroyed vehicle in Derna. AFP
  • Abdul Salam Ibrahim Al-Qadi walks on rubble in front of his house, searching for his missing father and brother, in Derna. Reuters
    Abdul Salam Ibrahim Al-Qadi walks on rubble in front of his house, searching for his missing father and brother, in Derna. Reuters
  • An aerial view of the destruction in Derna. Reuters
    An aerial view of the destruction in Derna. Reuters
  • Flood-affected people taking refuge in a makeshift camp after heavy monsoon rains in Jaffarabad district of Balochistan province. AFP
    Flood-affected people taking refuge in a makeshift camp after heavy monsoon rains in Jaffarabad district of Balochistan province. AFP
  • Internally displaced flood-affected people shift husk for their animals in a flood-hit area following heavy rains in Dera Allah Yar in Balochistan. AFP
    Internally displaced flood-affected people shift husk for their animals in a flood-hit area following heavy rains in Dera Allah Yar in Balochistan. AFP
  • The aftermath of flooding in Egypt's southern city of Aswan, 920 kilometres south of the capital. AFP
    The aftermath of flooding in Egypt's southern city of Aswan, 920 kilometres south of the capital. AFP
  • The Nile River from the top of Famine Stela, or Rock of Starvation, Egypt. Reuters
    The Nile River from the top of Famine Stela, or Rock of Starvation, Egypt. Reuters
  • Volunteers search for people in need following heavy rainfall in east Mosul, Iraq, in March 2020. Reuters
    Volunteers search for people in need following heavy rainfall in east Mosul, Iraq, in March 2020. Reuters
  • People clean up after floods in Duhok, Iraq, on March 19. Reuters
    People clean up after floods in Duhok, Iraq, on March 19. Reuters

In any case, just reducing emissions is not enough – they need to fall to net-zero, where any remaining carbon dioxide releases are counterbalanced by soaking up the gas from the atmosphere – before warming will stop.

Some other factors are playing a part in recent rapid heating. Sulphur dioxide released into the atmosphere was unintentionally helping limit global warming by reflecting some of the sun’s rays. Over the past decade, China has tackled air pollution and switched its district heating systems from sulphurous coal to natural gas. The international shipping industry has also banned the use of high-sulphur fuel oil without scrubbers.

These moves are good for human health and for reducing acid rain, but they have an unfortunate side effect. If India now cleans up its terrible coal pollution, that could push warming even faster.

Sulphur dioxide apart, we are on a far better climate path than a decade or two ago. But this is a choice between the catastrophic and the terrible.

Environmentalists remain stuck on policies that have achieved great success – cheap, mass-scale solar and wind power, batteries and electric vehicles – but not fast enough, and that cannot be the whole answer in the limited time remaining to us.

Many appear secretly delighted when policies and technologies that don’t fit the narrow renewables-only ideology run into technical or commercial problems. These include pricing and trading carbon dioxide emissions, capturing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, removing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere, using hydrogen, or expanding nuclear power.

They call for more “political will” or “ambition”. This ignores that overbold targets have not been met, and that making them even bolder will not overcome the problem that a big new green factory or critical mineral mine or intercontinental power line takes a decade to build.

Bad-faith mongers, now joined by AI chatbot Grok, are trying to chip away at support for climate policies. But there are genuine concerns about the cost and reliability of energy, in a world where political and trade fences are being built ever-higher.

The “pragmatists”, meanwhile, seem to have resigned themselves to living with 2.5°C or more warming, and that many seaside cities, mountain villages, coral reefs, rainforests and ice-caps will disappear. The costs of this dystopian future, and the risks of something truly cataclysmic, greatly exceed the expense of working harder to stop it.

But at least they have thought about the problem, and made a conscious decision, unlike many politicians, business leaders, media commentators and voters, who simply ignore it.

There is a way forward, though not a comfortable one. First, accelerate the current progress on low-carbon energy, but be much more ruthless about hard choices, prioritisation, and keeping costs down. Second, advance the necessary but unpopular technologies – recognise that smashing capitalism or destroying the fossil fuel industry, however appealing to activists, has to come after saving a liveable climate.

Third, learn from the experience of cleaning up sulphur pollution. We have unintentionally made warming go faster. But, intelligent “geoengineering” with smaller amounts of sulphur or other particles can also cool the Earth, buying valuable years to cut carbon dioxide. Like the people of Pravdinsk, we need an ugly but effective solution to our climate problem.

RACE CARD

5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB); Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA); Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA); Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA); Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T); 1,400m

McLaren GT specs

Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8

Transmission: seven-speed

Power: 620bhp

Torque: 630Nm

Price: Dh875,000

On sale: now

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sucker%20Punch%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%202%20to%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
First-round leaderbaord

-5 C Conners (Can)

-3 B Koepka (US), K Bradley (US), V Hovland (Nor), A Wise (US), S Horsfield (Eng), C Davis (Aus);

-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)

Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)

Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng) 

1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)

3 R McIlroy (NI)

4 D Johnson (US)

The bio

Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions

School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira

Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk

Dream City: San Francisco

Hometown: Dubai

City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')

Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')

Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Scores in brief:

Day 1

New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38

Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.3-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E299hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E420Nm%20at%202%2C750rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12.4L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh157%2C395%20(XLS)%3B%20Dh199%2C395%20(Limited)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Calls

Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Starring: Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillian, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

4/5

FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Friday
Saint-Etienne v Montpellier (10.45pm)

Saturday
Monaco v Caen (7pm)
Amiens v Bordeaux (10pm)
Angers v Toulouse (10pm)
Metz v Dijon (10pm)
Nantes v Guingamp (10pm)
Rennes v Lille (10pm)

Sunday
Nice v Strasbourg (5pm)
Troyes v Lyon (7pm)
Marseille v Paris Saint-Germain (11pm)

PROFILE BOX

Company name: Overwrite.ai

Founder: Ayman Alashkar

Started: Established in 2020

Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai

Sector: PropTech

Initial investment: Self-funded by founder

Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors

The Sky Is Pink

Director: Shonali Bose

Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf

Three stars

Results:

6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres

Winner: Rodaini, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)

7.05pm: Handicap | $135,000 (Turf) | 1,200m

Winner: Ekhtiyaar, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson

7.40pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (T) | 2,000m

Winner: Spotify, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby

8.15pm: UAE Oakes | Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,900m

Winner: Divine Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

8.50pm: Zabeel Mile | Group 2 | $250,000 (T) | 1,600m

Winner: Mythical Image, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

9.20pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m

Winner: Major Partnership, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor

Draw for Europa League last-16

Istanbul Basaksehir v Copenhagen; Olympiakos Piraeus v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen; VfL Wolfsburg v Shakhtar Donetsk; Inter Milan v Getafe

Sevilla v AS Roma; Eintracht Frankfurt or Salzburg v Basel; LASK v Manchester United

RESULT

Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City:
D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')

SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%202-litre%20direct%20injection%20turbo%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%207-speed%20automatic%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20261hp%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20400Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20From%20Dh134%2C999%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: June 02, 2025, 11:15 AM