Major elections around the world, including in the US, this year could slow the pace of the global energy transition as political considerations take the front seat, the director general of International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) has said.
Though Francesco La Camera hopes elections in major economies will not influence renewable energy adoption, the fact remains that “governments could feel less free to act”.
More than 50 countries are going to the polls in the next 11 months for presidential and legislative elections.
Most notably, elections will be held in India, the world’s most populous country and the fifth largest economy, and the US, the world's biggest economy.
However, despite potential short-term bumps, the long-term trajectory of renewable energy would not be affected, according to Mr La Camera.
“Nothing can change the direction of travel … because we have come too far. We are at a point of no return,” he told The National.
The rate of expansion of global renewable energy capacity surged by 50 per cent in 2023, with solar accounting for three quarters of the growth, the International Energy Agency has said.
Election trends
In the US, former president Donald Trump is likely to win the Republican nomination for the White House after consecutive victories in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, with the election set to take place in November.
Mr Trump has promised to prioritise boosting US oil and gas production if elected.
At a public appearance last month, Mr Trump said he wanted to be “a dictator for one day” to address oil production and close the country's southern border.
"A change of administration would mean a radical shift in energy policy for the US," Ed Crooks, Wood Mackenzie's vice chairman for the Americas, wrote in a research note this month.
"Setting aside for now the question of the consequences for low-carbon sectors ... a second Trump administration would also have significant implications for the oil and gas industry."
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is running for re-election to another five-year term.
He heads the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is the favourite to win in 2024's national polls.
India aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070 and meet 50 per cent of its electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by the end of this decade.
But coal, which accounted for nearly 75 per cent of India’s electricity in 2022, is expected to continue playing a significant role in the country’s energy mix as power demand grows.
At the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai last year, countries agreed to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030.
The renewable energy target was based on a study conducted by Irena, which concluded that global renewable power capacity would need to exceed 11,000 gigawatts by the end of the decade to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Major fossil fuel producers also pledged to reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions.
Under existing policies, global renewable energy capacity is forecast to reach 7,300 gigawatts by 2028, the IEA has said.
This growth trajectory would result in global capacity rising to 2.5 times its current level by 2030, falling short of the goal to triple it.
Accelerating renewable energy adoption would require overcoming certain “structural barriers”, Mr La Camera said.
“We need to overcome barriers [such as] infrastructure, grids, the legal environment, the market design, additional capacity, a skilled labour force … and also linking the idea of development to the idea of building the new energy system,” he said.
However, high interest rates and inflation levels have driven up the costs of renewable energy projects.
Geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea and the broader Middle East are now threatening to impede global trade.
Shipping through the Suez Canal, a vital trade link between Europe and Asia, has plunged by 42 per cent in the past two months, a UN study has said, as Yemen's Houthi rebels continue to attack vessels passing through the Red Sea.
Mr La Camera said the tensions may affect the global economy, but not energy transition efforts.
“At the same time, it is making it clear how we need to build a decentralised energy system that is more resilient to shocks,” he said.
Funding the transition is a chief concern among global energy executives and politicians from emerging economies.
Mr La Camera is hopeful that a clear policy could send the right signal to investors.
Irena’s energy transition accelerator financing platform has received close to $5 billion in terms of commitments, Mr La Camera said.
By 2030, emerging markets and developing economies will require $2.4 trillion every year to address climate change, the Climate Policy Initiative says.
“Emerging economies are taking steps to become developed economies. This means that, in the end, there will be another frontier that can bring more impetus to the energy transition,” Mr La Camera said.
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
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Directed by: Anthony Mandler
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11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Profile Books and London Review of Books
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Result:
1. Cecilie Hatteland (NOR) atop Alex - 31.46 seconds
2. Anna Gorbacheva (RUS) atop Curt 13 - 31.82 seconds
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) atop Cash Up - 32.81 seconds
4. Sheikha Latifa bint Ahmed Al Maktoum (UAE) atop Peanuts de Beaufour - 35.85 seconds
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) atop Benur du Romet - 37.53 seconds
6. Annika Sande (NOR) atop For Cash 2 - 31.42 seconds (4 penalties)
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
New Zealand 15
Tries: Laumape, J Barrett
Conversions: B Barrett
Penalties: B Barrett
British & Irish Lions 15
Penalties: Farrell (4), Daly
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
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