Slums in India are sprayed to prevent mosquitoes spreading disease. Health chiefs warn a hotter planet could have severe health effects such as increased illness. EPA
Slums in India are sprayed to prevent mosquitoes spreading disease. Health chiefs warn a hotter planet could have severe health effects such as increased illness. EPA
Slums in India are sprayed to prevent mosquitoes spreading disease. Health chiefs warn a hotter planet could have severe health effects such as increased illness. EPA
Slums in India are sprayed to prevent mosquitoes spreading disease. Health chiefs warn a hotter planet could have severe health effects such as increased illness. EPA

Climate

UAE invited to join group tackling climate effects on health

Cop29 host Azerbaijan asks UAE, Egypt, Britain and Brazil to help steer discussions at UN summits

Tim Stickings
Tim Stickings

September 12, 2024

  • English
  • Arabic

The UAE has been asked to join a group of five countries leading a charge for climate policies that protect people's health.

Azerbaijan has proposed a health-focused "continuity coalition" of nations that have recently staged or will soon host a UN climate summit. It could be launched at Cop29 in Baku in November, with the UAE, Britain, Egypt and Brazil as the other members.

The World Health Organisation could also play a role. The group would build on a first-ever day of health-focused talks at Cop28 in the UAE, where more than 100 countries pledged to tackle issues cutting across climate and health policy such as pollution and pandemic risks.

Health chiefs warn that diseases such as malaria may flourish on a warmer planet, while floods and droughts are a threat to food and nutrition. Equally, they say cutting pollution to protect the planet will have knock-on benefits for health.

A second health day will take place during Cop29, where health ministers have been invited for talks on cities, resilience and development. But Azerbaijan says it wants to "encourage future Cops to continue this topic".

The Emirates has been invited to join the 'continuity coalition' as one of the five countries to host a UN climate summit between 2021 and 2025. Pawan Singh / The National
The Emirates has been invited to join the 'continuity coalition' as one of the five countries to host a UN climate summit between 2021 and 2025. Pawan Singh / The National

Health talks should be made "more efficient at a global level" after each country launched its own initiatives as summit host, said Elmar Mammadov, who leads Cop29's Action Agenda Team. The new coalition is "one of the legacies we will create" from the Baku summit, he added.

It is envisaged by Azerbaijan that a steering committee of the five countries would meet regularly to prepare for Cop summits. It could also meet during the annual World Health Assembly, which typically takes place in Geneva in May.

Maria Neira, a WHO director, said the coming talks would provide a "strong platform to ensure that the work of the Cops will be maintained". The UN agency has lobbied climate policymakers to put a greater emphasis on health.

Britain's Cop26 team oversaw the creation of an Alliance for Action on Climate Change and Health (ATACH), while the UAE talks brought hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of pledges to help eradicate tropical diseases.

The 123-nation UAE Declaration on Climate and Health called for a "comprehensive response to address the impacts of climate change on health", including in specific areas such as hygiene, nutrition and disease surveillance.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

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

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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Company Profile

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How to keep control of your emotions

If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.

Greed

Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.

Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.

Fear

The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.

Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.

Hope

While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.

Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.

Frustration

Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.

Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.

Boredom

Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.

Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.

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Plan to boost public schools

A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.

It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.

Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.

Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.

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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time

Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.

Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.

The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.

The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.

Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.

The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.

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