A top UAE official has said there is a “steep hill” to climb before the next UN climate summit in Dubai.
Majid Al Suwaidi, director general of Cop28, said countries must have an honest conversation about where they are falling short on tackling climate change.
Speaking late on Thursday at the closing plenary sessions at Cop27 in Egypt, Mr Al Suwaidi said action needed to be accelerated on “all fronts” before the crucial climate summit convenes at Expo City Dubai in the UAE.
“We need global solutions that leave no country behind,” said Mr Al Suwaidi.
“We need a new deal on climate finance, so that trillions flow to developing and vulnerable nations that need it most. We need to find a way forward on loss and damage if we are going to make the rhetoric of a just transition a reality.”
Mr Al Suwaidi was speaking as negotiators worked around the clock to clinch a deal at Cop27 in Egypt.
Countries remain at odds over issues such as loss and damage — effectively finance from wealthier countries to developing states to deal with effects of climate change; keeping the 1.5°C warming goal alive; and scaling up adaptation finance to help states adjust to changing weather.
The conference in Sharm El Sheikh is scheduled to end on Friday but many expect negotiations to grind on into the weekend with hopes for deal looking forlorn.
Looking ahead, Mr Al Suwaidi said it was important to keep the focus on mitigation — UN parlance for cutting emissions — if the world was to prevent global temperatures from rising 1.5°C on pre-industrial levels.
"The progress we have made at Cop27 is the result of our shared commitment to strengthening our response to climate change," Mr Al Suwaidi said.
“To those who point to the many global economic challenges the world faces — the UAE’s message is that this is the time,” he said.
“Accelerating climate action now is our greatest collective responsibility.”
Turning to the UAE’s role as a major producer of fossil fuels, Mr Al Suwaidi said the UAE was an “important hydrocarbon producer” that has “has always lived up to its responsibilities”.
“This means producing some of the least carbon intensive fuels while the world still relies on them and it means investing in the energies of tomorrow.”
Mr Al Suwaidi pointed to the UAE’s investment in renewable energy, its development of solar plants and the construction of the Arab world’s first nuclear plant as evidence of this, along with the UAE’s development of hydrogen and its plan to have net zero emissions by 2050.
The UAE and Egypt at Cop27 announced a huge 10GW wind farm in the Red Sea. And just days before, the Emirates teamed up with the US to mobilise $100 billion in financing and investment to deploy clean energy in emerging economies around the world.
“We have to race forward with renewables. Roll out nuclear. Build the value chain for hydrogen," said Mr Al Suwaidi.
“And we have to find solutions for the highest emitting and hardest to abate industries.”
He also called for action to ensure global food systems are secure and less carbon intensive, safeguard the world’s biodiversity and protest fragile ecosystems.
Cop28 will see what it known as a “global stocktake”. These are mandated under the 2015 Paris deal to take place every five years. Stocktakes are a two-year process to examine whether pledges to cut emissions made by close to 200 countries that signed the agreement go far enough to curb warming emissions.
“We will need everyone pulling in the same direction in solidarity,” said Mr Al Suwaidi.
“We need women and young people. We need scientists and civil society. We need government and industry, including the energy industry.
“We have to leave no stone unturned. No solution unexplored. And no country or community behind.”
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About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
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Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
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.”
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
