President Sheikh Mohammed made the announcement at the Cop28 opening ceremony. AP
President Sheikh Mohammed made the announcement at the Cop28 opening ceremony. AP
President Sheikh Mohammed made the announcement at the Cop28 opening ceremony. AP
President Sheikh Mohammed made the announcement at the Cop28 opening ceremony. AP

UAE boosts climate fight with $30bn investment


Aarti Nagraj
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Cop28

The UAE has pledged to give $30 billion to combat climate change.

The money will go towards a new private investment vehicle, Alterra, which aims to raise $250 billion globally in the next six years to create a fairer climate finance system.

The commitment was announced by President Sheikh Mohamed during his opening address at the Cop28 summit in Dubai on Friday.

Alterra will become the "world's largest private investment vehicle for climate action", according to Cop officials, and will focus on climate investments in emerging markets and developing economies, where traditional funding has been lacking because of the higher perceived risks.

Alterra, in collaboration with BlackRock, Brookfield and TPG as inaugural launch partners, has already committed $6.5 billion to climate-dedicated funds for global investments, including in the Global South, a statement said.

The partners are expected to mobilise capital from other institutional investors and global entities.

The launch of the vehicle is a “defining moment” in the creation of a new era of international climate finance, said Cop28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber, who will also chair Alterra's board.

"Alterra provides a transformational solution for attracting private capital. Its scale and structure will create a multiplier effect in climate focused investment, making it a vehicle like no other," he said.

"Its launch reflects the Cop presidency’s action agenda and the UAE’s efforts to make climate finance available, accessible and affordable.”

Emerging markets and developing economies will require up to $2.4 trillion every year to address climate change by 2030, a report by Cop27 found.

  • World leaders on day two of Cop28 in Dubai. Reuters
    World leaders on day two of Cop28 in Dubai. Reuters
  • President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed of the UAE at the opening ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit at Cop28. PA
    President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed of the UAE at the opening ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit at Cop28. PA
  • King Charles III with King Abdullah II of Jordan during the opening ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit at Cop28. PA
    King Charles III with King Abdullah II of Jordan during the opening ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit at Cop28. PA
  • From left, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Cop28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrive for a group photo. AFP
    From left, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Cop28 President Dr Sultan Al Jaber and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrive for a group photo. AFP
  • World leaders walk down Al Wasl Avenue after a group photo on day one of Cop28 at Expo City Dubai. Getty Images
    World leaders walk down Al Wasl Avenue after a group photo on day one of Cop28 at Expo City Dubai. Getty Images
  • President Sheikh Mohamed and King Charles at the opening ceremony. PA
    President Sheikh Mohamed and King Charles at the opening ceremony. PA
  • Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron. AFP
    Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron. AFP
  • United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the opening ceremony. AP
    United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the opening ceremony. AP
  • Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, left, and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Getty Images
    Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, left, and Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa. Getty Images
  • Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni chatting to Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte before the leaders' group photo. AP
    Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni chatting to Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte before the leaders' group photo. AP
  • Michael Bloomberg, American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author at Cop28. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Michael Bloomberg, American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author at Cop28. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Former UK prime minister and now Foreign Secretary David Cameron. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Former UK prime minister and now Foreign Secretary David Cameron. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the second day of Cop28 in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the second day of Cop28 in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Cop28, Expo City Dubai, day two. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Cop28, Expo City Dubai, day two. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • A visitor from Ecuador at Expo City Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    A visitor from Ecuador at Expo City Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Reporters from all over the world broadcast from the second day of Cop28. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Reporters from all over the world broadcast from the second day of Cop28. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Expo City Dubai on day two of Cop28. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Expo City Dubai on day two of Cop28. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • A visitor with the Bangladesh flag. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    A visitor with the Bangladesh flag. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • A visitor recording the moment at Cop28. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    A visitor recording the moment at Cop28. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Meanwhile, without concessional finance in developing economies, a net-zero scenario would cost more than $7 trillion per year through to 2050, or $200 trillion in total by mid-century, consultancy Deloitte said in a report this week.

About 70 per cent of those investments would take place in low and middle-income economies.

However, making green projects more bankable can “unleash private finance” and bring investment spending down by $2 trillion every year. This amounts to $50 trillion in total by mid-century, which is about half of the global annual gross domestic product today, the report said.

Concessional funding using better financing structures can reduce the cost of the energy transition by nearly 40 per cent for developing countries, lowering global investment needs to $5.5 trillion per year.

Alterra is among the finance-led initiatives being launched at Cop28 to accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon economy and build climate resilience.

It will focus on supporting Cop28's four key priorities, including energy transition, industrial decarbonisation, sustainable living and climate technologies.

Alterra will have a two-part structure to support "new ideas, incentivise policy and regulatory frameworks, and identify solutions to deploy capital across the entire value chain of the new climate economy", the statement said.

Alterra Acceleration, a $25 billion fund, will provide institutional capital to climate investments at scale. It will serve as an anchor investor and co-investor in climate strategies, allocating capital both directly and through fund partnerships.

Meanwhile, the $5 billion Alterra Transformation fund will provide risk mitigation capital to incentivise investment flows into the Global South. It will also aim to create opportunities to "leverage concessional finance to further attract climate investment" to least developed countries and small island developing states.

From the initial commitment, immediate capital investment has already been set aside for the development of more than six gigawatts of new clean energy capacity in India.

This includes the construction of 1,200 megawatts of wind and solar projects that will begin producing clean power by 2025.

Alterra is also exploring other investment opportunities, including an African development platform with a pipeline of more than five gigawatts of onshore wind and solar PV energy projects as well as a rural electrification platform in Latin America that will provide electricity to more than a million people in remote rural areas, the statement said.

Alterra has been established by global investment manager Lunate and is located in the Abu Dhabi Global Market.

It will have a team of specialist climate investment professionals, with Cop28 director general Majid Al Suwaidi as chief executive.

"Alterra is a critical element in the UAE’s efforts to create a global green finance ecosystem that stimulates and empowers the growth of a new climate economy," Mr Al Suwaidi said.

"It will build a vibrant climate investment landscape which further catalyses investment into the Global South."

Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face

The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.

The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran. 

Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf. 

"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said. 

Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer. 

The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy. 

 

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Scores

Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town
Burnley 1-0 Brighton
Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace

Saturday fixtures:
Chelsea v Manchester City, 9.30pm (UAE)
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur, 11.45pm (UAE)

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

Nepotism is the name of the game

Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad. 

The past Palme d'Or winners

2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda

2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund

2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach

2015 DheepanJacques Audiard

2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan

2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux

2012 Amour, Michael Haneke

2011 The Tree of LifeTerrence Malick

2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul

2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke

2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS

1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)

2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)

3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)

4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)

5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m

VEZEETA PROFILE

Date started: 2012

Founder: Amir Barsoum

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: HealthTech / MedTech

Size: 300 employees

Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)

Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

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Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

THE BIO

Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain

Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude

Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE

Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally

Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science

Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')

Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)

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

Your Guide to the Home
  • Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
  • Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
  • Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
     
World%20Cup%202023%20ticket%20sales
%3Cp%3EAugust%2025%20%E2%80%93%20Non-India%20warm-up%20matches%20and%20all%20non-India%20event%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3EAugust%2030%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Guwahati%20and%20Trivandrum%0D%3Cbr%3EAugust%2031%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Chennai%2C%20Delhi%20and%20Pune%0D%3Cbr%3ESeptember%201%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Dharamsala%2C%20Lucknow%20and%20Mumbai%0D%3Cbr%3ESeptember%202%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Bengaluru%20and%20Kolkata%0D%3Cbr%3ESeptember%203%20%E2%80%93%20India%20matches%20at%20Ahmedabad%0D%3Cbr%3ESeptember%2015%20%E2%80%93%20Semi-finals%20and%20Final%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE

UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.

Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.

Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.

For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.

Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.

At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.

Updated: December 01, 2023, 11:07 AM