The world must use its first climate change talks since the Cop28 summit to make "serious progress" on raising the vast sums of money needed to tackle the issue, diplomats were told on Monday.
Simon Stiell, head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said countries "cannot afford to stumble" during two weeks of talks in Bonn, Germany.
The meeting at the UN climate headquarters marks the halfway point between Cop28, which was hosted the UAE, and the Cop29 talks in Azerbaijan this year.
The summit in Dubai produced the UAE Consensus, in which countries agreed to "transition away" from fossil fuels. Meeting the financial costs involved is expected to be a key theme of the talks in Azerbaijan in November.
A new finance pledge is on the agenda, with the funds to replace the $100 billion rich countries failed to provide by 2020 under a previous agreement.
Figures announced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development last week showed the target was met in 2022.
"We must make serious progress on finance, the great enabler of climate action," Mr Stiell said in an opening speech in Bonn. "I urge you to move from zero-draft to real options for a new collective quantified goal on climate finance.
"We cannot afford to reach Baku with too much work still to do. So, please, make every hour here count."
Trillion-dollar question
The cost of going green for developing countries is estimated to reach about $6 trillion over the next six years. That is in addition to the costs of preparing for extreme weather, including establishing flood defences and focusing on drought-resistant crops.
Vulnerable countries tend to use UN talks to argue they should not bear the costs when the developed world is mostly responsible for increasing global temperatures.
But rich nations want more countries to chip in than was envisaged when UN climate procedures were drawn up in the 1990s.
The UAE was praised for widening the donor base by contributing $100 million to a climate disaster fund set up at Cop28.
Mr Stiell said the new finance goal must involve grants or cheap loans, rather than adding to debt problems in poorer countries. He added that the money should partly come from "new and innovative sources of finance" from outside UN negotiating rooms.
The Bonn meeting will also feature discussions on the next round of national green plans, to be submitted by 2025, drawing on the UAE Consensus.
Germany has faced severe floods in recent days as a reminder of the threats posed by climate change. Warnings of "extreme danger" were issued in areas south of Bonn.
A firefighter died while trying to rescue people trapped by the flooding. Ministers were urged to put aside funds for major green investments on the scale of a military revamp.
"How many 'once-in-a-century' floods will it take until the government understands that this will be our new normal if it does not act?" said Sascha Muller-Kraenner of Environmental Action Germany.
Mr Stiell told delegates that, despite the progress made, the world is still heading for a "ruinously high" increase in global temperatures of 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels.
"It’s clear that the second half of humanity’s climate journey will be even harder, and climate action will need to move at a faster pace," he said. "We cannot afford rest stops or detours ... and we absolutely cannot afford to stumble in the next 10 days, or for global climate progress to stall this year and beyond."
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
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.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
