Egypt’s foreign minister and president-designate of November’s Cop27 climate conference lamented on Monday the unfulfilled promises of funds to help developing nations fight climate change.
"The picture is not reassuring," Sameh Shoukry told the pre-Cop27 meeting in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
“We have not yet delivered on the 100 billion dollars’ pledge, which in itself is more a symbol of trust and reassurance than a remedy to actual climate needs,” he said.
At 2009's Cop15 in Copenhagen, nations pledged to provide developing countries with $100 billion a year to fight climate change.
“We must develop and cultivate a sense of mutual trust and understanding. Our effort must not be approached as a zero sum equation,” said the Egyptian minister, whose country hosts Cop27 from Nov 6-18 at the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh.
“We must all rise to the occasion and demonstrate leadership, set aside narrow national interests and appreciate the potential in cooperation, compromise and collective win-win scenarios.”
Addressing the same meeting, Congolese Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba called on countries to respect financial pledges and endorse plans to help compensate climate-inflicted damage.
Money to protect carbon-absorbing rain forests — of which the DRC has vast tracts — should be viewed not as aid but as an investment in humanity's future, she said.
"Unless a global effort is made ... no-one will escape," Ms Bazaiba said. "We all breathe the same air."
Another attendee, Deputy UN Secretary General Amina Mohammed, offered a gloomy update on the battle against climate change.
“All indicators on climate are heading in the wrong direction," she said.
Current funding for climate adaptation is a "pittance" compared to the likely scale of future needs, she said.
Delegates from more than 50 countries are attending the two-day informal talks in Kinshasa, including US climate envoy John Kerry.
No formal announcements are expected in what is billed as a ground-clearing exercise ahead of next month's conference.
Greater support from wealthier countries, historically the world's biggest carbon polluters, to their poorer counterparts is expected to dominate the talks.
But post-pandemic economic strains and Russia's invasion of Ukraine have cast a pall over the money question.
The last UN climate summit, Cop26 in Glasgow in November 2021, reaffirmed the goal — agreed in Paris in 2015 — of limiting the rise in the Earth's average temperature to well below 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5C.
However, the latter goal may already be beyond reach, as the Earth's temperature is already 1.2C higher than before the Industrial Revolution.
Poorer countries had also pushed at Glasgow for a financial mechanism to address losses and damage caused by climate change.
But richer states rejected the call and the participants agreed instead to start a "dialogue" on financial compensation for damages.
Egypt has made implementing the pledge to curb global heating the priority of November's summit.
Additional reporting by AFP
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
The specs
Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric
Transmission: n/a
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 659Nm
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Super 30
Produced: Sajid Nadiadwala and Phantom Productions
Directed: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Srivastav, Mrinal Thakur
Rating: 3.5 /5
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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
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group B
Barcelona v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight
ASHES SCHEDULE
First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
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The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
the pledge
I pledge to uphold the duty of tolerance
I pledge to take a first stand against hate and injustice
I pledge to respect and accept people whose abilities, beliefs and culture are different from my own
I pledge to wish for others what I wish for myself
I pledge to live in harmony with my community
I pledge to always be open to dialogue and forgiveness
I pledge to do my part to create peace for all
I pledge to exercise benevolence and choose kindness in all my dealings with my community
I pledge to always stand up for these values: Zayed's values for tolerance and human fraternity
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
