This week's G7 summit will convene representatives from the world’s most advanced economies, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. In the run-up to the meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, the G7 foreign and environmental ministers convened to discuss a number of global challenges, including strengthening multilateralism and international co-operation; disarmament and non-proliferation; economic security; and tackling climate change.
The G7’s commitment to achieving net-zero by 2050 will serve as an underlining theme throughout the event – however, the course of action to reach such an ambitious goal remains fragmented among the G7 members. The current global energy crisis has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which has dramatically affected the global energy landscape.
Skyrocketing energy costs because of the conflict has underscored the urgency for world governments to prioritise national energy security strategies, which rely on an uninterrupted, continuous availability of energy sources at a reasonable price. At its core, energy security serves as a precursor for driving economic growth, socio-political stability and prosperity for all.
G7 Summits are meant to facilitate collective action to co-ordinate policy solutions for today’s most pressing global challenges
Environmental ministers from the G7 nations met in mid-April to discuss the global climate crisis and the urgency of ensuring that the ongoing energy transition continues to gain momentum. That point was stressed by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, President-Designate of the Cop28 climate conference taking place in the UAE later this year, who was in attendance at the G7 ministerial climate meetings.
Dr Al Jaber contended that oil-producing nations must take an accelerated, but pragmatic, approach towards a clean energy transition whereby energy produced today – including that derived from fossil fuels – remains as “low-carbon-intensive as possible”, adding further: “Let’s remember that emissions are the enemy, not energy. We need maximum energy, minimum emissions to ensure sustainable economic and social development.”
Speaking at last week’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Germany, Dr Al Jaber repeated that the future of climate diplomacy should target oil and gas emissions in tandem with increasing carbon-capture technologies while expanding investment in zero-carbon alternatives with the intent to provide a more seamless, clean energy transition.
But for the world’s most advanced economies, agreeing on how exactly to go about achieving such laudable goals remains a challenge. During the April G7 ministerial meetings, the UK and Canada faced strong opposition in their attempts to mediate a 2030 deadline for an accelerated phase-out of unabated domestic coal-fired power. Japan, along with the US and EU (which participated in discussions as an invited guest) pushed back against such an accelerated timeline. Japan, which currently imports nearly 94 per cent of its energy needs, relies heavily on coal-fired power plants for domestic energy consumption, with coal accounting for a third of its overall energy mix.
Following the negative public sentiment after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster, Tokyo planned to phase out atomic power. However, because of recent energy shortages, it has decided to re-launch national nuclear power generation, with the aim of increasing it from approximately 7 per cent today to a fifth of Japan’s total energy mix by the end of the decade.
Throughout the ministerial talks, Japan struggled to persuade its G7 counterparts to present new language in joint communiques to advocate for increased investments in natural gas exploration and production, which Japan views as necessary for a pivot towards a clean energy transition. Its suggestions were rejected by some other G7 members on the grounds that such investments would not help limit global warming to 1.5ºC, as agreed by in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
G7 summits are meant to facilitate collective action to co-ordinate policy solutions for today’s most pressing global challenges. Their weaknesses, however, include internal divisions, self-serving political motivations and, some would argue, limited influence (particularly without China as a member).
These weaknesses and the disagreements they create have the potential to undermine the group’s efforts when it comes to future climate considerations. What is important to watch, however, is whether the G7 nations’ positions will evolve or only become more entrenched during the G20 summit, to be held in September in India.
The G20, which represents 85 per cent of global GDP and two thirds of the world’s population, also includes the world’s top carbon emitters, including China, the US and India. From 2019 to 2021, G20 members spent nearly $55 billion per year financing fossil fuel projects. If the influential group that represents the largest economies (and emissions) on earth could find a way to agree on how to phase out unabated fossil fuels, such a decision would be pivotal in increasing the prospect of limiting the Earth’s temperatures to avoid crossing the 1.5ºC threshold.
It would also help to pave a path for major progress at Cop28 in November. Cop28 will be a critical moment for world governments to take stock of climate-action progress since signing the Paris Agreement in 2015, and will surely be a wake-up call to remind us that any inaction today will result in environmental devastation for generations to come.
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Racecard
6.35pm: American Business Council – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm: British Business Group – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: CCI France UAE – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
8.20pm: Czech Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,400m
8.55pm: Netherlands Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Indian Business and Professional Council – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Fight card
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK) v Rey Nacionales (PHI)
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROM) v Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR)
Catch 74kg
Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) v Omar Hussein (JOR)
Strawweight (Female)
Weronika Zygmunt (POL) v Seo Ye-dam (KOR)
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) v Walid Laidi (ALG)
Lightweight
Leandro Martins (BRA) v Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW)
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) v Sofiane Benchohra (ALG)
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR)
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Glen Ranillo (PHI)
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) v Aidan Aguilera (AUS)
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) Sasha Palatnikov (HKG)
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR)
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro