US climate envoy John Kerry attends the Regional Climate Dialogue in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. This is Mr Kerry's first visit to the Middle East, and Asia, since being appointed to the role. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change
US climate envoy John Kerry attends the Regional Climate Dialogue in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. This is Mr Kerry's first visit to the Middle East, and Asia, since being appointed to the role. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change
Alok Sharma, President of Cop26, attends the Regional Climate Dialogue in Abu Dhabi.
The pledge issued at the end of the Regional Climate Dialogue vowed to help the most vulnerable.
Delegates at the talks in Abu Dhabi.
Abdullah Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment and John Kerry, US climate envoy at the dialogue.
Abdullah Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, at the Regional Climate Dialogue.
The dialogue comes during a critical year in the global fight to halt rising temperatures. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change
The UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, at the Regional Climate Dialogue. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change
US climate envoy John Kerry is given a helicopter tour of Noor solar park, outside Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change
John Kerry speaks with Dr Sultan Al Jaber at Abu Dhabi's Shams 1 solar park on Saturday. The National
This is John Kerry's first visit to the Middle East since being appointed US climate envoy. The National
Mr Kerry has vowed to make up for the 'lost years' of the Donald Trump presidency and put the US at the forefront of efforts to protect the environment. The National
John Kerry meets Francesco La Camera, director general of International Renewable Energy Agency, which has its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The National
US climate envoy John Kerry visits Jubail Mangrove Park. Courtesy Office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change
An aerial image of Abu Dhabi's Noor solar park. Its 3.2 million panels make it the largest single-site solar park in the world. Courtesy: Noor Abu Dhabi
Arrayed panels at Abu Dhabi's Noor solar park. Pawan Singh / The National
As John Kerry stepped onto UAE soil this Easter weekend, I was reminded of the words of the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed, who emphasised the importance of unity in order to provide a better life for our people, to realise their hopes and aspirations, and to ensure stability.
Mr Kerry’s visit to the UAE in his role as US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate during our Golden Jubilee year is an example of Sheikh Zayed’s vision playing out on the highest of international levels. From here, our two nations will only continue to leverage a long-standing partnership to rouse the international community into creating a unified action plan for a stable and sustainable future.
This notion was clear for all to see as Dr Abdullah Al Nuaimi, the Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and Dr Sultan Al Jaber, the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the UAE’s Special Envoy on Climate, hosted Alok Sharma, President of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (Cop26), as well as Mr Kerry and leaders from countries of the GCC and Mena region in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to inaugurate the UAE Regional Climate Dialogue.
Chaired by Dr Al Jaber, the event marked the first multilateral ministerial dialogue aimed at driving new climate mitigation efforts and growth opportunities in the Mena region and beyond.
Indeed, in the joint statement issued after the meeting, participants urged the international community to take steps to keep a Paris-aligned temperature limit within reach through “enhanced nationally determined contributions". The statement also outlined the importance of energy adaptation and the co-benefits of building resilience to climate change. The participating nations will aim to achieve these goals, they said, through “investments in renewable energy, ecosystem-based approaches, nature-based solutions, climate-smart agriculture, carbon-capture technologies, and other low-carbon solutions [that] will support sustainable economic growth and job creation".
Also on show during the Dialogue was a value the US and the UAE hold close: collectivism. The event brought together a multitude of perspectives to solve our biggest challenges and leave a lasting impact. Similarly, since taking office in January, the Biden-Harris administration has wasted no time in putting this into practice to confront the greatest challenge of our times: the climate emergency.
Mere days after being sworn in, President Joe Biden signed a set of sweeping environmental executive orders and announced a virtual summit of 40 world leaders on Earth Day this month as part of a resolute focus to build traction around global climate action. The UAE, which will be one of only two Arab nations in attendance at the Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22, has already begun aligning with the US on strategies to address the global climate agenda.
To date, several collaborations on renewable energy and sustainability-focused projects in the UAE have seen us working together to tackle global climate change challenges. Among them are the peaceful nuclear co-operation that resulted in the establishment of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant that generates clean electricity for the UAE, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s role in establishing and developing Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and subsequently Khalifa University and partnerships on carbon capture and renewables-powered desalination.
And in the other direction, the UAE has invested in a raft of forward-looking projects that are currently taking shape in Nebraska, Texas, California and New Mexico, covering solar photovoltaics, wind energy and lithium-ion batteries.
Marking the next step in this relationship, Dr Al Jaber opened a dialogue with Mr Kerry in February with a view to teaming up to combat the climate crisis while unlocking opportunities for economic growth and diversification and job creation that help build a carbon-free future.
The two special envoys agreed to set up bilateral working groups to advance our nations’ shared global climate agenda, and contribute to regional and global sustainable development. With time running out to limit global warming, and mere months to go before Cop26 in Glasgow, Scotland, close collaboration remains vital – not just between the UAE and the US, but also with our respective allies.
As the permanent home to the International Renewable Energy Agency, the UAE has contributed significantly to shaping the global dialogue around renewable energy. But our own energy leadership extends to concerted policy action and business incentives. For over 15 years, the nation has developed a considerable green economy with value additions in a wide range of areas, from eco-friendly transport and sustainable industry to carbon capture and storage, and clean energy.
The next 10 years, the US, the UAE and the wider international community firmly agree, must be a decade of action
To take just one sector as an example, the UAE has sizeable renewable energy investments in 70 countries around the world, including three of the biggest and lowest-cost solar plants right here within our own borders. These assets, whether in the UAE, the US or elsewhere, have improved economic opportunities, strengthened industrial diversification and enhanced financial output while creating knowledge, skills and jobs on the road to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The next 10 years, the US, the UAE and the wider international community firmly agree, must be a decade of action. As we move towards Cop26 for what must mark an inflection point in our approach to the climate emergency, the UAE stands ready to share its experience and expertise from the frontlines of the clean energy movement.
As Sheikh Zayed said, our forefathers recognised the need to conserve the environment, to take from it only what they needed to live and to preserve it for succeeding generations. Sustainability is in our DNA, and strengthening our partnership with the US will allow us to leverage the power of the green economy for the global good.
Dr Nawal Al-Hosany is a permanent representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis
Rating: 3/5
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
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.”
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
