John Kerry in UAE: We face an enormous global climate challenge - and it's only growing

US climate envoy John Kerry said the world must face up to the "enormous global challenge" together on his first day on a tour of the UAE.

The veteran politician used this first trip to Asia in his new role to start the countdown to the Cop26 climate change conference in the UK – where leaders from across the globe will be urged to renew environmental commitments.

Mr Kerry is in Abu Dhabi this week to attend the Regional Climate Dialogue, which takes place on April 4.

Tomorrow, we will share thoughts about what can be best done in order to raise our ambitions in Glasgow, which is the most important conference after the Paris Agreement

"We face an enormous global challenge and it’s growing in intensity," Mr Kerry said.

"Tomorrow, we will meet with a number of leaders from the region to share thoughts about what can be best done in order to raise our ambitions in Glasgow, which is the most important conference after the Paris Agreement."

Earlier, Mr Kerry visited Abu Dhabi's Noor solar park, on the first day of a trip to the Emirates. He will later travel to India and Bangladesh – two countries badly hit by climate change-linked natural disasters.

Mr Kerry was given a helicopter tour of the facility, which is the largest single-site solar park in the world.

He was accompanied by the UAE's special envoy for climate change, Dr Sultan Al Jaber.

"I’m delighted to have seen the largest solar field in the world’s largest single-site solar project, Noor Abu Dhabi," Mr Kerry said.

"I also listened to Dr Al Jaber about the UAE’s plan to lead the world in terms of technology as well as in mitigation of emissions.

"It’s remarkable to find the UAE trying to lead many other nations in the search of new technology to address the global climate challenge and in transitioning to the new economy while facing this crisis."

Turning political talk into action

Mr Kerry was later shown another major solar development, Shams 1, south of Zayed City in Al Dhafra.

He also visited the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, which is devoted to driving sustainability solutions through innovations in artificial intelligence.

Mr Kerry concluded the day with a visit to Jubail Mangrove Park. Mangroves, native to the UAE, have the triple benefit of preventing coastal erosion, encouraging biodiversity and capturing more carbon per hectare than rainforests.

Dr Al Jaber said: "Over the past 15 years, the UAE has made bold commitments on climate change, domestically and internationally, and has demonstrated its ability to act on them.

"Looking ahead, we look forward to further building on this progress to turn political commitments into new practical solutions with long-term economic benefits for the UAE, the Mena region and the world."

On Sunday, Mr Kerry will attend high-level discussions on advancing global action.

Mr Kerry vowed to swiftly make up for America's "lost years" in the fight to protect the environment.

The UAE itself has ambitious plans to rapidly increase the amount of energy it generates from green and renewable sources.

At the end of 2020, the country's renewable capacity reached 2.3 gigawatts.

That is forecast to leap to nine gigawatts by 2025.

Alongside the Noor solar site, which began generating power in 2019, there are four new projects that will drive this growth.

The biggest is the 2GW Al Dhafra solar scheme in Abu Dhabi, 50km outside the capital.

That site is expected to become fully operational in 2022 and will generate enough electricity for about 160,000 homes.

Dubai currently has more than one gigawatt of installed capacity – all of which comes from three phases at the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park.

Kerry to rally global action on climate

Mr Kerry is leading efforts to get countries to commit themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by about the middle of the century.

Mr Biden has called a summit of 40 leaders, including those of India and China, on April 22-23.

Later this year world leaders will gather for the UN climate summit in Glasgow to build on a 2015 Paris accord to halt the increase in global temperatures at levels that would avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

"Looking forward to meaningful discussions with friends in the Emirates, India and Bangladesh on how to tackle the climate crisis," Mr Kerry tweeted before he arrived in Abu Dhabi.

India says it will not only stick to the Paris accord to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35 per cent from its 2005 levels by 2030, but will likely exceed those goals as it increases use of renewable energy.

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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.

Explained

Who are the bidoon?

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

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The Indo-Pacific

Rashmee Roshan Lall: US-India chemistry can no longer be dismissed

Brahma Chellaney: South China Sea has become Asean's Achilles heel

Brahma Chellaney: Trump's unpredictability is making China great again

On Women's Day

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The Africa Institute 101

Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.

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The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Types of policy

Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.

Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.

Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.

Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.

TOURNAMENT INFO

Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri