Glasgow, the host city of the Cop26 climate change summit, has told leaders that efforts to stop global warming will fail unless the world's poorest see the benefits of such policies.
The plea comes as protesters are set to converge on Parliament Square in central London on Friday, urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take more urgent action ahead of the crucial talks to be held in November.
Giant alarm clocks will show time running out, while 100 protesters will chant that the prime minister and his chancellor, Rishi Sunak, are “missing in action”.
On Thursday, environment and energy ministers from the G20 nations made little progress on how to reach climate goals as a group of countries resisted firm commitments.
Near the sumptuous royal palace in Naples, where the meeting took place, thousands of flag-waving marchers protested against what they said was a lack of action on global warming.
Sue Atkin, leader of Glasgow City Council, ramped up the pressure ahead of Friday's protest in London by warning that the path to net zero emissions must not adversely affect the poor.
"The journey to net zero has to happen with and for our people, not to them," she told an online event marking 100 days to the key talks.
"It can't be about just telling our poorest residents what they have to give up ... (It) has to show how to take advantage of this changing world."
Ms Aitken said Glasgow was still battling social deprivation as a result of the city's painful industrial decline starting in the 1950s.
"Anything but a just transition we will come to regret," she said.
Nigel Topping, Britain's high-level climate action champion for Cop26, said failure to make sure the coming green shift was fair would derail the UN conference.
"If we don't do it inclusively, the politics will end up being against us," he said.
Cities have been at the forefront of government climate action over the past decade, with many declaring net zero emissions goals long before countries or businesses followed suit.
Today more than 750 global cities have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by the middle of the century.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan told the online event that "cities can show national governments the leadership that's required".
Providing jobs, more affordable energy, more comfortable homes and better access to carbon-absorbing green spaces for all residents - including the poor - is a key part of that push, mayors said.
Ada Colau, Barcelona's mayor, said efforts in her city to launch a new company to supply green electricity had led to both lower emissions and cheaper power for residents.
Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the mayor of Ghana's capital Accra, said his city's push to cut emissions involved recognising that informal workers make up at least 75 per cent of the city's workforce and trying to bring them into new jobs that are green and more stable.
"To ensure a truly just transition ... we cannot afford to ignore the informal sector in the things we are doing," he said.
Scores of officials from 196 countries are set to fly to Glasgow for two weeks of intense negotiations aimed at setting new targets to limit the catastrophic effects of climate change.
But climate experts accused the UK government of failing to take the talks seriously enough.
“We ask ourselves every day – where is the prime minister?” Chris Venables from the Green Alliance thinktank said.
“It’s clear that he has not grasped the scale of holding the biggest diplomatic event on UK soil since the second world war. This should be his No 1 priority.”
Bernice Lee, a research director at the Chatham House thinktank, said: “This is mission-critical - we need another round of leader-level diplomacy from Johnson.”
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')
Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
Results
ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):
First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
