Documentary-maker and naturalist Sir David Attenborough has told of two reasons for hope going into the Cop26 environmental summit.
Attenborough said that for the first time in history, all nations should be on the same side to fight climate change and modern communications meant anyone, anywhere could see the problems and take part in solving them.
He was speaking at Chatham House, in London, where he was presented with the Centenary Lifetime Award, one of three honours being issued for the institution's 100th anniversary.
“Until now international relations have been dominated by argument, by disagreement over points of view," Attenborough said.
"Right now, the major problems that face the nations of the world are the same for all countries.
“The world is being destroyed. We are doing it, there is no doubt about that, so for the first time, the issues of the world should not be argued.
“On the contrary, they should be standing shoulder to shoulder, identifying and solving the problems. It is for all the nations’ advantage that we should agree to take action. That is an extraordinary change.”
He said his second reason for hope was how “humanity communicates with itself”, allowing the world to see the problems and inspiring young people to demand action.
“For the first time it is possible for people to speak today and be heard, within minutes, across the world," Attenborough said.
“This is not just television. It about the whole change of communications between the people of the world.
“For the first time it is possible to see the dimensions of the problem, to see the pictures of devastation or of hope.
“For the first time people around the world can hear the arguments and the solutions. Those two things give me some hope.”
He called November's Cop26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, a meeting “of the haves and the have nots”.
Rising global temperatures can increase the risk of diseases such as malaria, which flourishes in hot countries.
Scientists also believe climate change will lead to more frequent natural disasters such as heatwaves, droughts and floods.
A target to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial times was set in the Paris Agreement six years ago.
The Glasgow summit is aimed at implementing that goal with more ambitious steps for nations trying to reach net-zero emissions, and for financing the projects.
Chatham House has also named its two other Centenary award winners, who will pick up the honours in the coming weeks.
Greta Thunberg has been given the Centenary Change-makers Award and Melina Abdullah, co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement, will be presented with the Centenary Diversity Champion Award.
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.”
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
