When president Donald Trump announced that the United States would pull out of the Paris climate deal, it was seen as either a sign of defeat or a chance to fill the vacuum that would be left by the world's second largest carbon dioxide emitter.
China, the biggest source of climate-warming greenhouse gases, remains committed to its goal to reduce global temperature to two degrees Celsius or less by the end of this century.
The move of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s government to authorise a new environmental tax that will start in 2018 was heralded as one of the biggest top-down environmental policy decisions leading up to the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties – to address climate change – in the German city of Bonn.
India has also stepped up efforts to fight climate change by launching a large-scale solar energy project that aims to provide 40 per cent of the country’s energy by 2030.
Meanwhile, Germany said it will provide an additional 100 million euros (Dh430.3m) to assist developing countries in meeting their national climate goals.
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However, despite efforts by the 195 nations still committed to the Paris Agreement – which was adopted in 2015 and calls for capping global warming at two degrees below pre-industrial levels – the US pulling out of the climate deal is discouraging, according to Christiana Figueres, former president if the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
"Unless the US has a positive signal for the governments to do their job, even if China and India are doing a great job – even if they are doing that domestically – the push on the international political platform to curb climate change will be very difficult," she told The National on the sidelines of the climate talks.
However, according to former and current US governors, the United States is “still in” to fight global warming despite the Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the international climate deal.
A campaign launched by more than 2,500 American entities, including state governments and universities, have signed the We Are Still In declaration to show that their organisations still represent US commitment to the Paris Agreement.
“The reason we came here is to let you know that Trump cannot stop us. You do not have an international treaty and pull out, so we have an action plan that is cleaning the environment,” said Jay Inslee, governor of Washington, in Bonn.
He, along with governor of Oregon Kate Brown and governor of California Jerry Brown, said their states are committed to fighting global warming.
The three states and 12 others formed the US Climate Alliance, whose members make up 40 per cent of the US economy and are committed to the Paris Agreement.
If these non-federal actors were a country, their economy would be the third largest in the world, bigger than all but two national parties to the Paris Agreement.
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“I do not accept the fact that just because we have Trump, the rest of the world goes to hell,” said Mr Brown of California. “It’s not just America slacking off, we can criticise all the countries for not doing enough, if Trump does less you have to do more, we’re all in this.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California, said more can be done to counter Mr Trump’s “stone age” actions.
“We fought, and I think this is why we can achieve our goals, I said at the UN that [American] states have tremendous power, the reality of it is that local governments do 70 per cent of the action,” he said.
“This is why I was not concerned when Trump dropped out, China doesn’t need to pick up the vacuum and not India, we pick up the vacuum.”
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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The bio
Studied up to grade 12 in Vatanappally, a village in India’s southern Thrissur district
Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school
Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family
His dream is to continue working as a social worker and help people
Has seven diaries in which he has jotted down notes about his work and money he earned
Keeps the diaries in his car to remember his journey in the Emirates
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E6pm%3A%20Baniyas%20%E2%80%93%20Group%202%20(PA)%20Dh97%2C500%20(Dirt)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20AF%20Alajaj%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%20(jockey)%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%20(trainer)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E6.35pm%3A%20The%20Pointe%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C200m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Awasef%2C%20Pat%20Dobbs%2C%20Doug%20Watson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.10pm%3A%20Palm%20West%20Beach%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh82%2C500%20(D)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Long%20Kiss%2C%20Jose%20da%20Silva%2C%20Antonio%20Cintra%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.45pm%3A%20The%20View%20at%20the%20Palm%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%201%2C200m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Ranaan%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Bhupat%20Seemar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.20pm%3A%20Nakheel%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh105%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Raaeb%2C%20Antonio%20Fresu%2C%20Musabah%20Al%20Muhairi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.55pm%3A%20The%20Club%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh95%2C000%20(D)%201%2C900m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Qareeb%2C%20Sam%20Hitchcock%2C%20Doug%20Watson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E9.30pm%3A%20Palm%20Beach%20Towers%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh87%2C500%20(D)%201%2C600m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Falsehood%2C%20Adrie%20de%20Vries%2C%20Musabah%20Al%20Muhairi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law