Energy ministers of the world's largest economies reaffirmed their commitment to help the global economy recover from the pandemic during a two-day meeting earlier this week.
"We reaffirm our commitment, made at the G20 Extraordinary Energy Ministers Meeting on April 10, 2020, to ensure that the energy sector continues to make a full, effective contribution to overcoming Covid-19 and powering the subsequent global recovery,” the group said in a communique on Tuesday.
"We stress that the immediate challenges brought about by the pandemic have not dampened our resolve to advance our efforts by exploring a variety of options and utilising the widest variety of technologies and fuels according to national context to ensure a stable and uninterrupted supply of energy to achieve economic growth."
The G20 energy ministers also endorsed the circular carbon economy and committed to reduce emissions for a sustained economic recovery.
Like other sectors, the energy industry has been hit by a slowdown in investments amid the pandemic. Spending on new projects in the oil and gas sector in 2020 is set to decline by 75 per cent, Norway-based Rystad Energy said in a report in July.
The ministers said they would help rebuild the energy sector by creating "the conditions for sustained capital investments, including bolstering investments in innovation, and a skilled work force, to support our common long-term energy security and sustainability goals".
Investments have suffered due to the fluctuating oil price, with Brent crude falling below $20 per barrel in April as concerns about a glut of supply rose at the same time as a demand slump due to movement restrictions to limit the spread of the pandemic. However, action by the Opec+ group to withhold a record 9.7 million barrels per day from the market between May and July, tapered to 7.7 million bpd since, has underscored a gradual recovery. Brent crude was trading 0.33 per cent lower at $42.29 at 4.52pm UAE time on Tuesday, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was 0.42 per cent lower at $40.43 per barrel.
Industry bodies and other stakeholders have been urging countries to fast track their clean energy goals following the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency and the Business 20, which represents the business community in the G20, called on countries to accelerate the deployment of existing low-emissions and emissions-neutral technologies.
The IEA estimates global carbon dioxide emissions are expected to be 8 per cent lower this year than in 2019, largely due to the impact of Covid-19. However, the health crisis has also affected funding for energy transition, which is expected to slump 20 per cent this year.
Around $3.5 trillion is required between now and 2050 to meet targets for a “sustainable path”, the IEA said.
Earlier this year, the Paris-based agency said $1tn, or the equivalent of 0.7 per cent of global economic output, is needed over the next three years to sustainably rebuild economies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
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Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
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Sector: Online rental marketplace
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FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
Specs
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The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
SPECS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
