Businesses have been urged to see the benefits of paying for disaster preparation that keeps potential customers alive, as UN climate talks heard the cost of adjusting to life on a hotter planet is heading for more than $500 billion.
Extreme weather, such as floods and drought, mean people in southern Africa have had their crops destroyed, lost their livestock and suffered cholera outbreaks, while women and girls walk long distances to gather water, said Moreblessings Chidaushe, a WaterAid charity worker from Zimbabwe.
Defences such as flood barriers and sturdy water tanks are often seen as unprofitable compared to projects including solar panels and wind farms, meaning private investors hold back from unleashing the necessary billions.
But “private business needs us to support their business”, Ms Chidaushe told The National during the Cop29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, where raising finance is the key focus of negotiations. “It's a two-way street. You don’t need me to die from climate impacts.”
The task of gathering water that typically falls to women and girls means they miss out on education, and spend four to five hours a day on the long walk to provide for their families, she said. “How will I be productive?”
Zimbabwe and Zambia have endured severe droughts described as the worst in a century, leading to crop failures, while Malawi and Mozambique have been hit by heavy flooding as extreme weather events intensify around the world.
Adapting to global warming can include growing drought-resistant crops, planting trees to provide shade, and building early warning systems for extreme weather. But most climate funding goes into efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, known as mitigation in UN jargon.
Funding gap
Out of $115.9 billion directed to global climate action by developed countries in 2022, only $3.5 billion was money put into adaptation by private companies, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. UN climate chief Simon Stiell said on Monday that the world “can no longer rely on small streams of finance” for resilience.
Adaptation costs that are “skyrocketing for everyone” could rise to $340 billion a year by 2030 and $565 billion a year by 2050, Mr Stiell said. He said the funds were “the difference between safety and life-wrecking disasters for billions of people”.
He urged lenders to “think beyond” their usual offers of grants and loans to deliver funding with “massive transformational power”, not only preventing the worst effects of climate change but “driving forward much more opportunity, equality, and prosperity”.
“The people that receive this investment will not disappoint. They want to adapt,” Mr Stiell told Cop29 delegates in Baku. “Often, they know better than we do how to adapt. Because resilience is in humanity’s DNA. We need only the means.”
Negotiators working on a financial pledge potentially worth more than $1 trillion at Cop29 are considering whether to ring-fence some of the money for adaptation. One proposal would name a percentage, while others would call more generally for funding to “aim to achieve a balance”.
Ms Chidaushe said people on the front line “need to be given the space and voice to tell their story” as the talks headed for a difficult climax. She said any agreement must make it “clear how we are going to get the money”.
People in Africa are “experiencing both having too much water and too little water”, she said. “We need to put in place climate-resilient infrastructure.”
MATCH DETAILS
Juventus 2 (Bonucci 36, Ronaldo 90 6)
Genoa 1 (Kouame 40)
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
League Cup, last 16
Manchester City v Southampton, Tuesday, 11.45pm (UAE)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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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.
SPECS
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More on animal trafficking
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Zayed Sustainability Prize
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
SPEC%20SHEET
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.