The UAE and the UN on Tuesday said they were committed to ensuring Cop28 would be an “inclusive and safe space for all participants”.
A joint statement underlined the importance of staging “an inclusive, transparent and respectful setting”, as well as stressing that voices from all backgrounds must be heard and acknowledged.
It said that space would be available for “climate activists to assemble peacefully and make their voices heard”.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop28 President-designate, and UN Climate Change executive secretary Simon Stiell made the statement after what is known as the “host country agreement” for the crucial talks was signed in Abu Dhabi.
There will be space available for climate activists to assemble peacefully and make their voices heard.
UAE and UN statement
Cop28 will take place at Expo City Dubai from November 30 to December 12 and the host country agreement typically puts in place the legal infrastructure to organise the event.
“As the work to prepare for a successful Cop28 gathers momentum, we want to express our commitment to making Cop28 an inclusive and safe space for all participants,” the statement said.
“Recognising the global nature of the climate emergency and its varying impacts across communities and societies, we want to emphasise the crucial importance of an inclusive, transparent and respectful setting for all participants to engage in the Cop process.
“In line with UN Framework Convention on Climate Change guidelines and adherence to international human rights norms and principles, there will be space available for climate activists to assemble peacefully and make their voices heard.
“We are committed to upholding the rights of all participants and to ensuring that everyone’s perspectives are heard and their contributions to the climate challenge are recognised.”
Both sides said they were working to ensure Cop28 was the most inclusive conference to date and all parties had been contacted to encourage “increased participation and meaningful engagement of youth, women, local communities and indigenous peoples as members of party and observer delegations to Cop and in climate decision-making, policy and action”.
Crucial global gathering
Organisers expect up to 70,000, from heads of states to youth advocates, to converge on the venue for the talks to tackle the escalating climate emergency. Cops also typically see vibrant calls to action from groups and organisations from across the climate landscape.
“The Cop28 plan of action is centred around fast-tracking a just, equitable and orderly energy transition; fixing climate finance; focusing on people, lives and livelihoods; and underpinning everything with full inclusivity,” said Dr Al Jaber.
“The Cop28 presidency believes inclusivity is a critical enabler to achieving transformative progress across the climate agenda.
“Only by rising above our differences and working together can we raise our shared ambition and deliver progress to keep 1.5°C within reach.”
Mr Stiell said he was firmly committed to ensuring UN values are upheld at Cops.
“We are also making every effort on our part to ensure that this will be a Cop process where the voices of youth, women, local communities, indigenous peoples and those most impacted by climate change will be heard and reflected within the process,” he said.
Dr Al Jaber, who is also Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, said in July that Cop28 will be based around four pillars – fast-tracking the energy transition, fixing climate finance, focusing on people and making inclusivity a hallmark of the summit.
He said the “north star” of his plan would be keeping the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C on pre-industrial levels within reach.
Other major issues at the crunch talks are expected to be mitigation (UN parlance for cutting warming emissions), scaling up climate funding and how to bring into operation the loss and damage fund agreed at Cop27 in Egypt last year.
Cop28 will also see the first ever “global stocktake” of progress in limiting climate change.
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Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
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Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
RESULT
Bournemouth 0 Southampton 3 (Djenepo (37', Redmond 45' 1, 59')
Man of the match Nathan Redmond (Southampton)
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2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
