Live updates: Follow the latest news on Cop28
There will be no time to waste when the international community meets at Cop28 in Dubai next week to reach agreements on ambitious climate targets, the EU's Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra said on Friday.
“It is extremely difficult to come to an ambitious agreement, and yet more necessary than ever because the challenge ahead of us is tremendous,” Mr Hoekstra said in an online briefing.
“The window of opportunity is closing.”
Priorities at Cop28 for the newly appointed Dutch commissioner include a deal on tripling renewables this decade. Spearheaded by the EU, the US and the UAE, the plan has been backed by 60 countries and also includes the doubling of the rate of raising energy efficiency to 4 per cent a year until 2030, Reuters has reported.
These targets will require “significantly more money”, said Mr Hoekstra.
“I’m not talking about two or three times more ... but many factors more in the years to come. We need private sector money and we need a lot more public sector money.”
The EU's 27 member states are “taking responsibility” for solving the issue of climate change, he added.
“We are in position to contribute. We are together with a set of nations that do want to take responsibility, and not only for solving the problem at hand, but also as a trust building measure vis-a-vis all our partners across the globe,” said Mr Hoekstra.
The EU has said that it contributed €28.5 billion in climate finance from public sources in 2022 from public sources and another €11.9 billion of private finance. The bloc wants to become carbon neutral by 2050 and aims to bring down its carbon emissions by 57 per cent by 2030.
Developed countries say they have delivered this year on a commitment made in 2009 for $100 billion a year to help developing countries take climate action.
But vulnerable countries have been pushing for more financial support from the West. The EU currently is responsible for 7 per cent of the world's emissions but, along with the US, is responsible for most of the world's historic emissions.
A moral responsibility
Mr Hoekstra said this, combined with the fact that the EU is one of the world's most affluent regions, “creates responsibility”.
“I’m of the school that yes, the EU and other countries in the G7 do have to take responsibility here,” he said. “But that doesn’t provide anyone else who has the same affluence and trajectory of growth to find a way out to not contribute.”
Climate change may cost countries between $300 billion a year by 2030 and $500 billion by 2050, according to the UN.
During his meetings in the past weeks in Nairobi, Lusaka, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Brasilia, Mr Hoekstra's interlocutors have been asking for the EU to step up help, he said.
“They are asking the EU for two things: one is please push relentlessly on mitigation and please help us out by financing because you are in a position to do so. And it is that combination that I would like to deliver on,” he said.
Mitigation measures, which must also include ambitious targets in terms of reducing harmful methane emissions, are the only way to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, said Mr Hoekstra.
Cop28 will be the moment when countries will do their first global stocktake, or the study of how the world is measuring up to the goals of the 2015 Paris deal. It is a “pivotally important” time to do more for climate action, said the climate commissioner.
“It would be my ambition to make sure that we arrive at the whole world peaking in 2025, and then having the curb of course go down, rather than plateauing in 2025,” he said in response to a question from The National.
Loss and damage fund optimism
There has also been a lot of talk in the past year about a new loss and damage fund for developing countries that have been hit hard by climate change. Mr Hoekstra is focused on launching it at Cop28 despite disagreements on its structure and implementation.
“I am more optimistic about loss and damage than I was a number of weeks ago,” said Mr Hoekstra, who said he had been pushing for it “relentlessly” both in the EU and abroad.
“I'm a realist, but I do feel that we have the ability to deliver on that one.”
The private sector also has an important role to play in climate financing, said Mr Hoekstra, who was a consultant for McKinsey before entering Dutch politics.
“The good news here is that we no longer live in the situation of 20 years ago where doing the right stuff for the planet and chasing renewables was good on the one hand but extremely expensive on the other,” he said.
There is an economic opportunity for countries who are beginning to transition their economy from fossil fuels to renewables such as solar energy because they will “certainly [not] need to incur the same costs as some of the front runners did”, added Mr Hoekstra.
Carbon markets must also be bolstered, he said, in a similar way to the EU's Emissions Trading System, which forces companies to pay for each tonne of CO2 emitted.
At Cop28, climate envoys are expected to discuss rules for a new UN-overseen emissions market to allow for collaboration in fighting climate change.
“We must make sure that we get the whole world on the trajectory of carbon markets,” said Mr Hoekstra. “We need all these things and more.”
A former minister of foreign affairs in his native country, Mr Hoekstra said that he was fully aware of the urgency of climate change in part because he had lived below sea level for most of his life.
About a third of the Netherlands is below sea level and this figure is likely to grow as oceans rise due to melting ice sheets.
“I know from personal experience what this could mean,” said Mr Hoekstra, who claimed that he had also experienced the effects of sea-level rise from living in the Caribbean.
That is why measures that he is championing, including tripling renewables but also others such as taxing the aviation industry, are so important, he argued.
“We simply cannot be like at a restaurant and pick what we like most,” said Mr Hoekstra.
“We simply do not have that luxury. That might have been the case if we had started this journey 30 or 40 years earlier but we haven’t, and that is the reality we face.”
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%204-cyl%20turbo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E190hp%20at%205%2C600rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C500-4%2C000rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10.9L%2F100km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh119%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHakbah%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENaif%20AbuSaida%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaudi%20Arabia%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E22%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-Series%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%20and%20Aditum%20Investment%20Management%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The permutations for UAE going to the 2018 World Cup finals
To qualify automatically
UAE must beat Iraq.
Australia must lose in Japan and at home to Thailand, with their losing margins and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
To finish third and go into a play-off with the other third-placed AFC side for a chance to reach the inter-confederation play-off match
UAE must beat Iraq.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2018 Mazda CX-5
Price, base / as tested: Dh89,000 / Dh130,000
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 188hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 251Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.1L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
