Live updates: Follow the latest news on Cop28
Global airlines must be made to pay for their carbon emissions to finance climate action and help distressed communities now, activists said during Cop28 in Dubai.
They demanded that airlines pay carbon tax or contribute to the newly created loss and damage fund to mitigate their environmental impact, especially on the poorer countries facing climate disasters.
The industry, which has set a target of net-zero emissions by 2050, has an urgent responsibility to act quickly, activists said.
US-based Eko, an organisation that holds corporations accountable for bad behaviour, from polluting the environment to dodging taxes, started a global campaign in August targeting the airline industry for its climate-warming emissions.
The airline industry could easily contribute to the fund in a proportional way. A percentage of business class tickets is something that we would be very happy to see
Rewan Al-Haddad,
campaign director, Eko
"When the loss and damage fund was established and governments started to make pledges, we saw this as an incredible opportunity for us to now start putting pressure on industries because there's a new mechanism for us to get industries to start paying their fair share for the pollution that they're causing," Rewan Al-Haddad, campaign director at Eko, told The National.
While the 2050 net-zero goal is "very ambitious and very welcome", the industry's planned measures to reach that target will "fall massively short", she said.
Improving fuel efficiency, relying on sustainable aviation fuels and using carbon offsets "are good in theory, but they are not good enough in order to get the industry to be responsible for the pollution it is causing. For that reason we decided to focus on the airlines first".
Since countries agreed to a deal on the first day of Cop28 to create the long-awaited loss and damage fund to help poorer countries deal with the effects of climate change, total contributions have reached $726 million.
The airline industry accounts for about 3 per cent of global CO2 emissions. If global aviation was a country, it would be among the 10 biggest emitters, according to the European Commission.
Emissions from international aviation in 2023 are projected to increase 28 per cent year-on-year, as the industry continues to recover from Covid-19 pandemic lows, according to a report by the Global Carbon Project science team this week.
Eko is calling for industries such as aviation to make proportional contributions to the loss and damage fund but without being prescriptive in how companies choose to make payments.
"The airline industry could easily contribute to the fund in a proportional way, we're not calling for a one-off donation because that's just not good enough," Ms Al-Haddad said.
"But, for example, a percentage of business class tickets is something that we would be very happy to see," she said.
At the same time, EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has called for a tax on aviation fuel, as governments look to levies on polluting industries to finance climate action.
Green taxes will backfire
The aviation industry acknowledges its environmental footprint and says it is working on several pathways to decarbonisation but that levies are not the answer.
"The way to do this is a shift towards sustainable aviation fuels and the next generation of technology," Haldane Dodd, executive director of the Air Transport Action Group, told The National.
The airline industry could easily contribute to the fund in a proportional way ... a percentage of business class tickets is something that we would be very happy to see
Rewan Al-Haddad,
campaign director, Eko,
"Additional levies on flying being discussed at Cop28 are designed to just raise money rather than actually reduce emissions, whereas the significant need for investment in new fuels and more efficient aircraft will cut CO2 – these are the areas which should be the focus for air transport."
The International Air Transport Association (Iata), a group representing about 290 airlines, or 82 per cent of total air traffic, said that the vast majority of green taxes that are applied or being considered are imposed on top of existing carbon-pricing instruments and governments must avoid double charging emissions.
"Try to identify all the industries that have positively focused on trying to reduce the impact of their emissions on the environment and I challenge you to find an industry more proactive than the aviation industry – they have committed to going net-zero by 2050, knowing that the price tag for this is in the trillions of dollars," Kamil Al Awadhi, Iata regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East, said on Thursday.
Governments and oil companies need to ramp up the production of sustainable aviation fuels, airports need to improve air traffic management and aircraft manufacturers are producing more fuel-efficient jets, but they still contribute to emissions, he said.
"Everybody has to do their part."
Acknowledging progress
Chris Raymond, chief sustainability officer at Boeing, said that the airline industry "doesn't get enough credit" for its hard work on reducing fuel burn through more efficient jet technologies and use of AI at flight boarding gates to reduce time taxiing on the ground.
"If we're going to tax aviation to make it cleaner, then we've always advocated for keeping the money in aviation ... so that the money can go towards things that will reduce emissions like sustainable aviation fuel scale-up in a country or a region," he said in a media roundtable during Cop28.
"If it doesn't stay in the sector, then aviation is probably not going to get improved as fast as it could."
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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THE%20SPECS
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Company%20profile
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Results
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The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
more from Janine di Giovanni
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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South Korea
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
RECORD%20BREAKER
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Company%20Profile
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STAGE%201%20RESULTS
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'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203S%20Money%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20London%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Zhiznevsky%2C%20Eugene%20Dugaev%20and%20Andrei%20Dikouchine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%245.6%20million%20raised%20in%20total%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Afghanistan fixtures
- v Australia, today
- v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
- v New Zealand, Saturday,
- v South Africa, June 15
- v England, June 18
- v India, June 22
- v Bangladesh, June 24
- v Pakistan, June 29
- v West Indies, July 4
Results
2.30pm: Dubai Creek Tower – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Marmara Xm, Gary Sanchez (jockey), Abdelkhir Adam (trainer)
3pm: Al Yasmeen – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: AS Hajez, Jesus Rosales, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.30pm: Al Ferdous – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Soukainah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
4pm: The Crown Prince Of Sharjah – Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: AF Thayer, Ray Dawson, Ernst Oertel
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup – Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: George Villiers, Antonio Fresu, Bhupat Seemar
5pm: Palma Spring – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Es Abu Mousa, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
The specs
Common to all models unless otherwise stated
Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi
0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)
Power: 276hp
Torque: 392Nm
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD
Price: TBC
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
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Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16, second leg (first-leg scores in brackets):
PSG (2) v Manchester United (0)
Midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
Manchester City 4
Otamendi (52) Sterling (59) Stones (67) Brahim Diaz (81)
Real Madrid 1
Oscar (90)
Frida%20
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Liverpool’s fixtures until end of 2019
Saturday, November 30, Brighton (h)
Wednesday, December 4, Everton (h)
Saturday, December 7, Bournemouth (a)
Tuesday, December 10, Salzburg (a) CL
Saturday, December 14, Watford (h)
Tuesday, December 17, Aston Villa (a) League Cup
Wednesday, December 18, Club World Cup in Qatar
Saturday, December 21, Club World Cup in Qatar
Thursday, December 26, Leicester (a)
Sunday, December 29, Wolves (h)
Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.