Action on climate change must be at the heart of Lebanon’s recovery from financial crisis, the country’s environment minister said on Tuesday.
“Climate change will continue to accelerate some of the shocks we are seeing in the country,” Nasser Yassin told an online UN panel.
He said that environmental protection had to be the essence of Lebanon’s recovery plan.
The comments were made during a seminar on Lebanon's climate commitment and sustainable recovery. Mr Yassin is scheduled to travel to Glasgow, Scotland, for Cop26, the UN’s annual climate summit, this week.
“Climate change action is not a luxury. We are not going there [to Cop 26] to take pictures with world leaders – this is going to be at the heart of the coming recovery plan of the government,” he said.
Mr Yassin became Lebanon's environment minister in the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati last month. He was a professor of policy and planning at the American University of Beirut.
With Lebanon facing a cascade of social and political crises, as well as an economic crisis the World Bank has described as one of the worst in history, Mr Yassin reaffirmed the government’s targets under the Nationally Determined Contribution – a series of commitments which includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental measures.
“We were ambitious in the midst of crisis we are going through,” he said.
Under the targets, which were updated last year, Lebanon aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2030, as well as providing 18 per cent of power demands from renewable energy sources.
Panellist Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank regional director for the Middle East, said that the gulf between Lebanon’s government and its people would be a hurdle to achieving any climate goals.
“In no country is this agenda more relevant,” he said. “It requires behavioural change in the country. People need to be engaged in this conversation.”
He also said that climate action needed to be incorporated into Lebanon’s educational curriculum: “People need to study the climate in their early education.”
Early on Tuesday, Mr Mikati met Mr Yassin and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib. They comprise Lebanon’s delegation to the Glasgow summit.
A statement released after the meeting affirmed Lebanon’s “belief in combating the climate crisis by adopting the path to sustainable development, especially within the framework of the financial and economic advancement plan”.
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Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
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How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
Bullet%20Train
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MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
