People in the UAE and in the UK care about nature. This passion is there in our culture and our laws. Decades ago, our leaders Prince Charles (as he was then) and the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, were far ahead of their time, calling for us all to cherish the riches of the natural world. From my recent role heading wildlife conservation NGO, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), I saw extraordinary collaborations between the two countries – re-introducing oryx into the wild, dramatically increasing the size of mangrove plantations and supporting ocean sustainability. And from Liwa to London, the biologist and natural historian David Attenborough is revered and respected as the authoritative voice on the state of our planet.
By contrast, international negotiations about biodiversity have never really got the passions up. Technical experts lead the discussions and, without a good head for acronyms, you wouldn’t have a clue what is going on. Somehow, years of depressing data from scientists, and days of extraordinary documentaries charting humanity’s impact on nature, don’t translate into global political action. So the UK’s Cop26 presidency achieved something quite remarkable last year when it got nature-based solutions onto the world’s political radar at Glasgow, placing nature at the heart of discussions about climate change, almost for the first time. The launching of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ Partnership was just one example of this nature focus continuing through the Cop27 negotiations under Egyptian leadership. I was also delighted to visit the UAE last week to engage on the Emirati vision for nature as a key element within their presidency of Cop28 next year.
The reason bringing nature into these discussions matters is because we are losing biodiversity across the globe at a terrifying rate. ZSL’s Living Planet Index charts the drivers of biodiversity loss – the bottom line is that people are the culprits because of the way we change land use (think: palm oil plantations replacing forests in the Amazon), human-caused climate change and the illegal wildlife trade. Cambridge professor Partha Dasgupta did a brilliant review of the Economics of Biodiversity – he put a price tag on the cash cost of nature, setting out compellingly how the biodiversity crisis is as existential a threat for the survival of our species as climate change. But somehow, little of this filters into international politics.
Comment from The National
One way I believe it will is at the nature equivalent of the climate Cop, which started this week. Cop15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity is all about getting a grip, at a planetary level, on the biodiversity crisis. This is about time; as a global community, we agreed a raft of nature targets in 2010 and failed to deliver fully on any of them. Like tackling global warming, solutions to biodiversity loss require complex, systemic changes – simultaneous actions by governments, businesses and societies in ecosystems across the planet. Making that happen needs political will and international action that has just not been sufficiently evident up to now.
At Cop15, we need that to change. A hundred and ninety-six governments are meeting in Montreal to negotiate a new Global Biodiversity Framework. We already have 115 of them joining a High Ambition Coalition to protect 30 per cent of the planet’s surface, whether land or ocean, by 2030. There is a plan for bridging the financing gap on nature. And many of us share the ambition to make now the moment when the world commits to halt and reverse biodiversity loss globally by 2030.
Cynics might question what a meeting like this can really deliver. I was there at Cop26 in Glasgow, representing an NGO, and was blown away by the passion and commitment of all those working to deliver wins for climate, nature and people. I know that same energy will drive an ambitious agenda for biodiversity in Montreal. And I am confident that the UAE will tap into this at Cop28 next year to ensure we achieve the changes needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C. No one country or continent can tackle the twin crises of biodiversity and climate on their own; we need these moments of coming together – to set ambition, to show support and to hold each other to account.
Sheikh Zayed spoke many years ago of “the need to conserve [nature], to take from it only what [is] needed to live, and to preserve it for succeeding generations”. The meeting in Montreal is the moment for the UAE, the UK and the nations of the world to come together to secure that legacy for the future. Our children depend on it.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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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.
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
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.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
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Squads
India: Kohli (c), Rahul, Shaw, Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Shami, Umesh, Siraj, Thakur
West Indies: Holder (c), Ambris, Bishoo, Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich (wk), Gabriel, Hamilton, Hetmyer, Hope, Lewis, Paul, Powell, Roach, Warrican, Joseph
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
