It was my privilege to lead a delegation from the Cook Islands to Cop27, which was hosted by Egypt, at Sharm El Sheikh.
Expectations of the delegation prior to leaving were of cautious optimism across some of the key issues, including how the biggest global emitters are finding ways to reduce emissions, and how the global community will find ways to support nations such as ours, one of those most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
Priority issues negotiated at Cop27 were ensuring that partners in developed countries enhanced their ambitions under the Paris Agreement to keep global temperature increase to 1.5°C below pre-industrial levels.
Other key issues included increasing the pledges and commitments to support those most vulnerable through climate finance, including the doubling of adaptation finance from 2019 levels. There were also moves to reach an agreement on an environmental loss and damage response facility, which will support developing countries.
I also attended high-level events and meetings where I took the opportunity to advocate for global island issues in my capacity as Head of Government for the Cook Islands and as a member of the Alliance of Small Island States.
The Cook Islands is one of 14 countries across the Pacific region where leaders have expressed their common and collective view that we are facing a climate emergency.
We share the opinion that the global community must act urgently to avert humanitarian disasters as a result of increased extreme events such as more severe cyclones, high-intensity periods of rainfall and droughts that cause crop failures. These short-term impacts, alongside slower-onset events such as sea-level rise and ocean acidification, will have a profound and significant effect on the islands’ populations and flora and fauna, including displacement and migration of communities as the effects take hold. Climate refugees, if you will.
Alongside other regional Pacific leaders, I took this call to the developed nations of the world: they must raise their ambitions and urgently reduce their emissions across their economies to save the world and those who live at the forefront of climate change. All of us recognise that the transition from fossil fuel use and the phasing out of coal mining is a prerequisite to enabling us all to meet the Paris Agreement target.
While the responsibility for climate change lies at the feet of the developed world, large developing country emitters must also transition their economies and reduce emissions. Only through a collective approach will we reach the goal and ensure human security is addressed. The emission-reduction pathways we advocate, for example, comprise a shift out of fossil fuel/coal power generation and give the transport sector a total shift away from the combustion engine. All of these economy-wide shifts can be achieved today, but they require strong political will.
At Cop27, the opening session of the high-level segment gave the world’s leaders a platform to express their views on how climate change and global warming can be addressed. The world has just witnessed Covid-19 and new conflicts are emerging, while old ones rage. We see on a daily basis the cost of global disasters. We must, therefore, acknowledge the even graver one posed by climate change.
Why is it so complex and difficult to address climate change globally? The real answer is the political reluctance of governments to transition away from polluting technologies. It is hard, expensive and requires real commitment. But this brings me back to our nation. While we are a minuscule emitter in terms of global emissions, we are already on a pathway to energy security and to our communities adapting to the impacts. We are reporting to the UN Climate Convention and the Paris Agreement on our ambition and commitments to ensure we play our part as a member of the global community.
We also see win-win benefits in terms of our mainstay income earner, tourism. With a tourism-visitor ratio of 10 visitors to one resident, making the sector greener will have real impact, whether that be more electric vehicles for visitors, renewable energy availability, nature-based solutions to address coastal and foreshore erosion issues and organic food production. Each of these approaches will help the Cook Islands meet its 2040 Net-Zero target, with technical and financial support where needed, domestically and externally.
The Cook Islands is already experiencing climate effects at a rate not previously expected, such as a higher than average yearly sea level rise, which has been monitored by gauges over the past 10 years. Increased melting of glaciers and the Arctic ice cap, as was recently announced, will add a further 200 millimetre of sea level over the next 10-15 years. This could mean displacement of communities on our remote, low-lying atoll islands, and increased frequency and severity of effects from storms and cyclones to our coastal communities nationwide.
Over the past 10 years, the Cook Islands has been experiencing increased occurrences of droughts on islands in the northern part of the country that continue for months, whereas our southern islands are at the same time experiencing high intensity but short rainfall events with flooding and damage. Regional and international scientists report that this state of affairs is a harbinger of full-fledged climate impacts.
Finally, we now know that without collective will in the aftermath of Cop27 to address climate change and support to vulnerable countries, we will overshoot the 1.5°C of the Paris Agreement. The picture is grim. Without any action we are heading to a warmer world of 2.8°C by 2100, if not before. Sea levels would rise rapidly, mass wildlife extinctions would occur, extreme events such as storms and wildfires would destroy significant populations of humankind. If this is the type of world we want to leave to our children and their children, then we need do nothing. But at Cop27, even though politics impeded collective agreements on many issues, we all knew what was at stake and we all must do our part. The time is now – urgency demands it.
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
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
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
RESULTS
5pm: Watha Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
Winner: Dalil De Carrere, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Mohamed Daggash (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Miracle Maker, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Pharitz Al Denari, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mahmood Hussain
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Oss, Jesus Rosales, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: ES Nahawand, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: AF Almajhaz, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: AF Lewaa, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud.
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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
What should do investors do now?
What does the S&P 500's new all-time high mean for the average investor?
Should I be euphoric?
No. It's fine to be pleased about hearty returns on your investments. But it's not a good idea to tie your emotions closely to the ups and downs of the stock market. You'll get tired fast. This market moment comes on the heels of last year's nosedive. And it's not the first or last time the stock market will make a dramatic move.
So what happened?
It's more about what happened last year. Many of the concerns that triggered that plunge towards the end of last have largely been quelled. The US and China are slowly moving toward a trade agreement. The Federal Reserve has indicated it likely will not raise rates at all in 2019 after seven recent increases. And those changes, along with some strong earnings reports and broader healthy economic indicators, have fueled some optimism in stock markets.
"The panic in the fourth quarter was based mostly on fears," says Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "The fundamentals have mostly held up, while the fears have gone away and the fears were based mostly on emotion."
Should I buy? Should I sell?
Maybe. It depends on what your long-term investment plan is. The best advice is usually the same no matter the day — determine your financial goals, make a plan to reach them and stick to it.
"I would encourage (investors) not to overreact to highs, just as I would encourage them not to overreact to the lows of December," Mr Schutte says.
All the same, there are some situations in which you should consider taking action. If you think you can't live through another low like last year, the time to get out is now. If the balance of assets in your portfolio is out of whack thanks to the rise of the stock market, make adjustments. And if you need your money in the next five to 10 years, it shouldn't be in stocks anyhow. But for most people, it's also a good time to just leave things be.
Resist the urge to abandon the diversification of your portfolio, Mr Schutte cautions. It may be tempting to shed other investments that aren't performing as well, such as some international stocks, but diversification is designed to help steady your performance over time.
Will the rally last?
No one knows for sure. But David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, expects the US market could move up 5 per cent to 7 per cent more over the next nine to 12 months, provided the Fed doesn't raise rates and earnings growth exceeds current expectations. We are in a late cycle market, a period when US equities have historically done very well, but volatility also rises, he says.
"This phase can last six months to several years, but it's important clients remain invested and not try to prematurely position for a contraction of the market," Mr Bailin says. "Doing so would risk missing out on important portfolio returns."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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