Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
November 30, 2023
In the run-up to the Cop28 global climate summit, which opens today in Dubai, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop28’s President-designate, warned the world that when it comes to climate action, “there is simply no time left for delays”.
Humanity has made considerable progress in the fight against climate change since 2015, when 196 countries adopted the Paris Agreement, a legally binding treaty, at Cop21. Back then, our planet was on track to experience global warming of more than 3°C by the end of the century. Thanks to a dramatic increase in renewable energy investments, ambitious net-zero targets and a broader focusing of minds on sustainability, that figure is now something more like 2.5°C. The International Energy Agency predicts global carbon emissions to peak in this decade – not sometime in the 2040s, as per its earlier estimates.
Even as the world transitions towards renewables, other critical pathways to net zero must be pursued
Even so, the world is a long way off from the target of 1.5°C agreed in Paris, and the cost of a failure to close the gap would be catastrophic for hundreds of millions – if not billions – of people. Speaking from Dubai on the eve of the summit, Dr Al Jaber called on Cop28’s attendees to “raise the maximum ambition possible”, to bring everyone – including carbon-intensive energy companies – to the table, and to “bridge the gap between the global north and the global south”.
Today, 101 countries have set net-zero targets – plans to reduce or remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as they emit. That number must go up, but raising it – and ensuring it brings results – should involve drawing in the private sector, which is the ultimate source of the bulk of global emissions.
While reducing the world’s dependence on fossil fuels has understandably dominated the sustainability conversation in recent decades, oil, gas and other carbon-based sources still comprise 80 per cent of the world’s energy supply, and they will continue to be essential if the other great challenge of our time – global poverty – is to be solved. So even as the world transitions towards renewables – countries, including the UAE, are calling for a tripling of renewable energy capacity to be agreed at this Cop – other critical pathways to net zero must be pursued with equivalent vim and vigour.
Chief among these are carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon capture and storage (CSS). The two approaches are related; CDR is removing CO2 from the atmosphere, whereas CSS involves capturing it – from, say, power plants or industrial sites – before it gets there and storing it away, usually underground. The technologies needed for both remain in their nascent stages, and getting to a 1.5°C world will require capacity in these areas several orders of magnitude greater than what exists today. Getting there must become a priority.
At the same time, these pathways must not be allowed to distract from or deter emissions reduction, which will inevitably remain the bedrock of the world’s climate strategy. To that end, maintaining unity and solidarity among nations towards developing their emissions goals further – even as conversations about responsibility and economic sovereignty become heated – will be crucial at this Cop. It will also be critical in the much-needed discussions around adaptation, as poorer, vulnerable and – in most cases less culpable – countries seek assistance in safeguarding their populations from rising sea levels and other climate-related challenges.
The question that will underlie all of these discussions, of course, is how to pay for all of this. “Cop28,” noted Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the summit’s governing body, “will be a finance Cop.” A “loss and damage” fund agreed at last year’s summit in Egypt must be fully funded. The greening of industries hitherto maligned must be incentivised. And the horizon on which frontier technologies currently lie must be brought into clearer view.
It is fitting, then, that this year’s climate summit should happen in a place famous for sitting at the intersection of finance and innovative thinking, and the developed and developing worlds. An inclusive Cop, bringing government, private sector, international organisations, NGOs and philanthropists is meeting at a critical time. The conditions are right for the world to change in Dubai over the next fortnight, if Cop28’s delegates are willing to seize the moment.
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
Founder: Alex Tchablakian
Based: Dubai
Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 300,000 unique customers every month
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results Lost to Oman by eight runs Beat Namibia by three wickets Lost to Oman by 12 runs Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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.
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
