The pledge is in line with the UAE Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative and forms the basis of future collaboration between the private sector, NGOs and international organisations, in association with strategic partner, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The launch took place as part of the fourth stage of the National Dialogue for Climate Ambition (NDCA) under the theme “Road map to achieve net zero in the hospitality sector".
Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said that the pledge would help the UAE government to “engage with entities that are keen to make an active contribution to our climate neutrality movement, and align their efforts to achieve our common objective”.
Twenty-one companies from key sectors joined the pledge.
They are Majid Al Futtaim Group, Strata, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, Masdar, Sharjah environmental management company Beeah, Emerson, Emirates Nature-WWF, Emirates Global Aluminium, Emirates Steel Arkan Group, Aldar Properties, Emirates Environmental Group, Yahsat, the Chalhoub Group, Pure Harvest, AESG, Taka Solutions, Lafarge Emirates Cement, EY, EV Lab and TotalEnergies.
The third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai. Photo: Masdar
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, inaugurates Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s Innovation Centre and the 800MW third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world. Wam
Sheikh Mohammed at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. Wam
Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister for Food Security, speaks at the World Food Programme Stop the Waste campaign at Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai. Leslie Pableo for The National
Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed has launched a landmark clean energy partnership between Adnoc and EWEC that will see EWEC supply Adnoc’s grid power from nuclear and solar energy sources from January 2022. Photo: Abu Dhabi Government Media Office
The UAE pavilion at the Cop26 summit in Scotland. Ashraf Helmi / The National
Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. Andrew Henderson / The National
The Barakah Unit 2 grid connection delivers clean electricity. Photo: Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation
An aerial view of the Qurum Walkway in Jubail Mangrove Park. The UAE is doing everything it can to tackle climate change, from limiting greenhouse gas emissions to planting more mangroves. Wam
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment is working to increase the amount of local produce grown by 5 to 10 per cent a year. Silvia Razgova / The National
The eco-green technologies research site at Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park. Chris Whiteoak / The National
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has installed 300 artificial caves made of eco-friendly materials across 30 sites to enhance fish stocks in UAE waters.
The future of cycling in Al Hudayriat Island, Abu Dhabi, is commemorated by a community ride around the track. Victor Besa / The National
The companies committed to adopt measures to intensify their collective efforts to combat climate change.
They will achieve this by measuring and reporting their greenhouse gas emissions, drafting science-based plans to reduce their carbon footprint and sharing these plans with the UAE government to help it achieve the national net zero target by 2050.
The pledge is a ministry initiative to scale up the UAE’s climate action, in line with the Glasgow Climate Pact, an outcome of the Cop26 climate conference, that requires countries to adopt higher greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany - At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people - Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed - Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest - He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally • Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered • Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity • Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
