JEDDAH // In the 1980s, expatriates working at Saudi Aramco, a Saudi oil company, used to spend their weekends water skiing and swimming in a lake in the heart of the desert.
Two decades on, however, and there is nothing left of Lake Layla, once considered the largest body of water on the Arabian peninsula.
The evaporation of the lake, and the increased frequency of sandstorms, such as the one that obscured the skies over the capital, Riyadh, a fortnight ago, are the most tangible results of climate change, environmentalists say. They have also warned of worsening climate conditions to come unless more is done to limit the emissions of gases heating up the planet.
The department of meteorology at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah last week predicted there would be more sandstorms as the drought worsens and vegetation dies.
Climate change is not a common topic of discussion in Saudi Arabia, which ranks second after the United States in production of carbon dioxide per capita, according to a United Nations report.
The United Nations Development Program's human development 2007/2008 report showed that Saudi produced an average of 13.6 tonnes of CO2 per person, accounting for 1.1 per cent of global emissions with only 0.4 per cent of the world's population.
"If all countries in the world were to emit CO2 at levels similar to Saudi Arabia's, we would exceed our sustainable carbon budget by approximately 511 per cent," the report said.
Saudi Arabia is a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, a global treaty intended to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide at the atmosphere level. The country has invested US$300 million (Dh1.1 billion) to research cutting emissions of CO2 and protecting the environment.
But analysts have said Saudi has been too slow to cap emissions of CO2 and methane gas, which have contributed heavily to an increase in temperatures.
The government, too, has opposed any global action to reduce CO2 emissions that would affect the price or supply of oil.
Asa'ad abu Rizaizah, a Saudi environmentalist, said the government should develop more public policies to protect the environment and to focus on reducing methane gas, which has a larger impact on climate change than CO2.
"The government is investing money to reduce CO2 emission, but municipalities are not doing much to dispose safely of the waste in dumpsters which produces methane gas," said Prof abu Rizaizah, who is an associate professor of environmental engineering.
Scientists measure the impact of greenhouse gases through the Global Warming Potential (GWP). The GWP for methane over 100 years is 25, which means that an emission of one million metric tonnes of methane is equivalent to emission of 25 million metric tonnes of CO2.
Prof abu Rizaizah called on the government to develop an advanced public transportation system to limit the number of cars on the roads and therefore cut carbon emissions. He also wants the country to reduce its dependence on fossil fuel for energy.
Saudi depends heavily on fossil fuel to meet local demands for electricity, which is growing by six to seven per cent annually, according to official figures.
There has been some effort to look at alternatives to fossil fuel.
This month, the oil minister, Ali al Naimi, said the kingdom hoped to become a leading supplier of solar energy.
Ali al Barrak, the chief executive officer of Saudi Electricity Company, also said the country was in talks with French companies to build a nuclear power plant.
"We can have a nuclear power generation plant by 2018 if we started now," Mr al Barrak told the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.
Saudi Arabia signed up to the Kyoto protocol and pledged to play a positive role in tackling global warming and climate change through investing in new technology, as it opposes any tax on oil production.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), of which Saudi is a member, has also committed to reducing harmful emissions.
In 2007, King Abdullah announced during the Opec heads of state summit in Riyadh that he would donate $300m for research into helping the environment, including investments in technology such as carbon store and capture.
Mr al Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, told the Opec summit that his country was as concerned as any other in tackling climate change but the world had to accept it would be dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come.
Saudi Arabia and the wider Opec cartel agreed that safeguarding the environment's future was one of the three top priorities, alongside reliability of oil supply and global prosperity. However, they stressed that countries should learn how to manage their consumption instead of backing action against supplying nations.
Taxes against supplying nations and a cut in oil consumption could seriously affect the economies of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations, Reuters quoted Mohammad al Sabban of the Saudi ministry of petroleum as saying.
"Countries talking about reducing dependence on oil could impact our economy," Mr al Sabban told an Opec energy conference two weeks ago.
Efforts to cut CO2 and at the same time reduce dependency on imported oil could impact the economy, he said. "We stand to lose out to such policies that are biased against oil producers."
wmadhi@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
RESULTS
Catchweight 82kg
Piotr Kuberski (POL) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ) by decision.
Women’s bantamweight
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) beat Cornelia Holm (SWE) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Omar Hussein (PAL) beat Vitalii Stoian (UKR) by unanimous decision.
Welterweight
Josh Togo (LEB) beat Ali Dyusenov (UZB) by unanimous decision.
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel (BRA) beat Delfin Nawen (PHI) TKO round-3.
Catchweight 80kg
Seb Eubank (GBR) beat Emad Hanbali (SYR) KO round 1.
Lightweight
Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Ramadan Noaman (EGY) TKO round 2.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) beat Reydon Romero (PHI) submission 1.
Welterweight
Juho Valamaa (FIN) beat Ahmed Labban (LEB) by unanimous decision.
Featherweight
Elias Boudegzdame (ALG) beat Austin Arnett (USA) by unanimous decision.
Super heavyweight
Maciej Sosnowski (POL) beat Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) by submission round 1.
Racecard
5.25pm: Etihad Museum – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,200m
6pm: Al Shindaga Museum – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
6.35pm: Poet Al Oqaili – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
7.10pm: Majlis Ghurfat Al Sheif – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,600m
7.45pm: Hatta – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,400m
8.20pm: Al Fahidi – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.55pm: Zabeel Trophy – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (T) 1,600m
9.30pm: Coins Museum – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
10.05pm: Al Quoz Creative – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
WISH
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
FIXTURES
UAE’s remaining fixtures in World Cup qualification R2
Oct 8: Malaysia (h)
Oct 13: Indonesia (a)
Nov 12: Thailand (h)
Nov 17: Vietnam (h)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The biog
Mission to Seafarers is one of the largest port-based welfare operators in the world.
It provided services to around 200 ports across 50 countries.
They also provide port chaplains to help them deliver professional welfare services.
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
Fast%20X
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