Live updates: Follow the latest news on Cop28
The world of AI and machine learning is turning its attention to climate change, hoping an era of open data will speed up the journey to net zero.
The Cop28 summit in the UAE will be shown cutting-edge technology such as software that learns what solar panels look like and spots them from satellite images.
Meanwhile, a first ever “global stocktake” of progress towards the world’s climate goals includes a call for “rigorous accountability” in how companies report their carbon footprint.
Scientists leading a push to put these two things together told The National that getting AI to crunch the numbers would mean the climate world can stop “arguing about very basic stuff”.
“Greenhouse gas and climate reporting has certainly lagged behind financial reporting,” said Prof Angel Hsu, the founder of the Data-Driven EnviroLab, who recalled using less-than-futuristic Excel spreadsheets in her early days working on emissions data.
She said getting climate data published in a digital-friendly way, rather than in glossy corporate brochures or PDF files, opens the door for AI to sift through it more easily – once it learns that “goals”, “targets” and “emission reduction pledges” basically mean the same thing.
“That’s basically how a Google search works,” she said. “If you type in ‘what are places that I can get Mexican food’, it can know that maybe Mexican and Latin food are pretty similar, or Mexican and Peruvian food, so then it would pull up all these different searches related to different types of Latin food.
“It’s that technology, which has been established, that now we’re starting to apply to the climate change domain and climate data and information domain.”
World leaders have repeatedly highlighted climate change as an area where AI could benefit humanity, including at a recent AI safety summit at Britain's Bletchley Park, even as they warn of its dangers in other fields.
A report by Google claims AI’s skills as a forecaster and number-cruncher could knock five to 10 per cent off global emissions by 2030.
The Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi last week unveiled its own climate-focused large language model, Jais Climate, which speaks English and Arabic.
Scientists at Prof Hsu’s data lab also recently unveiled a ChatGPT-like bot called ChatNetZero, which can answer climate-related questions by scouring through corporate green pledges.
The UN is eyeing up new transparency guidelines for companies, with “accountability” one of the topics set to be discussed on day five of Cop28 as part of a schedule of themed days.
Before Cop28, which opens in Dubai on Thursday, the UAE presidency has encouraged the private sector to sign up to a Net Zero Transition Charter that calls for “science-based, credible, and transparent” emissions targets.
Energy model
Delegates in Dubai will also be shown a new data tool that models the future of energy systems, showing for example that more efficient power grids could trim $3 trillion off the cost of wind turbines, solar panels and so on.
The model being launched at Cop28 by TransitionZero, a tech non-profit, draws on satellite data and a model trained to recognise solar panels and electric substations, some of which may not be public knowledge.
Solar power is growing rapidly but there is no methodical tracking of where it exists and in parts of Asia there is little data at all, said TransitionZero’s founder Matt Gray.
“Until the onset of cloud computing and advances in satellite imagery it has been very difficult to produce these models and run them at scale,” he told The National.
“We’ll need to make decisions at scale and it’s just so hard to do that when data availability and transparency is just so limited.”
He said creating a “common evidence base” of open data could save negotiators time at Cop summits, including on the perennially thorny issue of rich countries funding climate action in the developing world.
“A lot of time spent when it comes to negotiating climate finance is around monitoring, reporting and validation, so just understanding that stuff is going to get done and what low-income countries want to do is credible,” he said.
“That’s where good data can come in, and publicly available data can come in, just to reduce those barriers so they’re not arguing about very simple stuff like what is the cost of solar in the country or what is the utilisation rate of a solar farm in the country.
“This is all stuff that we don’t have time to arguing about, and we shouldn’t be arguing about, given the scale of the investments required and the time in which we’ve got to do it.”
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
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Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
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Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
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
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Fight Night
FIGHT NIGHT
Four title fights:
Amir Khan v Billy Dib - WBC International title
Hughie Fury v Samuel Peter - Heavyweight co-main event
Dave Penalosa v Lerato Dlamini - WBC Silver title
Prince Patel v Michell Banquiz - IBO World title
Six undercard bouts:
Michael Hennessy Jr v Abdul Julaidan Fatah
Amandeep Singh v Shakhobidin Zoirov
Zuhayr Al Qahtani v Farhad Hazratzada
Lolito Sonsona v Isack Junior
Rodrigo Caraballo v Sajid Abid
Ali Kiydin v Hemi Ahio
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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