EU seeks 90 percent drop in greenhouse emission by 2040
Strasbourg, France - The EU on Tuesday urged a 90-percent cut to its greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, even as the...
Geostrategy
2023 hottest recorded year as Earth nears critical threshold
PARIS, FRANCE - The year of 2023 was the hottest on record, with the increase in Earth's surface temperature nearly crossing...
Geostrategy
Dust storm hits Iraq once again, grounding flights at airports
Iraq on Sunday was yet again covered in a thick sheet of orange as it suffered the latest in a...
- Flights were grounded due to poor visibility at airports serving the capital Baghdad and the Shiite holy city of Najaf
- Iraq was hammered by a series of such storms in April, grounding flights and leaving dozens hospitalized with respiratory problems
Economy
10 football pitches of pristine rainforest lost per minute in 2021
Huge swathes of tropical rainforest were burned or hacked down for cattle and crops last year, led by destruction in...
- Researchers calculated that the loss of tropical primary forest in 2021 resulted in the release of 2.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
- Over 40 percent of the total tropical primary forest lost in 2021 was in Brazil, where some 1.5 million hectares was cut down or went up in smoke
Business
UAE’s first waste-to-energy plant set be commissioned
The 30 MW plant will displace almost 450,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year and preserve the equivalent of 45...
- The 30 MW plant will displace almost 450,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year and preserve the equivalent of 45 million m3 of natural gas
- BEEAH and Masdar have begun exploring opportunities for the Emirates Waste to Energy company to open similar plants across the UAE and the wider region
Economy
Humanity stuck in ‘spiral of self-destruction’: UN
Humanity is suffering from a "broken perception of risk", spurring us into activities and behaviours that cause climate change and...
- The report estimated that by 2030, we will be experiencing 560 disasters around the world every year -- or 1.5 disasters every day on average
- The sharp rise in disasters globally could be attributed to a "broken perception of risk based on optimism, underestimation and invincibility," UN said
Business
Bahrain announces ban on single-use plastic bags from Sept. 19
Bahrain has announced a ban, effective from September 19, on selling, manufacturing, circulating and importing single-use plastic bags, which are...
- The ministry said the ban would apply on selling, manufacturing, circulating and importing single-use plastic bags, which are less than 35 microns in thickness.
- Industry minister Al Zayani said that the ministry held stakeholder engagement sessions especially with the private sector through the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Economy
Sustainable development hinges on fate of world’s cities
Martha Delgado, President of the UN-Habitat Assembly called for resilient, sustainable “smart cities” that are more inclusively governed and better...
- Martha Delgado, President of the UN-Habitat Assembly, called for resilient “smart cities” that are inclusively governed
- Upgrading slums and addressing the housing affordability crisis remain the highest priorities for countries
Interview
Abu Dhabi to trade carbon credits like assets
Carbon credits can be traded on legal carbon markets, such as the Emissions Trading System of the European Union. They...
- Expected to launch in Q3 2022, ACX will be established as a recognized investment exchange regulated by ADGM
- The GCC's broader plan to achieve net-zero was one of the main factors in establishing a carbon market in Abu Dhabi
Geostrategy
Parched Iraq’s water resources ‘down 50 percent’
Oil-rich Iraq, despite its mighty Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is classified as one of the world's five countries most vulnerable...
- Iraq which shares the Tigris and Euphrates with Turkey and Syria often protests that their upstream construction of dams has endangered its water resources.
- World has Bank warned that Iraq, a country of 41 million people, could suffer a 20-percent decline in drinking water resources by 2050 due to climate change.
Geostrategy
Environment Agency says 60 sq km of UAE’s marine critical habitats protected
Environmental assessment and permitting operations carried out by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) in 2021 reveal that 60...
- This is in addition to a reduction of more than 2800cum of toxic waste from drilling operations, and a 99 percent reduction in air pollutants emissions from the fluorine industry.
- EAD has also completed permitting the commissioning of clean energy projects that save about 11 million tons of carbon emissions per year.
Science
India turns to dung as new energy source
Cultivating alternative energy sources is an urgent priority in India, which burns coal to meet nearly three-quarters of the energy...
- This new energy source promises to help clean up India’s smog-choked cities
- It is already providing a vital revenue stream for poor Indian farmers
Most Read
Revenue from Saudi cinema may exceed $1bn by 2030KSA, UAE play well as e-gaming trends across GCCExclusive: Middle East’s retail sector rides on AR and hybrid shopping to become $600bn digital economyTECOM Group profit soars 13%UAE startups eye Saudi Arabia for growth, expansionSaudi Arabia leads GCC AI healthcare raceDisparity remains as Saudis, Emiratis see wealth gains
EU seeks 90 percent drop in greenhouse emission by 2040
Strasbourg, France - The EU on Tuesday urged a 90-percent cut to its greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, even as the...
Geostrategy
Company News
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Saudi Arabia launches mechanism to advance global climate goals
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - The Clean Development Mechanism Designated National Authority (CDMDNA) announced on Monday the operation of Saudi Arabia's...
Geostrategy
OPEC sees no peak in global oil demand on the horizon
In its 2023 annual report, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries forecasts demand for crude to reach 116 million...
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia, India ink MoU on electrical interconnectivity, green hydrogen
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - India and Saudi Arabia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) here in electrical interconnection, green/clean hydrogen,...
Geostrategy
Most Read
World can’t ‘unplug’ existing energy system: COP28 head
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The president of the upcoming COP28 climate talks in Dubai called on Sunday for governments to abandon...
- Climate activists have criticized the appointment of Jaber to lead the COP28 talks which kick off in Dubai next month, given that he is also head of the oil firm ADNOC.
- But Jaber has garnered the support of COP parties including US climate envoy John Kerry, partly by emphasising his belief that "the phase-down of fossil fuels is inevitable."
Science
Drought caused major global hydropower drop in early 2023
BANGKOK, THAILAND - Dry conditions, particularly in China, caused a "historic" global drop in hydropower in the first half of 2023,...
- Wind and solar generation grew more slowly in the first half of this year than in the same period last year.
- The chief of this year's COP climate meeting has called for a global tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
‘Broken in two’: Libya flood survivors grapple with mental health
Last month's flood was the latest catastrophe to strike the oil-rich North African country that has been wracked by war...
- IRC warned of the "immense psychological toll the emergency is taking on those affected, particularly in the city of Derna, one of the areas hardest-hit
- UNICEF's partners had "reported several instances of suicides, withdrawal, lack of sleep, bed wetting... among children, especially in shelters"