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Countries seal critical $200 billion deal to save nature
28 Feb 2025

Top environmental delegates worked late into the night on Thursday to seal critical negotiations and pave the way to secure $200 billion a year for biodiversity protection by 2030. The gavel came down with no objections at the extended UN Biodiversity talks in Rome, held at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation office. The room erupted in […]

Sharjah Ruler marks start of third harvest at vast wheat farm

Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, on Wednesday heralded the third harvest of a vast wheat farm which is helping to bolster the emirate’s food security, while sowing the seeds for a more sustainable future. The farm in Mleiha was transformed from a stretch of barren desert land in 2022 into fertile […]

Can the world deliver cash for nature? ‘Critical’ UN biodiversity talks resume in Rome

Talks in Colombia in October yielded some significant outcomes but ended in confusion. An annual United Nations conference on biodiversity that ran out of time last year will resume its work on Tuesday in Rome with money at the top of the agenda. That is, how to spend what’s been pledged so far – and […]

UN warns that ‘time is not on our side’ as key climate science meeting begins
25 Feb 2025

The IPCC assessment summarises the latest climate research from around the world, taking hundreds of experts years to produce. Representatives from nearly 200 countries gathered on Monday to work out the details of the next major UN climate science report. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is meeting for a week-long session in Hangzhou, […]

We can farm more seafood while minimizing its impact on biodiversity

Humanity can farm more food from the seas to help feed the planet while shrinking mariculture’s negative impacts on biodiversity, according to new research led by the University of Michigan. There is a catch, though: We need to be strategic about it. “We can achieve this sustainable mariculture development,” said Deqiang Ma, who led the […]

Glaciers are losing more water each year than the world will consume in three decades, study warns
23 Feb 2025

The thawing of 7 trillion tonnes of glacial ice since has raised sea levels by almost 2 centimetres, with the Alps a melting hotspot. Climate change is causing glaciers around the world to melt faster than ever recorded, a new scientific study has found. These bodies of ice have shrunk by more than 5 per […]

Could alternative proteins take a bite out of the UAE’s meat consumption?
22 Feb 2025

It’s no secret that a lot of meat is consumed in the UAE, but a new study suggests that more than 20 per cent of Emiratis would consider turning to alternative forms of protein. Made from plants, algae, fungi and insects, or by creating cultivated meat, also known as cultured meat, using animal cells in a […]

Trump’s energy expansion plan faces major obstacles, including his own policies
21 Feb 2025

US President Donald Trump’s strategy to expand domestic energy production and exports – by fast-tracking permits, easing climate regulations and introducing tax cuts – will encounter major hurdles, experts say. These challenges include changing market realities, as well as Mr Trump’s own policies, such as rolling back the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and initiating trade wars with China and […]

Gulfood 2025: UAE brand extracts drinkable water from conference room air

Abu Dhabi brand Ma Hawa is showcasing the concept of “wireless water” at global food and beverage industry event Gulfood in Dubai this week. It’s not a new idea, but the homegrown company’s technology has been turning heads at the annual event by producing water from the air surrounding a machine the size of a standard water dispenser. Visitors […]

Leak: EU sticks to 90% emissions cut, aims to be ‘world leader’ on circular economy

The new European Commission promised a transformational Clean Industrial Deal within its first hundred days, but a leaked draft of the eagerly awaited policy agenda is largely a patchwork of previously announced initiatives. A leaked draft of the second von der Leyen commission’s flagship Clean Industrial Deal sets out the key elements the EU executive […]