Author: EcoLife

    UAE teams up with Cop29 and Cop30 hosts to keep crucial 1.5ºC target within reach
    18 Mar 2024

    The UAE Cop28 presidency has launched a major partnership with the next two hosts of the climate conference, Azerbaijan and Brazil, to help keep the crucial 1.5ºC climate goal within reach. The “Cop presidencies troika” aims to boost co-operation and ensure continuity between the hosts of the annual climate talks in what is being called “mission 1.5ºC”. Announced on Monday, the […]

    Future of heat pumps at crossroads as sales fall despite environmental benefits
    15 Mar 2024

    Heat pumps are widely seen as being crucial to the fight against climate change but incentivising their use is proving difficult. They have been described as the “central technology in the global transition to secure and sustainable heating” by the International Energy Agency, with a heat pump being able to cut carbon emissions by as much as four […]

    First ice-free summer day forecast for Arctic Ocean by 2030s
    14 Mar 2024

    Sea ice could disappear during some summer days in the Arctic within the next few years, researchers have warned. A study by scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder suggest the first ice-free day in the Arctic Ocean could occur more than 10 years earlier than previous projections. Greenhouse gas emissions are the main contributors to sea ice loss. As the amount […]

    Warmest February ever extends streak of climate records
    13 Mar 2024

    Last month was the warmest February ever recorded, satellite data has revealed. An especially mild, wet winter in Europe helped extend a “long streak” of climate records, says the EU’s Copernicus programme. Global temperatures in February were almost 1.8°C warmer than was typical in pre-industrial times. A sustained rise of more than 1.5°C above that benchmark would mean the world misses […]

    WTO seeks agreement on fisheries deal in tough Abu Dhabi talks
    04 Mar 2024

    Trade ministers from around the globe have been engaged in tough talks at the World Trade Organisation’s 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, where negotiations on a key fisheries subsidies deal will be a major focus. “They just started … we have to be cautiously optimistic because we have to push things forward,” Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State […]

    Why is the UAE’s renewable energy sector attracting more private equity funding?
    03 Mar 2024

    A growing number of private equity funds are investing in the UAE’s renewable energy projects and energy transition initiatives, encouraged by an abundance of capital and geopolitical stability. The Emirates, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. It hosted the Cop28 climate conference in December, and this introduced many companies and funds to the […]

    From artificial black surfaces to CO2 capture: Amazing ways to alter the climate
    19 Feb 2024

    While the UAE is lucky enough to enjoy almost endless sunshine, rainfall levels sometimes fall short of what would be ideal. This is despite sporadic spells of wet weather, such as experienced this week, which often occur in the winter months. As a result, the country has limited water resources and has invested heavily in desalination plants and put significant demands on aquifers, […]

    Warmest January on record as world logs first 12 months above 1.5°C level

    The global average temperature was for 12 months more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time, according to data from Copernicus Climate Change Service. The record, set between February 2023 and January 2024, brings the world closer to breaching the Paris Agreement, which aims to pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above […]

    UN climate chief says ‘torrents not trickles’ of finance are needed to meet goals
    07 Feb 2024

    The UN’s most senior climate official has said “torrents not trickles” of finance are needed if the world is to achieve its Cop goals. In a keynote speech in Baku, Azerbaijan, which will host the Cop29 UN Climate Conference in November, Simon Stiell said it will take an “Olympian effort” over the next two years to […]

    President Sheikh Mohamed extends UAE’s Year of Sustainability for 2024

    President Sheikh Mohamed marked the 27th National Environment Day on Sunday by declaring that the UAE’s Year of Sustainability will continue throughout 2024. The UAE leader said the decision underlined the country’s efforts to “protect and preserve the environment for the benefit of future generations”. Sheikh Mohamed announced the themed Year of Sustainability on January 20 last year. […]