Climate

    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 […]

    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, […]

    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 […]

    Victory in climate race ‘still possible’ even if 1.5°C hits this decade
    01 Feb 2024

    Record heatwaves could take the world beyond the key 1.5°C global warming benchmark as soon as this decade – but that does not mean all hope is lost, the UN’s top climate scientist says. Jim Skea said it is “still technically possible” to meet the goal of curbing the global temperature rise to 1.5°C, staving off the worst […]

    UAE team wins $1m funding for climate-boosting corals plan
    29 Jan 2024

    UAE climate researchers have secured a $1 million funding boost to support vital efforts to protect coral reefs against the impact of surging ocean temperatures. The key investment will enable the Mubadala Arabian Centre for Climate and Environmental Sciences, based at New York University Abu Dhabi, to carry out two years of work on a marine project focused […]

    Technology, water and peace: Azerbaijan’s vision for Cop29 revealed
    28 Jan 2024

    Azerbaijan will put pollution, water shortages and the need to help poorer countries get their hands on clean technology top of the agenda when it hosts Cop29 later this year, The National has been told. Taking place in Baku in November, the government wants to send a signal of peace to the region after an exchange of olive […]