Climate

    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 […]

    Planting the seeds of change: How UAE rulers fuelled mangrove growth in the 90s
    27 Jan 2024

    In the early 90s, there was a saying among environmental researchers and contract engineers in Abu Dhabi that destroying even one mangrove leaf could land them in jail. It was a joke, but one that summed up the emirate’s deep commitment to mangrove conservation long before climate change and global warming were buzz words. Australian researcher Ronald Loughland, who moved to Abu […]

    Groundwater rapidly declining around the world, largest study shows
    25 Jan 2024

    Groundwater is rapidly declining around the world, often at accelerating rates, the largest assessment of its kind involving almost 1,700 aquifers has shown. The three-year study by researchers at UC Santa Barbara found that groundwater is dropping in more than two thirds, or 71 per cent, of the aquifers – in three times as many times places as […]

    Working Wonders: The data ecology analyst on a mission to protect the UAE’s mangroves
    24 Jan 2024

    As a data ecology analyst, Amna Alhemeiri, 24, is among those helping to protect the UAE’s treasured mangroves and ensure that they prosper. The plants, championed by the UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, are an iconic part of the country’s ecosystem and are viewed as crucial to the planet’s sustainability. Ms […]

    Could air-to-water technology help to solve the world’s water shortages?
    23 Jan 2024

    More than 1.4 billion people around the world – including 450 million children – live in areas that face high or extremely high water vulnerability, the UN children’s agency said. As a result, finding new and reliable sources of water is important for many communities, especially as the world’s population increases and climate change causes more severe drought. While […]

    Why long-term energy thinking is crucial for climate solutions
    20 Jan 2024

    When my father was born, European and American homes were heated with coal, horses were still a common means of transportation, and there was no such thing as nuclear power. My children may well make it into the 22nd century when I hope today’s energy systems will seem as antiquated. In an attempt to overcome our […]

    UAE Consensus gives the world an unprecedented opportunity, says Cop28 President
    16 Jan 2024

    At the milestone Cop28 UN climate talks in Dubai, leaders and policymakers from around the world agreed to start the process of phasing out fossil fuels. As the work begins of putting the ambitious plans into action, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop28 President and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, tells The National about how the UAE Consensus was formed, […]

    UK announces biggest nuclear power expansion in seven decades
    15 Jan 2024

    The British government has unveiled plans for what it describes as the country’s “biggest expansion of nuclear power for 70 years” to bolster energy security, bring down household bills and help the country meet carbon-emission targets. The Civil Nuclear Roadmap will explore the construction of a major new power station as big as Hinkley C and Sizewell […]

    Temperatures in 2024 could be even hotter than last year, WMO warns
    14 Jan 2024

    Global temperatures in 2024 could outstrip last year’s record, the World Meteorological Organisation has warned. The UN weather agency said 2023 was the hottest on record by a “large margin”, with average temperatures approaching 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Analysis by WMO of six international data sets found that the annual average global temperature in 2023 was warmer by 1.45°C, […]