Saudi Arabia says planting 10 billion trees in the kingdom will be at the heart of its next climate plan, as countries were warned they are in a race against time to prepare for life on a hotter planet.
Climate negotiators in Germany heard Saudi Arabia's trees will cut its carbon footprint and provide shade, with the latter delivering on a resilience drive hailed as a "key outcome" of Cop28 in the UAE.
Last year's Dubai summit agreed adaptation to soaring heat should focus on seven key areas such as food and water, but it is now up to each country to make that happen in the face of accelerating global warming.
With countries also working on new emissions plans by 2025, Saudi Arabia says it is planning policies that tackle both the carbon footprint and preparedness sides of the coin.
Climate engineer Khalid Alharthi from Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry said the country was "among the most vulnerable" to climate change as an arid, coastal nation with an oil-reliant economy.
He told UN climate negotiations in Bonn that Saudi Arabia is drawing on a clause in the Paris Agreement that says adaptation policies with carbon-cutting "co-benefits" count towards a country's contribution.
Saudi Arabia is "using this as a model and a guide" for its next climate plan, he said.
There are plans for 100 million mangrove trees along the Saudi coastline, which Mr Alharthi compared to Swiss army knives due to their role in capturing carbon, providing habitats and slowing coastal erosion.
In cities, the talks heard the extra tree cover could reduce temperatures by 2.2ºC.
Prof Piers Forster, a former author of the UN's top science reports, on Thursday warned temperatures now rising at 0.27ºC a decade – according to a new 15-country study – make it “even more challenging to build climate resilience”.
The global goal on adaptation at the heart of the talks in Dubai and now Bonn is “just as important” as efforts to cut emissions, he told The National at the talks in Germany.
“If you look around the world currently, we still have a lot to do to adapt to the situation we're in,” he said. “Action on climate is not one or the other – we have to both reduce our emissions and we have to adapt.”
Some resilience measures such as genetically modifying crops to withstand drought “takes significant time”, he warned, while temperatures are rising faster than ever.
Record heat in May means there have now been 12 consecutive months that were the hottest on record for that time of year.
“Just by reducing the emissions we can bring that rate of temperature change down and that should buy us more time for some of the key adaptation,” Prof Forster said.
Negotiators in Bonn are looking at how resilience can find a place in the new green strategies that countries must draw up by 2025, building on the deal known as the UAE Consensus.
The talks involve an assessment of the national adaptation plans submitted so far to UN climate chiefs, which numbered 53 as of the end of Cop28.
The UAE's Cop28 presidency said the adaptation framework was “one of the major pillars and key outcomes” of the Dubai summit late last year.
Adaptation is a “progressive process that must build on existing efforts” and should be “informed by the best available science and techniques”, said Abdelaziz Harib from the Cop28 negotiating team.
He called adaptation a “critical piece of ambition on climate action, in particular for developing countries that face not only increasing vulnerability but ultimately a broader set of development challenges”.
The Cop29 presidency team from Azerbaijan said it will “build on the work of previous Cops and enhance financial support for climate adaptation and resilience for all”.
While major efforts were pledged at Cop28 to slow the pace of global warming, the adaptation talks accept that some worsening of conditions is inevitable and already happening.
A UN adaptation committee has told delegates it cannot be everywhere at once amid eagerness to protect cities, coastal areas, cultural sites and many other areas.
The framework agreed on in the UAE put the focus on seven thematic goals of water, food, health, ecosystems, infrastructure, poverty eradication and cultural heritage.
Unlike with emissions cuts (mitigation in UN jargon), there is no simple way of measuring progress on adaptation.
Along with a fund for climate disasters, adaptation is one of the “hardest topics” to follow up on from the talks in the UAE, said Marine Pouget of the Climate Action Network.
“We are lacking methodologies to quantify the needs but also to quantify the impacts of adaptation policies,” she said. “So we first have a bit of a technical problem here.”
Resilience efforts can include flood defences, drought-resistant crops and in an extreme case even moving populations away from a threatened area.
In the Earth's Arctic north, a reindeer farmer from the indigenous Saami population told The National that climate change and efforts to fight it by using land for green energy were affecting livelihoods.
“We are forced to adapt to climate change that is happening in a dramatic speed in the Arctic,” Saami delegate Susanna Israelsson said.
She said there “seems to be a perception that adaptation is infinite” when in fact “the Arctic is boiling”. “We depend on functioning ecosystems and access to pastures,” she said.
“The remaining areas that we have are of utmost importance for well-functioning and resilient reindeer husbandry, for us to be able to exist.”
SEMI-FINAL
Monterrey 1
Funes Mori (14)
Liverpool 2
Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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Fixtures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWednesday%2C%20April%203%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EArsenal%20v%20Luton%20Town%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EManchester%20City%20v%20Aston%20Villa%2C%2011.15pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EThursday%2C%20April%204%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELiverpool%20v%20Sheffield%20United%2C%2010.30pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Playing records of the top 10 in 2017
How many games the top 10 have undertaken in the 2017 ATP season
1. Rafael Nadal 58 (49-9)
2. Andy Murray 35 (25-10)
3. Roger Federer 38 (35-3)
4. Stan Wawrinka 37 (26-11)
5. Novak Djokovic 40 (32-8)
6. Alexander Zverev 60 (46-14)
7. Marin Cilic 43 (29-14)
8. Dominic Thiem 60 (41-19)
9. Grigor Dimitrov 48 (34-14)
10. Kei Nishikori 43 (30-13)
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
Brahmastra%3A%20Part%20One%20-%20Shiva
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAyan%20Mukerji%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERanbir%20Kapoor%2C%20Alia%20Bhatt%20and%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THE%20SPECS
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AIDA%20RETURNS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAida%20Abboud%2C%20Carol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5.%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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