Using too much water could wipe trillions of dollars off the world economy by 2050 and destabilise dry regions such as the Middle East, according to a report that says people should be charged more for using it.
A commission including the President of Singapore, the founder of Egypt's Bibliotheca Alexandrina and ministers and economists warned of a "crisis of water" fuelled by climate change and overconsumption. The panel's executive director Henk Ovink told The National that "we are undermining our future".
The Middle East is one region where water scarcity is "top of the agenda" because "nobody needs more instability", said Mr Ovink, a former water envoy for the Dutch government. "In a fragile social and geopolitical context, any vectors of disaster – floods, drought, pollution, biodiversity loss – are literally trembling the foundations."
The commission forecasts that water shortages could knock 8 per cent off the developed world's GDP and 15 per cent off that of developing countries by 2050, amounting to a loss of trillions of dollars. By comparison, the world economy contracted by about 3.5 per cent in 2020, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Drawing on two years of work, the report warns that water shortages could put half the world's food production at risk in the next 25 years. It says the average person needs 4,000 litres of water a day to live a dignified life, taking into account what is needed to produce food and energy.
Parts of the Middle East, Africa and Europe would already be living in water scarcity but for the "green water" stored in nature, the report says. It says that even in socially and economically stable parts of the Middle East, any water shortages could spill over into more vulnerable areas.
Shortages are driven not only by "profligate use" of water in settings such as data centres and coal-fired power plants, but also by damage to soils and forests that results in less rain being stored by nature and ultimately recycled back into lakes and rivers, the commission says.
"Water is not just a victim in this cycle," Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam told a media briefing. "The degradation of the wetlands, the mismanagement of the soil, the deforestation, is all contributing to a loss of the world's stores of carbon and is accelerating climate change."
Price of water
A key recommendation of the report is that water should be priced at a level that "reflects the true opportunity cost and scarcity" of the Earth's resources. It says the "widespread under-pricing of water today encourages its profligate use across the economy".
The world must find ways to "ensure that rapidly growing digitalisation and the proliferation of AI do not consume an inordinate share of water" in water-hungry settings such as data centres, the report says. It says any policy could include subsidies for poor households and encourage the "prudent use" of water.
The report, entitled The Economics of Water, is billed as water's equivalent of the influential 2006 Stern Report, which was one of the first to make the economic case for climate action. The author, the former UK Treasury official Lord Nicholas Stern, wrote that the benefits of going green “far outweigh the economic costs of not acting”.
Better water management "goes beyond 'just put a cap on water use and we'll fix the problem'. It's way more complex," Mr Ovink said. "You can say, 'let's use a little bit less water'. Who should use a little bit less water? The poor and the most vulnerable use hardly any water.
"You have to distinguish where usage matters. Perhaps more important is the source of water. It is our biodiversity, it is our environment and land use planning, and economic incentives and objectives that determine the vulnerability of that source of fresh water.
"The good thing is that with sustainable land use management, resource recovery, sustainable water use, reuse and recycling, making sure that biodiversity loss is curbed and starting to restore our biodiversity and maintaining it, we actually are ticking many boxes."
Five missions
The report calls for five overarching "missions" to bring about "radical changes" in how water is managed. One of the commission's co-chairs is the Italian economist Mariana Mazzucato, whose work similarly inspired the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to adopt five missions for his new Labour government.
The missions are to embark on a "revolution in food systems" that preserves soil and saves water; protect natural habitats; get more supplies from wastewater treatment; make sure modern tech does not "exacerbate global water stresses"; and prevent children dying because of unsafe water by 2030.
"We must move beyond a reactive market-fixing approach towards a proactive market-shaping one that catalyses mission-orientated innovation," Ms Mazzucato said. "Only with a new economic mindset can governments value, govern and finance water in a way that drives the transformation we need."
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
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 specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.
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UAE's role in anti-extremism recognised
General John Allen, President of the Brookings Institution research group, commended the role the UAE has played in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
He told a Globsec debate of the UAE’s "hugely outsized" role in the fight against Isis.
"It’s trite these days to say that any country punches above its weight, but in every possible way the Emirates did, both militarily, and very importantly, the UAE was extraordinarily helpful on getting to the issue of violent extremism," he said.
He also noted the impact that Hedayah, among others in the UAE, has played in addressing violent extremism.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
