The need to tackle the looming climate catastrophe was once a fringe topic in Davos, where the world's elites flock to talk about wealth creation.
Not any longer.
The urgent need for virtually every section of global society to act – not least governments and industry, who are out in force at the World Economic Forum – has been firmly on the agenda this week.
John Kerry, US envoy for climate change, said that for 28 years of Cop climate summits “every nation had to make up its own plan – not exactly the most effective thing”.
Cop28 demonstrated that multilateralism can still deliver historic results, however, it must work for all regions and peoples of the world - not just some
Badr Jafar,
Cop28 special representative
“In Dubai, we were able to change that paradigm to some degree, with one critical paragraph. That paragraph was that we must transition away from fossil fuels,” he said, referring to the deal reached at December's climate summit in the UAE.
The agreement to fight to keep global warming within 1.5ºC, to phase down fossil fuels over 30 years, and to radically cut emissions by 2030 were pledges that were unachievable in previous summits, he told a packed auditorium.
“When you add all that together, folks, and 195 countries have signed off on this – that is a profound, important paradigm shift.
“Everybody is working to a stronger guardrail, if you will, which is that we must achieve by 2030 the 45 per cent minimum reduction [in emissions] globally and do other things.”
Speaking at a separate session, he struck an optimistic note: “We are in better shape to take this issue to where it needs to go than we have ever been.”
Watch: John Kerry speaks to CNN Business Arabic in Davos
Reaching net zero is no easy feat. It will require an estimated $3 trillion of investment – every year – to cut emissions, reverse nature loss and restore biodiversity to Earth.
If developing nations are left behind, then the goal fails.
“Cop28 demonstrated that multilateralism can still deliver historic results. However, it must work for all regions and peoples of the world, not just some,” said Badr Jafar, Cop28's special representative for business & philanthropy and chief executive of the oil and energy company Crescent Enterprises.
“Which is why the central theme put forward by the Cop28 Presidency was that the process must leave no one behind.”
There were no easy solutions in Davos this week.
Governments and private enterprises alike must look hard at how they channel enormous amounts of money into renewables, how to clean up polluting industries, and how they create a green workforce of the future, as jobs linked to traditional industries decline.
Financing and faultlines
Although 195 countries backed the UAE Consensus, as it was known, the summit ended with critical issues deferred to Cop29 in Baku.
These include how rich countries help poor countries pay to invest in renewables, known as the Just Transition, and helping them to set up physical defences to cope with rising sea levels and extreme weather, known as Adaptation.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told a session that the climate change checklist has to be at the front of the minds of those in government.
“There are five conditions to consider Cop28 to be successful. Number one, we should get an outcome that the countries pledge to triple their renewable capacity,” he said.
“Number two, doubling the rate of energy efficiency. Number three, agreeing to have a major cut of methane emissions. Number four, countries should give a signal of an orderly move away from fossil fuels. And number, five, providing financial support for clean energy transition in emerging and developing countries. Five of them.
“I see that many of them have now been reflected in the outcome text for which we are really delighted.
“There are of course other areas, one area especially, which are not there, and in my view it is a fault line in our fight against climate change, which is the financing issue. How do we finance clean energy transition in emerging and developing countries is the fault line.”
In Davos this week, conversations also turned to what the technology industry must do to manage the enormous amounts of renewable energy that will be generated.
Sun, wind and sea
Harnessing the power of the wind, the Sun and the sea is all good and well. But if you cannot properly store the energy in super-advanced batteries, we have a problem.
Catherine MacGregor, chief executive of Engie, a low-carbon energy services company, said this was the focus of her industry.
She said the outcome of Cop28 was “really exciting” after years of Cops that had been “faltering” – but now the hard work begins.
“A lot more needs to happen, particularly around what we like to call flexibility – means to store energy at large scale: a very important component,” she said.
“You cannot just rely on sun or wind, you have to be able to store this energy when there is too much of it.”
Critical to climate change action is big businesses investing in clean industries of the future.
Ahmed Al Calily, chief strategy and risk officer at Mubadala Investment Company in Abu Dhabi, told The National that governments and companies must put net-zero principles, responsible investing and a clean future at the heart of their strategies.
“Cop28 is done, but the important part is that we keep to our promises, as nations, as companies,” he said in Davos.
“Everyone has a part to play. We've all made commitments – binding commitments to achieve net zero, 1.5ºC. The next step is how to stick to those commitments and make it happen.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Aguero 1', 44', 61'
Arsenal 1
Koscielny 11'
Man of the match: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
How%20to%20avoid%20getting%20scammed
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Andor
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World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
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.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
