With only a day to go before Cop28 gets under way, the world is at a critical juncture in the fight against climate change. Record-shattering temperatures and devastating climate shocks have cost lives and livelihoods around the world, from prolonged wildfires in Chile to rampant hurricanes in Mexico, and intense flooding in Kenya and Somalia.
In this context, the agenda set by the incoming Cop28 Presidency, focusing on fast-tracking a just, equitable and orderly energy transition, is more than a strategy to tackle climate change. It is a moral imperative and, quite simply, a matter of survival.
The Paris Agreement provided us with a clear direction. And the science has since underscored the milestones we must reach by 2030. Now, our challenge lies in translating our targets into tangible, actionable steps to keep 1.5°C within reach.
We need to think bigger and implement quicker. We need to almost halve global carbon emissions by 2030. This calls for a dramatic increase in renewable energy deployment, a radical scaling-up of climate financing and a swift transition to new low-emission, sustainable economic models.
The energy transition is off track. To close the gap, the World Energy Transitions Outlook, a report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency, calls for a tripling of renewable energy and doubling of energy efficiency within the next seven years.
A rehearsal of 'Alya in Terraland,' a musical on climate change that will be open to all visitors of the Cop28 green zone at Expo City Dubai. The performance urges the audience to leave a positive impact on the environment. All photos: Khushnum Bhandari / The National
Hend Al Mheiri, director of special projects at Expo City Dubai, Marjan Faraidooni, chief of education and culture, Nadia Verjee, executive director of Expo Dubai Group, Matt Brown, chief of sustainability at Expo City Dubai, and Yousuf Caires, executive director of the Expo Live Innovation Programme announce Expo City Dubai's public programming for Cop28.
Hend Al Mheiri, director of special projects Expo City Dubai, said hosting Cop28 shows the UAE's commitment to working towards environmental sustainability and helping to address the global challenges of climate change.
A rehearsal at the Terra Pavilion, of the musical Alya in Terraland, at Expo City.
Cast members during the rehearsal of Alya in Terraland.
Reused material from palm trees has been used in Cop28 signs across Expo City Dubai.
Matt Brown, sustainability chief, Expo City Dubai (left) and Yousuf Caires, executive director, Expo Live Innovation Programme, share details of an organic farm and workshops on climate action open to all in the Cop28 green zone.
Ms Faraidooni says youth engagement is a key component of Cop28.
A 45-minute musical Alya in Terraland aims to inspire people to participate in climate discussions.
Sustainable material has been used in the Cop28 signs across Expo City Dubai.
In designing an inclusive energy future, we must deliver a scenario where energy access is universal and sustainable
When we talk about the energy transition and the goal of tripling renewables, we must remember what that means and the impact it can have. Hundreds of millions of people still live without basic energy access. About 675 million lack electricity and 2.3 billion are without clean cooking facilities, as highlighted in the UN’s most recent report on Sustainable Development Goals.
Set against this challenging socio-economic backdrop, we have an opportunity to design an inclusive energy future. But, in designing this future, we must imagine and deliver a scenario where energy access is universal and sustainable.
This requires policies that foster not just energy access, but clean energy access for all, with those most disproportionately affected by climate disasters at the forefront of this transition. We must help those already left behind by today’s energy system at the same time as ensuring those at risk of being marginalised in this shifting energy landscape are included in the future energy system.
In this sense, the transition to a system powered by renewable energy presents an extraordinary opportunity to build resilience, empower communities, catalyse economic growth and improve lives and livelihoods across the board. Renewables are available everywhere, offering countries socio-economic benefits and enhancing energy security.
Cop28 marks the year of the first Global Stocktake, in which the world reflects on its progress in implementing the Paris Agreement. It is vital that collective action be galvanised following this key milestone in our journey toward a climate-safe existence.
A key component of delivering this future is a Global Energy Pledge at Cop28 – a commitment to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030, as recommended by Irena’s World Energy Transitions Outlook. This pledge, proposed by the Cop28 Presidency can help create a future energy system that is rid of unabated fossil fuel production and consumption by mid-century.
The success of Cop28 hinges on translating commitments into actionable solutions.
With renewables, we have the cost-competitive, immediately deployable technological solutions at hand to achieve the 1.5°C temperature limit. Now, Irena has identified five key enablers to accelerate the energy transition.
First, we need holistic policy frameworks that promote renewable power solutions and energy efficiency measures. Second, enhancing the sustainability of global supply chains is crucial to develop a skilled workforce capable of delivering energy access for all.
Third, financing is key. We must mobilise public and private finance to support this ambitious expansion of renewable energy solutions. Fourth, international collaboration is vital. We need to foster collective action and knowledge sharing on governance, climate finance, and innovation.
Finally, infrastructure development is essential. We need to expand and modernise existing electricity infrastructure and build systems that are fit for renewables.
We have seen what is possible in the UAE. In the eight years since 2015, when the country’s total renewable energy capacity stood at just 100 megawatts, the Emirates has become a regional powerhouse of renewable energy production, and home to three of the world’s largest and lowest-cost solar power plants.
Today, the UAE’s total installed renewable energy capacity stands at more than 4 gigawatts, with the country on-track to triple this capacity to 14 GW by 2030. And as the first country in the Gulf that committed to net-zero by 2050, we expect the UAE’s green economy to only expand further. It shows what can be done when the planning, infrastructure, investment and political will to develop sustainable economic models is in place.
Our journey to a net-zero, climate resilient future runs via the tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030. We have less than minutes to midnight as we hurtle ever closer to eclipsing the critical 1.5C warming limit set out in the Paris Agreement. As we head into Cop28 in our hour of need, the international community must unite to turn ambition into action for a just, inclusive and equitable global energy transition.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler
Rating: 3/5
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic Started: October 2023 Founder: Namrata Raina Based: Dubai Sector: E-commerce Current number of staff: 10 Investment stage: Pre-seed Initial investment: Undisclosed
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
UAE Premiership
Results
Dubai Exiles 24-28 Jebel Ali Dragons
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 43-27 Dubai Hurricanes
Fixture
Friday, March 29, Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons, The Sevens, Dubai
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
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
