While there is growing global consensus on the urgency to tackle climate change, the international community has yet to fully realise the irreparable damage that it is inflicting on one of humanity’s most effective tools to deal with it: education.
Education remains overlooked in the climate policy agenda, making up less than 1.3 per cent of climate-related official development assistance in 2020, and mentioned in fewer than one in three national plans to reduce emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.
At Cop28, under the leadership of the UAE, learning took centre stage.
Learning has been essential to humankind’s adaptation and survival. Schools can be safe shelters that protect children and their families during extreme weather events. School is where children learn how their everyday actions and choices affect the environment. It is also where they develop skills that will help the world transition to a greener and more prosperous economy. An additional year of education increases climate awareness by 8.6 per cent.
Indeed, schools change behaviours, grow skills and stimulate innovation. These are all essential to tackling the lethal threat facing humanity. But climate change is already blunting these tools.
About half of the world’s 2.2 billion children live in the most climate-vulnerable countries. Girls are disproportionately affected: extreme climate events are set to prevent at least 12.5 million girls from completing their education each year.
Learning has been essential to humankind’s adaptation and survival
A new study by the Belgian-based Vrije Universiteit Brussel found that, on average, a child born in 2020 is projected to experience twice as many wildfires, three times as many floods and nearly seven times as many heatwaves during their lifetimes compared with a person born in 1960.
Climate change is making heatwaves longer, more extreme and more frequent, disrupting education for millions of children around the world. Children in low and middle-income countries that are least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions are projected to feel climate change’s worst effects.
This year alone, Pakistan closed schools for 26 million children for a full week when temperatures soared to more than 40°C. Bangladesh shut schools for half its students during a heatwave. South Sudan saw scorching temperatures of up to 45°C and ordered schools to close for two weeks.
Even if schools remain open, extremely high temperatures affect children’s cognitive development and result in learning losses. A new analysis shows that even slowly increasing temperatures could amount to significant cumulative learning losses over time.
In fact, even education policymakers do not seem to fully comprehend how climate change affects learning. Only half of the education policymakers recently surveyed by the World Bank across 28 low and middle-income countries believe that hotter temperatures hinder learning. According to Unesco, fewer than half of curriculums worldwide have a reference to climate change.
Commitment to education as a key pillar in climate action was prominent at Cop28, where, for the first time ever, a day was dedicated to education and the Declaration on the Common Agenda for Education and Climate Change was adopted. This marked the first global political acknowledgment of the critical link between education and climate action. So far, 90 member states have signed the declaration, committing to allocate resources to climate adaptation, mitigation and investment to create education systems and learners that are climate-ready.
At Cop28, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Save the Children also launched a joint project aiming to make education systems in vulnerable countries greener by supporting the education sector’s climate adaptation; making school infrastructure more climate-resilient; ensuring learning continuity during extreme climate events; and, most importantly, recruiting pupils and teachers as allies in the fight against climate change.
Building on these steps is not only critical to fortify our climate action but is also a cost-effective investment. Every dollar invested in making education systems climate-smarter can save up to $15 in post-disaster recovery, demonstrating the imperative of integrating education in climate financing.
As the first and largest GPE donor in the Middle East and currently hosting its board meeting, the UAE is committed to supporting international efforts to invest in education as an effective tool in responding to climate change.
Global co-operation is the only way we can place learning at the heart of climate action, helping vulnerable countries turn their schools into infinite reservoirs of green learners who are humanity’s chance of surviving and reversing climate change.
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.
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company%20Profile
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WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match
Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre
Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match
Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match
Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day
R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Abu Dhabi GP starting grid
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
6 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
7 Romain Grosjean (Haas)
8 Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
9 Esteban Ocon (Force India)
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
11 Carlos Sainz (Renault)
12 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
13 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
14 Sergio Perez (Force India)
15 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
16 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
17 Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
18 Stoffe Vandoorne (McLaren)
19 Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
20 Lance Stroll (Williams)
