The climate summit in Egypt, Cop27, will be the focus of much of the world's attention in the coming fortnight. Global leaders and delegates will gather at the resort town of Sharm El Sheikh to address an extensive agenda that is urgent and complex, affecting countries and people in all four hemispheres.
Just last week UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres once again urged wealthy and poor nations “to close the ambition gap, the credibility gap and the solidarity gap” when they convened at the event in Egypt.
Given the rising global temperatures and the clear warnings from scientists, there can be no disagreement with Mr Gueterres's point. In today's world, however, the challenges facing even rich countries are daunting. Balancing already stretched budgets – due to the pandemic's toll on global health systems, and the war in Ukraine causing an energy crisis in Europe – not all countries will find climate goals easy to accomplish. Sticking to net-zero commitments in fraught geopolitical scenarios is that much tougher, despite the urgency of the challenge, very much at the centre of discussions this coming week.
President Sheikh Mohamed will lead a large delegation from both the public and private sectors in the UAE. It will be an opportunity for countries in the region and wider world to recognise the UAE's progress on a number of previous climate commitments. Several accomplishments have added to earlier successes on the Emirates' goals, whether with regard to the UAE's 2050 Energy Strategy, or balancing investments in the energy systems of today and of the future or last week's US-UAE partnership of $100 billion on clean energy.
Building on last year's summit in Glasgow, Cop27 – an acronym for the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – is also being referred to as Cop for Africa or African Cop, which draws attention to a troubling issue: the extreme climate the continent is facing. This reality is viewed as unfair by many environment stakeholders, as Africa emits a tiny fraction of the quantity of carbon that countries in the developed West do, often at the cost of that development.
As part of a larger solution, earlier this year, the UAE launched Etihad 7, a programme to secure funding for renewable energy projects in Africa, with the goal of supplying clean electricity to 100 million people by 2035. This is just one among several necessary steps that will have to be formulated by regional stakeholders in the near future.
Over the next 12 days at the summit, heads of countries will discuss decarbonisation, water security, food security, energy mix, biodiversity, youth and future generations, finance and related themes. These affect rising global temperatures, leaving no countries immune. The enormously damaging consequences can range from wild fires to land slides or torrential floods. Even apart from the enormous destruction, affecting lives and livelihoods, such climate-related catastrophes push nations back many years in their development trajectories. Even since the climate summit in Scotland last year, multiple hazardous weather events related to climate change have occurred in disparate parts of the world.
Solutions are ever sought to try and curb and control factors that add to climate change. And the UAE is committed to its goals. Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Special Envoy for Climate Change and chairman of Masdar, told The National: "Today, the UAE is one of the world’s largest investors in global renewable energy projects and has invested $50 billion in renewable energy projects in over 70 countries, including 31 island developing states that are most vulnerable to climate change."
When the baton is passed from Egypt to the UAE to host next year's Cop28, the UAE will have added to its roster of climate commitments, boosting sectors such as hydrogen, solar, renewables and an innovative energy ecosystem. When the rest of the region also sticks to targets and countries globally are on the same page to limit climate change, science says that the world will still stand a chance.
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
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Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
Napoleon
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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”
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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.
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More on Quran memorisation:
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
World Cup League Two
Results
Oman beat Nepal by 18 runs
Oman beat United States by six wickets
Nepal beat United States by 35 runs
Oman beat Nepal by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Oman v United States
Wednesday, Nepal v United States
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
