For some delegates at Cop26, the summit's focus on coal and cars is overlooking the more homespun issue of the food on our plates.
Lobbyists from Greenpeace to the World Health Organisation have used the summit to call for meat-free diets, which they say are healthier and more sustainable.
But developing countries see another major health risk in the wood and charcoal stoves used by millions of people that cause household air pollution and damage the environment.
Some 900 million Africans lack access to clean cooking and 4 million people a year die prematurely because of illnesses linked to solid fuels, Kenyan Energy Minister Monica Juma said.
“I think it should just not be acceptable that people would meet their deaths this way,” she said on the sidelines of the Glasgow summit, where she called for investment in clean cooking.
“For a long time this was a small pilot project. We need to scale it up. That’s what we need out of Glasgow.”
Ms Juma said upgraded cooking facilities would especially help women and girls, who typically carry much of the domestic burden.
“It’s not about philanthropy. There’s a business case here,” she said. “A mother that takes less time to cook saves time for productivity.
“There’s this perception about this being small scale. 900 million people not having access to clean energy – this is a big market.”
Kenya hopes to expand electric cooking and promote other cleaner fuels such as ethanol, biogas and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The last of these is on the rise as a household fuel in Nepal, said Ram Gopal Kharbuja, a joint secretary in the country’s Energy Ministry.
But Nepal would prefer people to switch to electric stoves, he said, because LPG has to be imported whereas hydroelectric plants can generate power from mountain rivers.
“We are promoting the use of electrical energy for domestic, industrial as well as transport,” he said. The latest climate plan submitted by Nepal to the UN calls for a quarter of residents to use electricity for cooking by 2030.
While these goals aim to improve health and cut greenhouse gas emissions, installing electric stoves in households is not always easy.
Nepal has experimented with miniature electric grids that do not need to be connected to a wider infrastructure. But tariffs on these can be expensive, said Simon Batchelor, a development expert at Loughborough University in the UK.
Collecting revenue is another issue because people who are used to collecting wood for fuel – paying for energy with their labour rather than with cash – are reluctant to hand over money for electricity, he said.
“When you go to communities there are many people who don’t understand these terms,” said Anne Songole of the Access Coalition, a civil society group. “They know food and they know it tastes good.
“As I look at Cop26 today, we are actually talking about coal but we have really neglected cooking, which is an important issue.”
It is not only activists from developing countries who want to talk about food. Many around the world see meat as an unacceptable luxury given the emissions it creates and the availability of plant-based substitutes.
Livestock is one of the major sources of methane, a greenhouse gas which world leaders pledged on Tuesday to stop emitting so rapidly.
Meat question
Critics of the pledge, which aims to cut emissions by 30 per cent this decade, say it dodged the question of reducing meat intake.
“Meat reduction offers an immediate solution to cutting methane in the near term because methane dissipates quickly,” said Anna Jones, a Greenpeace spokeswoman for food issues.
“Rapidly phasing out industrial meat production would help us buy precious time.”
Politicians have sought to defuse the sometimes highly charged issue by insisting that people will not have to give up meat.
In Glasgow, vegan and vegetarian activists are lobbying delegates to invest in plant-based food production around the world.
A lobby group called ProVeg International described meat production as an “elephant in the room”, which had not been sufficiently addressed by leaders.
However, it welcomed the lack of beef dishes on a menu at the Cop26 venue, which includes an estimate of an item’s carbon footprint.
“While the menu still isn't completely plant-based, it is clear from the display that they are the most environmentally friendly choices,” ProVeg activists said.
“We're happy to see that delegates are encouraged to not only talk about the climate crisis but to tackle it with their food choices as well.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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- Power: 640hp
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Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
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Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
Honeymoonish
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About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
RESULT
Deportivo La Coruna 2 Barcelona 4
Deportivo: Perez (39'), Colak (63')
Barcelona: Coutinho (6'), Messi (37', 81', 84')
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Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
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Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
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Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
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
