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Environment and development AL-BIA WAL-TANMIA Leading Arabic Environment Magazine

314 - May 2024
Editorial
Forum
Najib Saab
Urban Greening, Water Security and Desert Ecosystem
Najib Saab
When an advocate of environment and climate action receives an invitation to talk at an international investment conference
more...

Antonio Guterres
UN Secretary-General's Statement on COP29
Antonio Guterres
COP29 comes at the close of a brutal year – a year seared by record temperatures, and scarred by climate disaster, all as emissions continue to rise
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Global Climate Leaders
Global climate leaders want COP29 to succeed but call for urgent overhaul of the process
Global Climate Leaders
It has become clear that constructive, supportive ideas developed some time ago on the COP process have been misinterpreted in today’s context
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Mathis Wackernagel
MY OBSESSION WITH OVERSHOOT
Mathis Wackernagel
There is no other possible future than a regenerative one
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Meet the
 Editor-in-Chief Najib Saab 		 
 
Selected articles News
A Step Toward Harnessing Clean Energy From Falling Rainwater 23/4/2025
When two materials come into contact, charged entities on their surfaces get a little nudge. This is how rubbing a balloon on the skin creates static electricity. Likewise, water flowing over some surfaces can gain or lose charge. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have harnessed the phenomenon to generate electricity from rain-like droplets moving through a tube. They demonstrate a new kind of flow that makes enough power to light 12 LEDs ...more
 
Difficult and costly energy transition unless the EU invests in biomass 22/4/2025
Biomass is currently the EU’s largest renewable energy source, but climate strategies often focus on other energy sources. A comprehensive analysis, led by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, now shows that biomass is crucial for Europe's ability to reach its climate targets, as it can be used to produce fossil-free fuels and chemicals and also enables carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. If biomass were excluded from the European energy system, it would cost an extra 169 billion Euros per year – about the same as the cost of excluding wind power. ...more
 
Renting clothes for sustainable fashion – niche markets work best 27/3/2025
Renting clothes can reduce the fashion industry's enormous environmental impact, but so far, the business models have not worked very well. The best chance of success is for a rental company to provide clothing within a niche market, such as specific sportswear, and to work closely with the suppliers and clothing manufacturers. This is shown by a study led by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, which highlights the measures that can make clothing rental a success. ...more
 
Ice stupas of the Ladakh desert: an ingenious solution to water scarcity – a picture essay 28/1/2025
Farmers in the northern Indian region used to rely on snow and glacier meltwater, but the climate crisis is disrupting the water cycle – which means new ways of storing water are needed ...more
 
Toxic waste from world's deadliest gas leak fuels protests in India 23/1/2025
Vegetable vendor Shivnarayan Dasana had never seen so many policemen descend on his village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. ...more
 
Natural disasters in the past 12 months have been the most costly and impactful stretch of extreme weather in America in 90 years 18/1/2025
Experts at AccuWeather say extreme weather events and disasters in the past 12 months have had the costliest and most widespread impacts that Americans have faced in nearly a century.    ...more
 
Arab-Israeli Environmental Cooperation: A Controversial Path to Peace Amid Ecocide 28/11/2024
On August 30, 2024, amid the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that Lebanon joined the Saudi-led Middle East Green Initiative (MGI), describing the step as crucial, especially for southern border towns and villages that are suffering significant environmental and agricultural damage. ...more
 
CO2 & Waste-Derived Bioplastics: Pioneering Sustainable Manufacturing 22/11/2024
As the world grapples with the environmental impact of traditional plastics, bioplastics derived from carbon dioxide (CO2) and waste materials present a promising solution. This emerging sustainable market seeks to address two critical global challenges: reducing greenhouse gas emissions and managing waste. By converting CO2 and waste into useful bioplastics, scientists and companies are pioneering technologies that could revolutionize the way we produce and consume plastics. ...more
 
The blue-green sustainable proteins of seaweed may soon be on your plate 15/11/2024
The protein in sea lettuce, a type of seaweed, is a promising complement to both meat and other current alternative protein sources. Seaweed also contains many other important nutrients, and is grown without needing to be watered, fertilised or sprayed with insecticides. However, the proteins are often tightly bound, and their full potential has not yet been realised on our plates.  But now researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden, have found a new way to extract these proteins three times more efficiently than before – and this progress paves the way for seaweed burgers and protein smoothies from the sea. ...more
 
Industry royally champions sustainable floriculture project led by Coventry University 9/10/2024
Coventry University is leading a project to reduce plastic, packaging and waste in the British cut-flower industry. ...more
 
Major boost in carbon capture and storage essential to reach 2°C climate target 27/9/2024
Large expansion of carbon capture and storage is necessary to fulfill the Paris Climate Agreement. Yet a new study led by Chalmers University of Technology, in Sweden and University of Bergen, in Norway, shows that without major efforts, the technology will not expand fast enough to meet the 2°C target and even with major efforts it is unlikely to expand fast enough for the 1.5°C target. ...more
 
Europe’s deadly floods are glimpse of future climate 25/9/2024
Central Europe's devastating floods were made much worse by climate change and offer a stark glimpse of the future for the world's fastest-warming continent, scientists say. ...more
 
Which Countries Should Pay for International Climate Finance? 18/9/2024
The world needs trillions of dollars annually to combat climate change, but questions remain as to where that funding will come from. Most at stake are poorer countries that are the least protected — and hardest hit — from the increasing ravages of heat waves, storm surges and other extreme weather events exacerbated each year by climate change. Many of these countries lack the resources to undertake a rapid and just transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy without external help. ...more
 
China's wind, solar capacity exceeds thermal power for first time, energy regulator says 28/4/2025
China's wind and solar power generation capacity surged to 1,482 gigawatts by the end of March, exceeding fossil fuel-based thermal power capacity for the first time in its history, the country's energy regulator said on Friday. ...more
 
State Department nixes climate office, revamps energy bureau 28/4/2025
The Trump administration has terminated federal employees in charge of U.S. global climate policy and climate aid as part of its reorganization of the country's diplomatic focus, the State Department said on Friday. ...more
 
Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fall 4% in FY23/24 to record low 28/4/2025
Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fell by 4% to a record low in the fiscal year ended March 2024, government data showed on Friday, led by lower energy consumption as well as the increased use of renewable energy and the restart of nuclear power plants. ...more
 
India plans incentives for steelmakers to drive decarbonisation, secretary says 28/4/2025
India is chalking up a host of incentives to spur production of green steel and drive local steelmakers' decarbonisation efforts, the federal steel secretary said on Friday, as the country aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. ...more
 
'Revive Our Ocean' initiative launched to protect coastal waters 28/4/2025
A new initiative backed by British naturalist David Attenborough was launched on Thursday to help communities profit from efforts to protect at least 30% of the world's oceans by the end of the decade. ...more
 
World leaders rally for ‘full-speed’ climate action ahead of COP30 25/4/2025
At a high-stakes virtual summit on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva brought together 17 national leaders from major economies and climate-vulnerable countries. The goal was to accelerate global climate ambition ahead of COP30, which will be hosted in Brazil. ...more
 
China's action on climate change will not slow despite global political changes, Xi says 25/4/2025
China's actions to address climate change will not slow down despite global political developments, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, according to the official Xinhua news agency. ...more
 
Nearly half of Americans breathing in unsafe levels of air pollutants – report 25/4/2025
American Lung Association’s study says almost 156 million people live in areas with unhealthy levels of soot or smog ...more
 
Oil and gas giants caused €25 trillion in climate damage, study says 25/4/2025
The world's biggest corporations have caused $28 trillion (€25 trillion) in climate damage, a new study estimates. ...more
 
India's Delhi plans to curb gasoline car sales, ban gas-guzzling bikes to shed polluter tag 25/4/2025
India's capital New Delhi plans to limit gasoline and diesel-powered cars a family can buy as well as ban sales of fuel-guzzling motorbikes and scooters, according to a draft policy aimed at cleaning up one of the world's most polluted cities. ...more
 
Local leaders raise temperature on action to fight climate change 24/4/2025
City officials, state governors and other leaders across the world are ensuring their localities can benefit from initiatives that tackle climate change and prosper in an uncertain future.  ...more
 
Brazil urging tougher emissions goals ahead of climate summit, sources say 24/4/2025
Brazil, which hosts this year's United Nations climate summit, has a main goal of persuading Europe, China and other developing economies to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions enough to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, three people with knowledge of the country's plans told Reuters. ...more
 
Global coral bleaching crisis spreads after hottest year, scientists say 24/4/2025
More than four-fifths of the world's coral reef areas have been affected by devastating mass bleaching spurred by record-high ocean temperatures, turning many once-colourful reefs a ghostly pale hue, scientific authorities said on Wednesday. ...more
 
Activate climate’s ‘silent majority’ to supercharge action, experts say 24/4/2025
A huge 89% majority of the world’s people want stronger action to fight the climate crisis but feel they are trapped in a self-fulfilling “spiral of silence” because they mistakenly believe they are in a minority, research suggests. ...more
 
UK scientists to launch outdoor geoengineering experiments 24/4/2025
Blocking sunlight could temporarily slow the climate crisis but the technologies remain highly controversial. ...more
 
Environment Agency–Abu Dhabi launches first-of-its-kind project in Gulf Region to survey, evaluate and restore traditional oyster habitats 23/4/2025
As part of its efforts to preserve marine habitats and ecosystems and protect cultural heritage, and within the framework of the Abu Dhabi Climate Change Strategy, the Environment Agency–Abu Dhabi (EAD) has launched a project to survey, evaluate, and restore traditional oyster habitats in the emirate. ...more
 
Green Hajj: 13 ways Muslims can perform the religious journey of a lifetime sustainably 23/4/2025
Millions of Muslims around the world get ready every year for a religious journey of a lifetime—the Hajj. And as awareness on the impacts of climate change on Earth gains more traction everyday, there have been calls for Muslim pilgrims to observe a green approach on their trip to the Holy Lands. ...more
 
Pope Francis hailed as ‘unflinching global champion’ on climate crisis 23/4/2025
He declared destroying the environment a sin, warned that humanity was turning the glorious creation of God into a “polluted wasteland full of debris, desolation and filth”, and located the cause of the climate crisis in people’s “selfish and boundless thirst for power”. ...more
 
Europe's power firms lift emissions as clean output falls 23/4/2025
Europe's power sector discharged more carbon dioxide during the first quarter of 2025 than in any quarter since the start of 2023 after a drop in clean energy output forced utilities to burn more coal and natural gas for power. ...more
 
Snow crisis in the Himalayas: 23-year low threatens water supply for two billion people 23/4/2025
Snowfall in Asia’s Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water, scientists warned in a report on Monday. ...more
 
Environmental Week highlights Saudi Arabia’s sustainability vision 22/4/2025
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture launched Saudi Environment Week on Sunday, themed “Our Environment is a Treasure,” to showcase the Kingdom’s efforts in ecosystem protection and sustainable development. ...more
 
Farmlands in Middle East hit hard amid global toxic metal blight 22/4/2025
Almost a fifth of world's acreage is polluted by dangerous residues at levels up to 10% higher than the safety limit for farming. ...more
 
EU Commission faces complaint over easing of sustainability rules 22/4/2025
Climate and human rights campaigners filed a complaint against the European Commission on Friday, accusing the EU executive of weakening sustainability laws without first consulting the public about the changes or assessing their impact. ...more
 
Ocean temperatures are rising faster than expected, and likely to accelerate 22/4/2025
Satellite instruments that have been circling Earth since the early 1980s now paint a stark picture of our warm ocean temperatures: not only are they rising, they are doing so more quickly with each passing decade. ...more
 
Project to suck carbon out of sea begins in UK 22/4/2025
A ground-breaking project to suck carbon out of the sea has started operating on England's south coast. ...more
 
 
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