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

314 - May 2024
Editorial
Forum
Najib Saab
Populism Destroys the Earth, Laws Protect it
Najib Saab
The threats to environment and climate policies around the world, posed mainly by the spread of populist movements
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
more...
 
 
 
Meet the
 Editor-in-Chief Najib Saab 		 
 
Selected articles News
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
 
World’s strongest battery paves way for light, energy-efficient vehicles 12/9/2024
When cars, planes, ships or computers are built from a material that functions as both a battery and a load-bearing structure, the weight and energy consumption are radically reduced. A research group at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden is now presenting a world-leading advance in so-called massless energy storage – a structural battery that could halve the weight of a laptop, make the mobile phone as thin as a credit card or increase the driving range of an electric car by up to 70 percent on a single charge. ...more
 
A method that paves the way for improved fuel cell vehicles 14/8/2024
More efficient and longer-lasting fuel cells are essential for fuel cell-powered heavy-duty hydrogen vehicles to be an alternative to combustion fuelled counterparts. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed an innovative method to study and understand how parts of fuel cells degrade over time. This is an important step towards the improved performance of fuel cells and them becoming commercially successful. ...more
 
Empowering women – a key to both sustainable energy and gender justice 13/8/2024
Involving women in implementing solar energy technologies in developing countries not only has great climate impact. A new study published in Nature Energy and carried out by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows that empowering women through energy care work can change unjust, gendered norms and long-lived injustices. ...more
 
Could Australia become a green hydrogen superpower? 9/8/2024
“If you remember being a kid and blowing up a balloon or into a milkshake, your cheeks got sore because there is an energy penalty associated with bubble formation.” ...more
 
UN, Germany say tackling climate crisis is path to economic and national security 28/3/2025
Top diplomats urge governments gathered at conferences in Berlin to seize the opportunities offered by a green transition to shore up growth and peace. ...more
 
Biodiversity loss in all species and every ecosystem linked to humans – report 28/3/2025
Sweeping synthesis of 2,000 global studies leaves no doubt about scale of problem and role of humans, say experts. ...more
 
Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 4% in 2024, government data shows 28/3/2025
Britain's greenhouse gas emissions fell by 4% in 2024, provisional government data showed on Thursday, as the country's last coal-fired power plant closed and emissions fell from the industrial sector. ...more
 
ING first globally important bank to meet climate watchdog standards 28/3/2025
ING has become the first systemically important global bank to have its climate goals validated as being in line with efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the body responsible for awarding the standard said on Wednesday. ...more
 
Deep sea mining impacts still felt forty years on, study shows 28/3/2025
A strip of the Pacific Ocean seabed that was mined for metals more than 40 years ago has still not recovered, scientists said late on Wednesday, adding weight to calls for a moratorium on all deep sea mining activity during U.N.-led talks this week. ...more
 
Record-Breaking Annual Growth in Renewable Power Capacity 27/3/2025
With 585 GW of capacity additions, renewables accounted for over 90% of total power expansion globally in 2024 ...more
 
China's glacier area shrinks by 26% over six decades 27/3/2025
China's glacier area has shrunk by 26% since 1960 due to rapid global warming, with 7,000 small glaciers disappearing completely and glacial retreat intensifying in recent years, official data released in March showed. ...more
 
Indonesia steps up handing confiscated palm plantations to state company 27/3/2025
Indonesian authorities will hand over more land that has been seized in probes into illegal palm plantations to new state company Agrinas Palma Nusantara, officials said on Wednesday, turning the company into a major industry player. ...more
 
War ignited record-breaking wildfires in Ukraine last year, scientists say 27/3/2025
Last year was Ukraine's worst year for wildfires in more than three decades of record-keeping, as shelling along front lines in the war with Russia triggered an unprecedented number of blazes, scientists said. ...more
 
Beyond the Trees: Surprising New Carbon Sinks Revealed 27/3/2025
Terrestrial carbon sinks grew by 30% from 1992 to 2019, with most carbon stored in nonliving pools, not forests, prompting a call to update climate models. ...more
 
Ambitious climate action could boost global 2040 GDP by 0.2%, says OECD study 26/3/2025
Accelerated climate action could boost global GDP by 0.2% by 2040 compared with current policies, a study showed on Tuesday, as delegates from 40 countries meet in Berlin to shape the agenda for the COP30 summit in Brazil later this year. ...more
 
Electricity demand surges, expanding renewables and fossil fuels 26/3/2025
Cooling demand as a result of record temperatures was a significant driver of power generation last year, according to the International Energy Agency. ...more
 
Carbon cycle feedbacks may amplify global heating risk, study warns 26/3/2025
Global heating over this millennium could exceed previous estimates due to carbon cycle feedback loops. This is the conclusion of a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). ...more
 
China’s missed emissions target poses challenge to global climate efforts 26/3/2025
China’s carbon intensity fell less than planned for in 2024 even as Beijing made strides in renewable energy. ...more
 
Shell's 2024 emissions largely stable at 1.2 billion tons CO2 equivalent 26/3/2025
Shell's emissions were largely unchanged in 2024 at around 1.2 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent, according to its annual report published on Tuesday and Reuters calculations. ...more
 
US Supreme Court will not hear novel youth-led climate change case 25/3/2025
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by 21 young people to revive a novel lawsuit claiming the U.S. government's energy policies violate their rights to be protected from climate change. ...more
 
Polish cabinet approves liberalisation of wind farm rules 25/3/2025
The Polish government has approved on Friday draft legislation easing rules to build onshore wind farms, a key step in delivering a 2023 election pledge to boost power production from renewable energy sources. ...more
 
Our carbon bill is coming due 25/3/2025
The European Union’s (EU) introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a significant development in global trade and climate policy. ...more
 
A growing industry is betting on the ocean to capture carbon 25/3/2025
From the grounds of a gas-fired power plant on the eastern shores of Canada, a little-known company is pumping a slurry of minerals into the ocean in the name of stopping climate change. ...more
 
Airbus Foundation joins forces with the Solar Impulse Foundation to boost climate action 25/3/2025
Toulouse, 24 March 2025 – The Airbus Foundation and Solar Impulse Foundation have launched a three-year partnership aimed at driving global progress on sustainability through fostering innovation and collaboration. The partnership is dedicated to identifying and accelerating the adoption of scalable nature-based* projects that address pressing global challenges. ...more
 
EU delays 2040 climate target proposal beyond Q1 24/3/2025
The European Commission has delayed its plan to propose a new EU climate target in the first quarter of this year, pushing back the launch of an expected commitment to cut emissions by 2040, it said on Friday. ...more
 
World's glaciers are losing record ice as global temperatures climb, U.N. says 24/3/2025
Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a UNESCO report released on Friday. ...more
 
Paris residents to vote on making 500 more streets pedestrian 24/3/2025
Parisians vote in a referendum on Sunday to decide whether an extra 500 of the city's streets should be pedestrianised and greened, in a new push by the French capital's left-leaning town hall to curb car usage and improve air quality. ...more
 
New national forest to see 20m trees planted 24/3/2025
Twenty million trees will be planted and 2,500 hectares (6,178 acres) of new woodland created in the west of England as part of a "national forest" drive, the government has announced. ...more
 
Swiss scientists hope to save biggest glacier in the Alps even as ice loss accelerates 24/3/2025
The biggest glacier in the Alps could yet be partially saved if global warming is capped below two degrees Celsius, Swiss scientists said on Friday, although significant ice loss is now inevitable. ...more
 
 
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