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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
 
Saudi foundation, UN sign deal to tackle food waste 17/4/2025
The Grace Preservation Foundation signed a cooperation agreement on Tuesday with the UN Environment Programme to promote sustainability and reduce food waste through community awareness and joint initiatives. ...more
 
UK's rarest wildlife being 'pushed to extinction' by grass fires 17/4/2025
Some of the UK's rarest wildlife is being "torched alive" and pushed closer to extinction after weeks of intense grass fires, conservationists have warned. ...more
 
Global electric vehicle sales up 29% in March, researchers find 17/4/2025
Global sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles rose 29% year-on-year in March, helped by growth in China and Europe, while EV growth in North America was hampered by U.S. President Donald Trump's stancetowards emissions standards and uncertainties around tariffs, data showed on Tuesday. ...more
 
Swapping out red meat and creamy pasta sauce could significantly cut household emissions, Australian research finds 17/4/2025
Simple grocery hacks – including swapping out red meat for chicken or plant-based alternatives, opting for dairy-free milk and yoghurt and choosing fruit toast instead of muffins – could substantially cut household greenhouse gas emissions, new research has found. ...more
 
Wildflowers could be absorbing toxic metals that pass on to bees, study finds 17/4/2025
Scientists call for urban areas to be tested for contaminants and potentially cleaned before wildflowers are planted. ...more
 
Europe had most widespread floods for more than a decade in 2024, scientists say 16/4/2025
Europe faced its most widespread flooding last year since 2013, with 30% of the continent's river network hit by significant floods, scientists said on Tuesday, as fossil fuel-driven climate change continued to prompt torrential rain and other extreme weather. ...more
 
Climate Panel: Finland must reduce logging to hit emissions target 16/4/2025
Finland is struggling to meet climate goals, and must take action to hit its targets, according to the Climate Panel. ...more
 
Banks vote to loosen climate coalition membership rules 16/4/2025
The world's leading bank coalition looking to help tackle climate change has voted to ditch some of its more stringent membership rules to better reflect the slow pace of change in the real economy, its chair told Reuters. ...more
 
Climate crisis has tripled length of deadly ocean heatwaves, study finds 16/4/2025
The climate crisis has tripled the length of ocean heatwaves, a study has found, supercharging deadly storms and destroying critical ecosystems such as kelp forests and coral reefs. ...more
 
Scientists warn rising heat could cause more mental health disorders 16/4/2025
High temperatures are already worsening mental health, from anxiety to schizophrenia. ...more
 
Venice Biennale: UNESCO honours Mosul's architectural renaissance 15/4/2025
From 10 to 25 May, the ‘Mosul, an Architectural Renaissance’ exhibition will open to the public, hosted within the prestigious and monumental halls of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana. Visitors will discover how UNESCO led the reconstruction of emblematic monuments in the Iraqi city, which was largely destroyed during its occupation by Daesh. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, will open the exhibition on 9 May. ...more
 
Olive oil at risk: Climate change threatens Mediterranean’s ‘liquid gold’ 15/4/2025
Olive oil, a staple of Mediterranean culture and cuisine, is facing an unprecedented environmental threat. A new scientific study published this month in Communications Earth & Environment reveals that growing water stress and a projected decline in solar activity could severely undermine olive production across the Mediterranean—home to more than 98% of the world’s supply. ...more
 
China to keep building coal plants through 2027, state planner says 15/4/2025
China plans to keep building coal-fired power plants through 2027 in regions where they are needed to meet peak power demand or stabilise the grid, according to government guidelines for upgrading the coal power system released on Monday. ...more
 
Arctic matter pathways are poised for major shifts amidst climate change, Transpolar Drift study finds 15/4/2025
A new study has shed light on the highly variable and climate-sensitive routes that substances from Siberian rivers use to travel across the Arctic Ocean. The findings raise fresh concerns about the increasing spread of pollutants and the potential consequences for fragile polar ecosystems as climate change accelerates. ...more
 
Clorox Australia fined $5.2 million over false claims of using recycled plastic 15/4/2025
Australia's competition regulator said on Monday Clorox's (CLX.N) local unit had been fined A$8.25 million ($5.19 million) by the Federal Court over falsely claiming its GLAD kitchen and garbage bags were partially made from recycled ocean plastic. ...more
 
Abu Dhabi bans groundwater well drilling in protected zones to conserve water resources 14/4/2025
New EAD resolution aims to protect groundwater quality and ensure sustainable water use. ...more
 
UN shipping agency strikes deal on fuel emissions, CO2 fees 14/4/2025
Countries at the U.N. shipping agency struck a deal on Friday on a global fuel emissions standard for the maritime sector that will impose an emissions fee on ships that breach it and reward vessels burning cleaner fuels. ...more
 
White House aims to eliminate NOAA climate research in budget plan 14/4/2025
The administration of President Donald Trump aims to eliminate the arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that oversees research on climate change and refocus the U.S. fisheries service to support energy development, according to a draft White House budget document seen by Reuters. ...more
 
‘Toxic cocktail’: study finds almost 200 pesticides in European homes 14/4/2025
More than 40% of pesticides discovered in dust linked to toxic effects including cancer and hormone disruption. ...more
 
What are atmospheric rivers and why do they cause flooding? 14/4/2025
Atmospheric rivers are storms akin to rivers in the sky that dump massive amounts of rain and can cause flooding, trigger mudslides and result in loss of life and enormous property damage. ...more
 
UAE to address critical environmental challenges at IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 11/4/2025
An international conservation event in Abu Dhabi is set to focus on boosting environmental action and ways to change economies to support nature. ...more
 
White House moves to hamstring national climate assessment 11/4/2025
The Trump administration plans to scrap a contract for a federal climate assessment used to direct government action on climate change, two sources familiar with the matter said. ...more
 
EU agrees new rules to reduce microplastic pollution 11/4/2025
The EU Parliament and Council have provisionally agreed on a regulation on preventing the loss of plastic pellets – the industrial raw materials used to make plastic products – into the environment. ...more
 
Five deep changes urgently needed for a sustainable world and how to achieve them: UN report 11/4/2025
Amid deepening inequalities and escalating crises, including climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, a new United Nations report presents a bold approach for change. ...more
 
Many native New Zealand species face threat of extinction, report finds 11/4/2025
A major new report on New Zealand’s environment has revealed a worrying outlook for its unique species and highlighted declining water health, while also noting some improvements in air quality. ...more
 
 
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