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

314 - May 2024
Editorial
Forum
Nate Blum
Sorghum and the Carbon Economy: Unlocking Nature-Based Solutions for a Warming Planet
Nate Blum
As the planet faces increasing climate-related challenges, there’s growing recognition that some of the most powerful solutions may come from the natu
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Antonio Guterres
A RESCUE PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Antonio Guterres
This month, leaders will gather in Sevilla, Spain, on a rescue mission: to help fix how the world invests in sustainable development
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Tom Pickerell
UN Ocean Conference Ends with Momentum — and Missed Chances
Tom Pickerell
There's real momentum coming out of Nice — but also a lot of unfinished business
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Najib Saab
Trump's Lost War on Humanity and the Environment
Najib Saab
The hostile economic war, launched by US President Donald Trump against the entire world under the slogan "America First"
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Meet the
 Editor-in-Chief Najib Saab 		 
 
Selected articles News
Planned hydrogen refuelling stations may lead to millions of euros in yearly losses 10/7/2025
As hydrogen infrastructure is rolled out in the EU, refuelling stations must be distributed according to the same principle in all countries. But now a study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, points to shortcomings in EU regulations. Using an advanced model, the researchers show that the distribution of refuelling stations may both be incorrectly dimensioned and lead to losses of tens of millions of euros a year in some countries. ...more
 
Ships trigger high and unexpected emissions of the greenhouse gas methane 3/7/2025
Ship traffic in shallow areas, such as ports, can trigger large methane emissions by just moving through the water. The researchers in a study, led by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, observed twenty times higher methane emissions in the shipping lane compared to nearby undisturbed areas. Despite the fact that methane is a greenhouse gas that is 27 times as powerful as carbon dioxide, these emissions are often overlooked with today's measurement methods. ...more
 
Agricultural waste can become the clothes of the future 17/6/2025
Cellulose-based textile materials can make the clothing sector more sustainable. Currently, cellulose-based textiles are mainly made from wood, but a study headed by researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden points to the possibility of using agricultural waste from wheat and oat. The method is easier and requires fewer chemicals than manufacturing forest-based cellulose, and can enhance the value of waste products from agriculture. ...more
 
Transforming waste into a public asset: Michigan State University leads next-generation anaerobic digestion innovation 10/6/2025
MSU is spearheading next-generation anaerobic digestion technologies that convert agricultural and food waste into renewable energy, recover nutrients and water, and support environmental sustainability across Michigan and the Great Lakes region. ...more
 
Massive Growth Ahead: Low Carbon Building Market Eyes $1.3 Trillion by 2033 14/5/2025
According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, the low carbon building market size was valued at $0.6 trillion in 2023, and is estimated to reach $1.3 trillion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 9.1% from 2024 to 2033. ...more
 
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
 
World on brink of climate breakthrough as fossil fuels ‘run out of road’, UN chief says 23/7/2025
António Guterres says ‘sun is rising on a clean energy age’ as 90% of renewable power projects cheaper than fossil fuels. ...more
 
Global oil and gas emissions standard put on pause after Shell, others walk away, FT says 23/7/2025
Shell and other leading energy groups have abandoned a six-year-long attempt to define a net zero emissions strategy after being told that such a standard would require them to stop developing new oil and gas fields, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing documents seen by the newspaper. ...more
 
China embarks on world's largest hydropower dam, capital markets cheer 23/7/2025
China's Premier Li Qiang announced construction had begun on what will be the world's largest hydropower dam, on the eastern rim of the Tibetan Plateau, at an estimated cost of at least $170 billion, the official Xinhua news agency said. ...more
 
Around 90% of renewables cheaper than fossil fuels worldwide, IRENA says 23/7/2025
The majority of newly commissioned renewable energy is more cost-effective for electricity generation than most fossil fuels worldwide, a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) showed on Tuesday. ...more
 
Future of bees at risk as temperatures rise, Trump to cut research funds 23/7/2025
As global temperatures rise, scientists are trying to better understand the effects on managed and wild bees as they pollinate crops, gather nectar, make honey, and reproduce. ...more
 
UAE releases 81 falcons into the wilds of Kazakhstan 22/7/2025
In May 2025, the Sheikh Zayed Falcon Release Program marked the start of its fourth decade by releasing 81 falcons into the wild in Kazakhstan. Since the program’s inception in 1995, a total of 2,355 falcons—both Saker and Peregrine species—have been reintroduced into their natural habitats. ...more
 
International Court of Justice to deliver landmark climate ruling 22/7/2025
The top United Nations court will on Wednesday hand down a landmark global legal blueprint for tackling climate change that also sets out top polluters’ responsibilities toward the countries suffering most. ...more
 
Extreme weather caused by climate change is raising food prices worldwide, study says 22/7/2025
Extreme weather caused by climate change is driving up the prices of basic food products worldwide and posing wider risks to society, a new study has found. ...more
 
Metal bottle caps ‘surprising’ source of microplastic contamination, study finds 22/7/2025
Glass bottles had highest levels of the substance compared with beer, water, wine and soft drinks, researchers found. ...more
 
Climate shelters: When the heat is on, where can you escape to? 22/7/2025
Heatwaves have become more frequent and intense, causing a search for solutions to cool cities. With energy poverty leaving people more unprotected inside their homes, climate shelters can be an option to make cities resistant to extreme temperatures. ...more
 
Saudi's ACWA Power signs agreements with European companies to export renewable energy 21/7/2025
Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power company signed several memoranda of understanding with European companies to export renewable energy and green hydrogen from the kingdom to Europe, the Saudi energy ministry said on Sunday. ...more
 
Gas flaring created 389m tonnes of carbon pollution last year, report finds 21/7/2025
The fossil fuel industry pumped an extra 389m tonnes of carbon pollution into the atmosphere last year by needlessly flaring gas, a World Bank report has found, in an “enormous waste” of fuel that heats the planet by about as much as the country of France. ...more
 
Brazil lawmakers gut environmental permitting ahead of COP30 summit 21/7/2025
Brazil's Congress passed legislation on Thursday loosening environmental licensing, a potential blow to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he seeks to burnish his country's green credentials before hosting the United Nations global climate summit, COP30, this year. ...more
 
India to issue climate risk disclosure rules for banks in the next few months, sources say 21/7/2025
India's central bank is close to finalising rules for banks and financial institutions to disclose and manage risks from climate change, three sources aware of the matter said. ...more
 
Children May Lose 1.5 Years Of Schooling Due To Climate Change: UN Report 21/7/2025
Climate related stressors such as heat, wildfires, storms, floods, droughts, diseases and rising sea levels, affect education outcomes. ...more
 
Trump’s $1tn for Pentagon to add huge planet-heating emissions, study shows 18/7/2025
Trump’s huge spending boost for the Pentagon will produce an additional 26 megatons (Mt) of planet-heating gases – on a par with the entire annual carbon equivalent (CO2e) emissions generated by 68 gas power plants or the entire country of Croatia, new research reveals. ...more
 
China's record-breaking heat pushes power demand to new high 18/7/2025
Days of record-breaking heat across large swathes of China pushed power demand to an all-time high in excess of 1.5 billion kilowatts on Wednesday, energy officials said, with temperatures forecast to feel like 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas on Thursday. ...more
 
Why climate change and wars are reviving interest in nuclear energy 18/7/2025
The Fukushima disaster prompted several countries, including Switzerland, to abandon nuclear power. However, the need for energy security and cleaner energies in the face of global warming are putting nuclear energy back on the agenda of some countries. ...more
 
How this summer’s heatwaves are affecting breeding birds 18/7/2025
Long periods of very hot, dry weather mean certain species can overheat or struggle to find food. ...more
 
World's oldest climate fund targets wildlife bonds for every country in Africa 18/7/2025
The world's oldest multilateral climate fund, the Global Environment Facility, is planning a new wave of wildlife conservation bonds in a bid to help African countries save endangered species and ecosystems. ...more
 
Lebanon's worst drought on record drains largest reservoir 17/7/2025
Water levels at Lebanon's largest reservoir on the Litani River have fallen to historic lows amid what experts describe as the country's worst drought on record, threatening agriculture, electricity production, and domestic water supplies. ...more
 
World risks up to $39 trillion in economic losses from vanishing wetlands, report says 17/7/2025
The global destruction of wetlands, which support fisheries, agriculture and flood control, may mean the loss of $39 trillion in economic benefits by 2050, according to a report by the Convention on Wetlands released on Tuesday. ...more
 
Watchdog demands EU explain speed of proposals to cut green rules 17/7/2025
The EU's Ombudsman on Tuesday demanded the European Commission explain why it fast-tracked proposals to curb sustainability laws, in response to a complaint by campaigners accusing Brussels of weakening the rules without consulting the public. ...more
 
China suffers $7.6 billion in losses from natural disasters in H1 2025 17/7/2025
Natural disasters across China in the first half of 2025 brought direct economic losses of 54.11 billion yuan ($7.55 billion) and affected more than 23 million people, an official from the emergency response ministry said on Tuesday. ...more
 
The 'world-first' plan to grow food above landfill 17/7/2025
Plans have been revealed to grow fruit and vegetables using "cleaned" carbon dioxide in greenhouses above a landfill in what it is claimed will be a "world first". ...more
 
 
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