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

306 - September 2023
Editorial
Forum
Najib Saab
Is it the Beginning of a New Extinction Era?
Najib Saab
The summer of 2023 recorded the highest temperatures in the world, along with natural disasters the likes of which we have not witnessed before
more...

David Malpass
Impactful climate mitigation requires standards, verification and standardization
David Malpass
Climate costs and development together need vast new resources. For developing countries, the needs are particularly large
more...
 
 
 
Meet the
 Editor-in-Chief Najib Saab 		 
 
Selected articles News
How mercury emissions from industry can be greatly reduced 4/7/2023
Sulphuric acid is the world’s most used chemical. It is an important reagent used in many industries and it is used in the manufacture of everything from paper, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics to batteries, detergents and fertilisers. It is therefore a worldwide challenge that sulphuric acid often contains one of the most toxic substances – mercury. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have now developed a method that can reduce the levels of mercury in sulphuric acid by more than 90 per cent– even from low levels. ...more
 
Gentle method allows for eco-friendly recycling of solar cells 13/4/2023
By using a new method, precious metals can be efficiently recovered from thin-film solar cells. This is shown by new research from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. The method is also more environmentally friendly than previous methods of recycling and paves the way for more flexible and highly efficient solar cells. ...more
 
Stadium 974: What happens next to the first temporary World Cup stadium? 12/12/2022
The World Cup's first temporary stadium will soon be dismantled after hosting seven matches in two weeks at Qatar 2022. ...more
 
'Doomsday glacier,' which could raise sea level by several feet, is holding on 'by its fingernails,' scientists say 6/9/2022
Antarctica's so-called "doomsday glacier" -- nicknamed because of its high risk of collapse and threat to global sea level -- has the potential to rapidly retreat in the coming years, scientists say, amplifying concerns over the extreme sea level rise that would accompany its potential demise. ...more
 
The audacious PR plot that seeded doubt about climate change 27/7/2022
Thirty years ago, a bold plan was cooked up to spread doubt and persuade the public that climate change was not a problem. The little-known meeting - between some of America's biggest industrial players and a PR genius - forged a devastatingly successful strategy that endured for years, and the consequences of which are all around us. ...more
 
Bottling the sun 14/6/2022
From a small hill in the southern French region of Provence, you can see two suns. One has been blazing for four-and-a-half billion years and is setting. The other is being built by thousands of human minds and hands, and is — far more slowly — rising. The last of the real sun’s evening rays cast a magical glow over the other — an enormous construction site that could solve the biggest existential crisis in human history. ...more
 
Ukraine's natural environment is another casualty of war. The damage could be felt for decades 23/5/2022
The pine forests around Irpin are Oleh Bondarenko's happy place. He discovered them as a child, when his mom sent him to the area for summer camp, and he has been coming back ever since. ...more
 
Forests Can Heal an Ailing Planet – But Champions Needed 10/5/2022
Humanity has been receiving warning signs for some time that our home, the Earth, is in peril. The concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is increasing and the global average temperature is rising. Thousands of species are threatened with extinction. Vast areas of land have become degraded, ten million hectares of forest are being cleared each year, and more than 800 million people are malnourished. ...more
 
Building Materials – A Hidden Heavyweight for Climate Action 7/4/2022
An era of massive construction is currently underway, with a new area the size of Paris being built every week. The global building floor area is expected to double by 2060, which will have a massive impact on the climate. The production of building materials and construction activities are already responsible for 10% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. ...more
 
More than Just SDG 12: How Circular Economy can Bring Holistic Wellbeing 7/4/2022
As it’s moved from the fringes of academia into the mainstream, the circular economy has been posited as a means to address ecological breakdown by cutting resource extraction and limiting warming to 1.5-degrees. Now, practitioners are also exploring how a circular economy with social and ethical concerns at its heart can create new jobs, ensure more equitable resource management and combat inequalities. ...more
 
Preventing Plastic Pollution with Partnership 10/3/2022
The world has a plastic problem. Since the 1950s, the rate of plastic production has grown exponentially and faster than that of any other material. This is a trend with severe environmental consequences. ...more
 
Blue Peace in the Middle East: A 12-year Journey Towards Water Cooperation for Sustainable Development 28/2/2022
According to a Chinese proverb, ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’.This certainly holds true for the Blue Peace Middle East (BPME) initiative which was launched in 2010 with the aim of transforming water from a potential source of conflict into an instrument of cooperation and peace. ...more
 
Animal Welfare Matters for Sustainable Development: UNEA 5.2 is an Opportunity for Governments to Recognize That 25/2/2022
This Monday, 28 February, the world’s environment ministers will gather in Nairobi, Kenya, to resume the fifth UN Environment Assembly, which takes up the theme of ‘Strengthening Actions for Nature to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs). Ahead of the Conference, seven countries from Africa and South Asia have tabled a resolution on animal welfare, the environment, and the sustainable development nexus. ...more
 
Governments Weigh New Global Treaty on Plastics and Sustainable Development 25/2/2022
Plastic pollution doesn’t stop at borders. It’s everywhere: in the water we drink, the air we breathe, and even in the most remote parts of the planet. International policy measures must be taken to address the scope of the problem. Later this month, we have an opportunity to do just that. ...more
 
Solar Power to the Rescue? Leveraging the Resilience of Farmers in Fragile and Conflict-affected Countries to Achieve the SDGs 8/2/2022
In the past decade, food security conditions have substantially deteriorated across conflict-affected countries in the Middle East. Wars have damaged key infrastructure that supports the agricultural sector, such as transportation, water, and sanitation. As a result of conflict, food prices have increased, incomes diminished, joblessness soared, and lack of equitable access to water and food intensified. ...more
 
China’s Artificial Sun Just Broke a Record for Longest Sustained Nuclear Fusion 24/1/2022
Superheated plasma reached 126 million degrees Fahrenheit for 17 minutes ...more
 
Petra and Climate Change… How to safeguard the "Lost City"? 21/1/2022
Petra, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, which has welcomed 1,135,300 visitors in 2019, is prone to witness more hydrological hazards, including flash floods, landslides, and earthquakes, due to climate change, urban expansion at the site’s neighboring areas, and its geological location near the Jordan rift valley. ...more
 
UN chief laments 'naked greed' of fossil fuel interests, countries criticize big polluters 22/9/2023
Countries addressing a climate summit during the U.N. General Assembly criticized big polluters for not doing more to tackle global warming, and the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said time was running short thanks to the "naked greed" of fossil fuel interests. ...more
 
Dozens of nations to sign U.N. ocean treaty but implementation still awaits 22/9/2023
A new U.N. treaty to protect the world's oceans was signed by 67 countries on Wednesday, another step in efforts to reverse the damage done to fragile marine environments by overfishing and other human activities. ...more
 
Revealed: almost everyone in Europe is breathing toxic air 22/9/2023
Europe is facing a “severe public health crisis”, with almost everyone across the continent living in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution, an investigation by the Guardian has found. ...more
 
Increasing Support to Low-Carbon, Resilient Urban Development 22/9/2023
The governments of Germany and Luxembourg announced new funding of EUR 50 million for the City Climate Finance Gap Fund (Gap Fund), a multi-donor fund, implemented by the World Bank and the European Investment Bank with partners. ...more
 
UK migratory birds 'in freefall' over climate change 22/9/2023
British bird lovers will see a very different pattern of species as the climate warms, according to scientists. ...more
 
Climate Change made Libya's deadly rainfall up to 50 times more likely - study 21/9/2023
Climate Change made the heavy rainfall that led to deadly floods in Libya up to 50 times more likely, scientists said on Tuesday. ...more
 
UK PM Sunak to announce more 'proportionate' climate response 21/9/2023
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will give a speech this week in which he is expected to delay some of the government's policies to reach net zero emissions by 2050, saying the response to the climate change should be more "proportionate." ...more
 
Brazil to revise climate targets to cut emissions 53% by 2030 -sources 21/9/2023
Brazil is expected to announce revised climate targets this week, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva strengthens a prior pledge made by his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, government officials with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. ...more
 
People who work from home all the time ‘cut emissions by 54%’ against those in office 21/9/2023
People who work remotely all the time produce less than half the greenhouse gas emissions of office workers, according to a new study. ...more
 
France to seek minimum price for flights in Europe 21/9/2023
France will seek support from other European Union countries for a minimum price on flights in Europe in a bid to reduce the aviation sector's contribution to climate change, Transport Minister Clement Beaune has said. ...more
 
Climate takes center stage at UN as global temperatures hit record 20/9/2023
With the world on track to break the record for the hottest year in history, world leaders, business leaders, celebrities and activists have converged on midtown Manhattan for Climate Week and the U.N.'s Climate Action Summit, again focusing the world's attention on the climate crisis. ...more
 
UK offers $300 mln guarantee for Asia and Pacific climate fund 20/9/2023
Britain will provide guarantees of up to $300 million to a climate funding facility designed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build infrastructure resilient to the impact of climate change in Asia and the Pacific. ...more
 
Germany likely to pass 50% mark for renewable power this year - minister 20/9/2023
Germany is likely to generate more than 50% of its power from renewable energy this year but needs to ramp up the speed of its transition towards the end of the decade, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday. ...more
 
CTP secures €200 million loan from European Investment Bank to finance ambitious solar energy roll-out 20/9/2023
CTP, Europe's largest listed developer, owner, and manager of industrial and logistics properties by gross lettable area (GLA), has secured €200 million in financing from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the roll-out of its large-scale programme of solar panel installation across its European business park portfolio.   ...more
 
Business group standards aim to help firms account for nature-related risks 20/9/2023
An international working group of 40 business and finance executives on Monday presented companies with guidelines on explaining to investors their dependence on ecosystems in a bid to better manage nature-related risks. ...more
 
Climate change impeding fight against AIDS, TB and malaria 19/9/2023
Climate change and conflict are hitting efforts to tackle three of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, the head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has warned. ...more
 
New UN Guidance on Children’s Rights and the Environment 19/9/2023
Today, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child launches new guidance for governments on protecting children’s rights in the face of climate change and other environmental crises. ...more
 
Could taxing unhealthy food help in the battle against climate change? 19/9/2023
Foods high in fats, sugar and salt (HFSS) have a significant impact on public health, the climate and the economy, but could taxing these products help in the fight against climate change?  ...more
 
World Economic Forum Launches Tech Hub for Climate Crisis 19/9/2023
The World Economic Forum introduced a new polar tipping points hub in its Global Collaboration Village. ...more
 
US suffers record 23 billion-dollar climate disasters so far this year costing $57.6 billion 19/9/2023
Hundreds of Americans have died due to climate catastrophes in 2023, which has already smashed records for the highest number of billion-dollar disasters incurred in a single year.  ...more
 
World needs $2.7 trillion annually for net zero emissions by 2050, Wood Mackenzie report says 18/9/2023
Global investment of $2.7 trillion a year is needed to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and avoid temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius this century, a report by consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Thursday. ...more
 
Solar energy shines in global survey with 68% support 18/9/2023
More than two-thirds of the world's population favours solar energy, five times more than public support for fossil fuels, a global poll has found. ...more
 
EU steps in to boost Amazon rainforest protection plan 18/9/2023
The European Union on Friday threw its weight behind a plan to protect the Amazon rainforest, pledging to coordinate financial contributions from EU members and making sure the money was spent as intended under its Global Gateway investment scheme. ...more
 
Antarctic sea-ice at 'mind-blowing' low alarms experts 18/9/2023
The sea-ice surrounding Antarctica is well below any previous recorded winter level, data shows, a worrying new benchmark for a region that once seemed resistant to global warming. ...more
 
Global climate protests demand world leaders phase out fossil fuels 18/9/2023
Climate protesters were set to take to the streets in more than 50 countries from Friday to Sunday, in a weekend of demonstrations to demand that governments phase out the burning of fossil fuels heating the planet. ...more
 
 
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Arab Environment 9: Sustainable Development in a Changing Arab Climate
‎مجلة البيئة والتنمية Environment & Development‎
ان جميع مقالات ونصوص "البيئة والتنمية" تخضع لرخصة الحقوق الفكرية الخاصة بـ "المنشورات التقنية". يتوجب نسب المقال الى "البيئة والتنمية" . يحظر استخدام النصوص لأية غايات تجارية . يُحظر القيام بأي تعديل أو تحوير أو تغيير في النص الأصلي. لمزيد من المعلومات عن حقوق النشر يرجى الاتصال بادارة المجلة
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