environment

The hottest year in recorded history casts doubts on humanity’s ability to deal with a climate crisis of its own making, senior scientists have said.

After a period of extreme drought, 2023 brought heavy rains to California. In a three-week period alone in January, nine atmospheric rivers—corridors of moisture concentrated in the atmosphere—pummeled the state with rain, leading to landslides, flooding, and levee breaches. 

The ongoing war in Ukraine and the fighting in Gaza following Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack must not distract the world from our collective priorities: reducing our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050, preserving biodiversity, and fighting poverty and inequality.

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) announced on Thursday that 73.46 million shares from the major Egyptian state-owned tobacco producer Eastern Company were acquired by investors for EGP 2.05 billion ($66.55 million in the official exchange rate market).

One critical outcome of COP28 was a declaration, signed by more than 150 heads of state, to support food systems in adapting to climate change. Until recently, the issue of sustainable food systems had never risen very high on the COP agenda, which had been largely focused on the energy sector.

From an outsider’s perspective, the global climate negotiations known as COP can seem like a circus. It can be hard to see progress amid the growing number of fossil fuel representatives in attendance. Yet before passing judgment, it’s important to understand the full extent of the visible and less-visible work that happens at the conference.

With fashion set to miss its climate goals, the pressure is on for every employee to drive progress in their own field, including creative directors. But finding the right person for the job means rewriting the role entirely.

On Wednesday morning, hours after COP28 was officially meant to end, United Nations negotiators reached an agreement on fossil fuels, the most hotly debated topic on this year’s agenda. The agreement — dubbed the UAE Consensus — will kickstart a “transition away from fossil fuels” towards net-zero emissions by 2050. The agreement acknowledges the need for rapid change, to the tune of a 43 per cent cut in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and a 60 per cent reduction by 2035, compared to 2019 levels. It also added more specific targets to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030, with the ultimate aim of limiting global warming to 1.5°C as per the Paris Climate Agreement.

Denmark’s government announced that it is introducing a green tax on air travel, to be phased in starting in 2025. The tax will be added to plane tickets, and the country is encouraging other European Union member states to follow its lead, reported AFP.

India has decided to allow sugar mills to divert up to 1.7 million metric tons of sugar for ethanol production, government and industry officials said on Friday, as New Delhi aims to reduce disruptions in its ambitious biofuel program.