At the beginning of 2000s, as concerns about climate change grew, some of the biggest oil companies began to modify their climate change public relations strategies. Instead of denying the evidence to sow doubt, they decided to try and spin their actions in more of a positive light. To try and co-opt the debate. They learnt their...
A New Age of Water is Dawning
We’re living in a pivotal moment in history, on the cusp of either sinking into a dark period of growing poverty, accelerating ecological destruction, and worsening conflict, or moving forward to a new age of equity, sustainability, and stewardship of the only planet in the universe where we know life exists. I believe a positive...
Sun, sea and sanctions evasion: Where Russians are spending the summer
Even as war rages in Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russians are eyeing popular holiday destinations for a summer break — or even a safe haven to wait out the conflict. While a weaker ruble and growing economic woes means many ordinary families will be spending the warmer months on their dachas or taking a...
Iran Retaliates Against Russia After Moscow Sides with UAE in Islands Dispute
After Russia launched its attack on Ukraine last year, Iran was one of a few countries to support Moscow’s position and goals. The two countries also shared a battlefield in Syria for years, helping prop up Bashar al Assad’s regime, with air strikes and boots on the ground. But that close partnership is being tested,...
Leak reveals ‘touchy’ issues for UAE’s presidency of UN climate summit
A comprehensive list of “touchy and sensitive issues” for the United Arab Emirates, which is running the next UN climate summit, has been revealed in a document leaked to the Guardian. The document sets out the government-approved “strategic messages” to be used in response to media requests about the issues, which range from the UAE’s increasing...
COP28: Activist gatherings allowed… if they are “peaceful”, “authorized” and in a specific “space”
COP28 is expected to be full of contradictions. And this new declaration by the Emirati organizers is not going to change that. The United Arab Emirates certified on Tuesday, August 1st, that they will allow environmental defenders to “peacefully gather” at the UN climate conference, organized in November in Dubai. However, unauthorized demonstrations are formally...
The floor is lava
It only takes just a fraction of a second to suffer a pretty serious burn. Asphalt and concrete in direct sunlight can often reach surface temperatures as high as 82 Celsius (180 Fahrenheit) on the hottest days, said Dr. Kevin Foster, who directs the Arizona Burn Center in Phoenix. Forecasters predict another heat wave in...
UAE fossil fuel investments in the UK being pushed by climate change denier
Top UK officials had undeclared meetings with UAE ambassador at private parties hosted by billionaire Tory donor Michael Hintze, according to an Insight investigation by The Sunday Times. Hintze, a British-Australian hedge fund manager worth £1.7 billion, has given over £4 million to the Conservative party and founded the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a climate...
China, UAE to hold 1st joint air force drill, eye cooperation boost
China announced on Monday that its air force will for the first time hold a joint exercise with its counterpart from the UAE, which is expected to further enhance military cooperation after the signing of a warplane deal between the two countries earlier this year, analysts said. In accordance with an annual schedule and the...
Greenland ice sheets are weaker to climate change than we thought
The ice sheets of Greenland are melting, and it could be worse than we thought. A new study suggests the ice sheets could be much more sensitive to human-driven climate change than previously estimated. Understanding the geological past of Greenland is vital for predicting sea-level rise, as a result of global warming. That’s because its ice holds enough...