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Dubai faces massive clean up after deluge swamps glitzy desert city

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Reuters Dubai, a city in the desert proud of its modern gloss, faced the towering task on Thursday of clearing its waterclogged roads and drying out flooded homes two days after a record storm saw a year’s rain fall in a day. Dubai International Airport, a major travel hub, struggled to […]

The storm that brought Dubai to a standstill

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Reuters A storm hit the United Arab Emirates and Oman this week bringing record rainfall that flooded highways, inundated houses, grid-locked traffic and trapped people in their homes. At least 20 people were reported to have died in the deluge in Oman while another person was said to have died in […]

Nations strike deal at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels

United Arab Emirates Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber attends the plenary, after a draft of a negotiation deal was released, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 13th December, 2023

Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed at the COP28 climate summit on Wednesday to begin reducing global consumption of fossil fuels to avert the worst of climate change, signalling the eventual end of the oil age. The deal struck in Dubai after two weeks of hard-fought negotiations was meant to send […]

COP28 forced into overtime as fossil fuel phase-out divides countries

COP28 Director-General Majid Al Suwaidi speaks during a press conference at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 12th December, 2023

Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters The COP28 climate talks went into overtime on Tuesday as countries engaged in shuttle diplomacy to bridge deep international divisions over how to deal with fossil fuels in the summit’s final text. Where the conference lands on the issue will send a powerful message to global investors and markets about the […]

New COP28 draft deal stops short of fossil fuel ‘phase out’

COP28 Director-General Majid Al Suwaidi speaks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 11th December, 2023

Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters A draft of a potential climate deal at the COP28 summit on Monday suggested a range of measures countries could take to slash greenhouse gas emissions, but omitted the “phase out” of fossil fuels many nations have demanded – drawing criticism from the US, EU and climate-vulnerable countries. The draft has […]

COP28 clashes over fossil fuel phase-out after OPEC pushback

Delegates walk at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 8th December, 2023

Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Countries clashed on Saturday over a possible agreement to phase-out fossil fuels at the COP28 summit in Dubai, jeopardising attempts to deliver a first-ever commitment to eventually end the use of oil and gas in 30 years of global warming talks.  Saudi Arabia and Russia were among several countries insisting that […]

Stop posturing and aim high, UN climate chief tells COP28

Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Simon Stiell speaks during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 30th November, 2023

Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Countries at the COP28 climate talks need to stop posturing, aim high and agree on a way to end the “fossil fuel era as we know it”, UN climate chief Simon Stiell said on Wednesday, as tension over the future of coal, oil and gas came to the fore. Stiell was […]

Climate finance in the spotlight at COP28 climate talks

President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attends a meeting with Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, within the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 3rd December, 2023.

Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters Money pledges stacked up at COP28 in Dubai on Monday as delegates sought to address the huge gap between what is needed in climate finance and the amounts so far on offer.  The United Arab Emirates, the host of this year’s conference, pledged to mobilise $US270 billion in green finance by […]

COP28 focus on health draws $US777 million to fight tropical disease

Members of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations hold placards during a protest demanding an end to fossil fuels at COP28 World Climate Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 3rd December, 2023.

Dubai, United Arab EmiratesReuters The United Arab Emirates and several charities at the UN climate summit on Sunday offered $US777 million in financing for eradicating neglected tropical diseases that are expected to worsen as temperatures climb. Climate-related factors “have become one of the greatest threats to human health in the 21st century”, COP28 President Sultan […]