The Qatar Economic Forum fuels ambition and innovation
In this episode, Laila Humairah interviews financial elites, policymakers and deal-making executives who showcase cutting-edge innovations that contribute to sustainable growth.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ
ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ
ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ
ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ
ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ
ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤ
In this episode of Energy Frontiers, COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev calls for urgent climate action and accountability from world leaders ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
Speaking to Euronews, Babayev stresses the need to move beyond pledges and into implementation—highlighting outcomes from COP29 in Baku, including a $300 billion climate finance target and progress on Article 6 carbon markets.
With climate leadership fragmented and global emissions still rising, Babayev says 2025 must be a turning point: 'It's time for developed countries to deliver real support to the developing world.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
EU-Iran talks: Door open to dialogue but no concrete breakthroughs yet
That's it from the Euronews team for now as we stop following developments on day eight of the Iran-Israel conflict and close the live blog. Before we sign off, here's a summary of some of the key events from Friday evening. Our journalists will be back with more live coverage from Saturday morning. Day eight summary - The EU's Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas has said that talks with Iran must remain open after discussions in Geneva. - Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said it is important that the US is involved in further talks, while his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, said Iran is prepared to continue discussions. - British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that "we are keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and we urge Iran to continue their talks with the United States." - In an update to the UN Security Council, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place. - UN Secretary General António Guterres warned the Security Council that any expansion of the Iran-Israel conflict could start a fire that no one can control, saying "We are not drifting toward crisis – we are racing toward it." The British government said it is working with Israeli authorities to provide charter flights to evacuate UK nationals from the country. - The UK, Ireland and Switzerland have all announced the temporary withdrawal of staff from their embassies in the Iranian capital Tehran due to the deteriorating security situation. - Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council that 50 Israeli warplanes planes entered Iraqi airspace, in what he called "violations of international law."
Euronews
20 hours ago
- Euronews
Air Astana CEO reveals plans to boost market value
As Central Asia's only airline listed on three stock exchanges, Kazakhstan's flagship carrier Air Astana has led the region's aviation sector for over 20 years. Since its IPO in February 2024, the airline's share price has dipped. Ahead of their half year results, Euronews sat down with Air Astana's CEO, Peter Foster, to discuss his plans to raise share prices and expand Kazakhstan's flag carrier's global presence. Q: How do you assess investor sentiment following Air Astana's IPO, and what key strategies do you plan to implement to maintain stock and shareholder value? A: The stock price has been a bit disappointing since the IPO in February of last year — the stock price has declined. The main point to make is that the company, in fact, has performed extremely well and continues to do so. So of course, our job is to manage the company to the best of our ability and of course to maximise shareholder value. We have recently announced a very substantial dividend. In fact, the largest dividend that we've ever paid, and one of the largest dividends in the airline industry today. And that's a reflection of the strong performance, of the strong balance sheet, the strong cash balance. We believe that if we continue to manage the company well and if it performs well, the stock price will follow eventually. The key really is to continue managing the airline in the way that we have in all [my] 20 years here: To keep focussed on cost, to keep cost competitive so that the airline remains competitive in an increasingly challenging global marketplace and to maximise service levels to ensure top class safety standards and by doing so, we can leverage the quality of the product to ensure the airline continues being profitable. Q: You have outlined major strategic opportunities for international growth — in the Gulf, Western Europe, China, Korea, Japan and India. What would these partnerships entail? A: Kazakhstan is a country of 20 million people and yet Air Astana today is at 62 aircraft and of course we intend to grow that to 84 aircraft by the end of 2028. When you look at the size of Air Astana and growth profile and the overall size of the Kazakhstan market, you see that of course we are proud to serve the Kazakhstan market and Kazakhstan's travellers, but it's not sufficient to enable the airline to grow as we are doing into a significant international airline player. Therefore, we absolutely need to leverage our position in close proximity to some of the world's largest markets to ensure that we are also getting a significant portion of our customers from those large markets which are much bigger than Kazakhstan. The best way to leverage that geographical position is to work with partner airlines from those countries. We're presently in discussions with China Southern in China, we are having discussions with carriers in India, we've recently signed a code share with Japan Airlines for the Japanese market, we have an existing commercial relationship with Lufthansa for western Europe, with Turkish Airlines for Turkey. So, this is the way that an airline of our aspiration with a home market that is relatively small can leverage the quality of the airline and the geography of location of the airline with partners to expand beyond its own borders. Q: With the current shortage of fuel-efficient aircraft, how is Air Astana adapting its operational strategies? A: The manufacturers and the engine manufacturers introduced new engine technology from NASA ten years ago. Without going into technical detail, it was technology that was primarily driven by the need to provide higher bypass engines, which are more fuel-efficient. You get more power from less fuel burned, which saves the airline money and of course, it's more environmentally sustainable. In fact, on an average flight, it takes to London [from Astana], a 7.5-hour flight, we can save up to 20-25% more fuel than would have been burning in the past times. So that's very good. The problem with that is that the engine technology is relatively new, complex and it has been subject to reliability issues which are ongoing and so we're not getting quite the efficiency or the sustainability readings that we had hoped for. But those problems will resolve themselves in time and therefore we can expect to get the full benefits both in terms of economics and the environment as we go forward. Q: What green technologies or sustainability initiatives is Air Astana adopting to contribute to Kazakhstan's net-zero goals? A: We were one of the first movers to bring in the Airbus neo long-range aircraft. In fact, we were the first airline to sign for those aircraft at Paris Air Show ten years ago. They are significantly better, more optimal than the previous engine technology that was deployed on aircraft on those long routes and we will continue to introduce those aircraft in order to meet the sustainability targets. The manufacturers are working on enhanced technology in terms of aerodynamics, in terms of wing design, in terms of engine design, as we go forward. But inevitably the significant portion of our realisation of net zero will come from carbon credits and the CORSIA scheme (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation), which has been introduced and endorsed by the United Nations and all member states. China has approved a number of rare earth export licences, a move that could provide modest relief to global manufacturers struggling with supply disruptions. But with export volumes still sharply down and no transparency on which firms benefit, Europe's automotive industry remains vulnerable to further disruption. At a press conference on Thursday, China's commerce ministry confirmed it had approved 'a certain number' of export licence applications for rare earths and magnets. These minerals are used in an array of high-tech products such as smartphones and jet engines. Rare earths such as neodymium, dysprosium and terbium are indispensable for producing lightweight, high-efficiency motors in electric and hybrid vehicles. China's announcement follows months of tension sparked by Beijing's decision in April to impose new export controls on seven rare earth elements and related products — just days after Washington introduced steep tariffs on Chinese goods. According to commerce ministry spokesperson He Yadong, China will 'continue to strengthen the review and approval' of licence applications and remains 'willing to enhance communication and dialogue' on export controls. The updated tone from Beijing also arrives just weeks before a major EU-China summit set for 24 to 25 July in Beijing, commemorating 50 years of diplomatic relations. Chinese customs data shows the stark impact of the restrictions. Exports of rare earth magnets plunged 74% in May compared to a year earlier, the steepest drop in over a decade. Shipments to the United States fell by 93%, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Total export volumes for May stood at just 1.2 million kilograms, the lowest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Earlier April exports also dropped by 45% year-on-year. JL Mag Rare-Earth, a major Chinese magnet supplier to Tesla, Bosch and General Motor, said last week that it had begun receiving licences for shipments to the US, Europe and Southeast Asia. Since April, hundreds of export licence applications have been submitted to Chinese authorities, but only about one-quarter have reportedly been approved. Some firms have encountered requests to disclose IP-sensitive information, while others have faced outright rejections based on unclear procedural grounds. ING economist Rico Luman indicated that with 'nearly 70% of global rare earth production and more than 90% of processing taking place in China, the world remains heavily reliant' on the country. Though rare earths are not geologically scarce — cerium, for instance, is more abundant than copper — their extraction is costly, and mineable concentrations are rare. "It's not a question of scarcity, but of concentration," Luman added. China also supplies more than 90% of the world's demand for rare earth permanent magnets, frequently used in electric motors and wind turbines. Without access to these materials, the European automotive supply chain risks paralysis. The automotive sector relies heavily on rare earth magnets for electric motors, power steering, sensors and other components used in both combustion and electric vehicles. 'China's export restrictions are already shutting down production in Europe's supplier sector,' Benjamin Krieger, Secretary General of CLEPA, warned earlier this spring. His call for 'transparent, proportionate' licensing remains relevant, even as some licences begin to clear. The European Chamber of Commerce in China confirmed that while some progress has been made, challenges persist. 'The situation is improving, although the percentage of cleared licences does vary. Additionally, even once the licence is given, delays can still be seen in customs clearances,' said Adam Dunnett, the Chamber's secretary general. Beijing's latest move to ease export restrictions on key components for the automotive industry offers only limited relief to a sector under strain. The European automotive industry, already grappling with competition from lower-cost Chinese electric vehicles, remains vulnerable to material shortages, delays and discretionary actions from Beijing — thereby reinforcing China's leverage in global trade negotiations.
Euronews
a day ago
- Euronews
Uzbekistan steps up Aral Sea recovery and support for green business
Uzbekistan has announced two major environmental initiatives: the expansion of ecological recovery projects in Karakalpakstan, the region most affected by the Aral Sea crisis and the upcoming launch of a national green certification system for businesses. The announcements were made on the sidelines of Eco Expo Central Asia 2025, which served as a platform to highlight Uzbekistan's ongoing environmental reforms. In recent years, more than 2 million hectares of vegetation have been planted on the dried seabed of the Aral Sea in Karakalpakstan, a region once known for its ecological devastation. The afforestation has reduced dust storms and improved local air and soil conditions. Now, the government is entering a new phase of work in the region, focused on biosaline agriculture - using salty water to irrigate crops, climate-resilient farming and sustainable water use. 'Our goal is to transform Karakalpakstan from an environmental disaster zone into a model of sustainable development,' Aziz Abdukhakimov, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change told Euronews. 'This is where nature, economy, and community can exist in balance'. A dedicated Karakalpakstan pavilion at the Expo showcased these efforts and invited new international partnerships. Another major step announced at the Expo is the launch of a national green certification programme, aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) transition to cleaner, more sustainable practices. 'Many businesses still view environmental standards as a burden,' Abdukhakimov said. 'This initiative will shift that perception by improving access to green financing, international grants, and concessional loans'. The programme will be implemented in collaboration with green banks and development partners, making it easier for SMEs to adopt eco-friendly technologies and practices. Sabine Mahl, UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan, welcomed the announcements, highlighting the country's effort to balance climate action with social equity. 'In Uzbekistan, we see strong progress toward a just transition — protecting the environment while also supporting the most vulnerable', she said. Mahl also praised the Aral Sea programme as a globally relevant model of ecological restoration. The national pavilion at Eco Expo is more than just a display. It's a platform for partnership, dialogue, and innovation aimed at shaping a sustainable tourism agenda and green economy across Central Asia. With representatives from over 30 countries and 20 international organisations, the event served as a platform not just for showcasing technologies, but for setting new policy directions. For Uzbekistan, the Expo was a way to show what it's doing to protect the climate and grow in a greener way. The 32°C heat expected in large parts of England tomorrow has been made 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change, an extremely rapid scientific analysis shows. Prior to the mass burning of coal, oil and gas, a day reaching 32°C heat in June would be extremely rare in the UK - arriving once every 2,500 years on average. Now, with the world teetering 1.3°C above pre-industrial times, such days will strike once every five years. That's according to the World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international team of scientists who analyse the possible influence of climate change on extreme weather events. They typically take longer to produce a full attribution analysis, which uses climate models and weather data. Today's report is a slimmer, lightning-fast piece of research that highlights the 'overlooked threat' of extreme heat on people's health. 'It is totally insane we have political leaders in the UK trying to drag us back to the past with calls for more fossil fuels,' says co-author Dr Friederike Otto, Associate Professor in Climate Science at Imperial College London's Centre for Environmental Policy. 'The climate will continue to drive increasingly dangerous heatwaves, fires and floods in the UK until emissions are reduced to net zero globally.' WWA's analysis follows a Met Office report released on Wednesday, which found the UK's chance of 40°C days has been increasing rapidly and is now over 20 times more likely than it was in the 1960s. A week of intense heat in the UK is expected to peak on Saturday, with temperatures as high as 34°C possible in eastern England according to the Met Office forecast on Thursday. In the UK, a heatwave is called when temperatures exceed a certain threshold, which varies from region to region, for three consecutive days. In southeast England, that level is 28°C. WWA's study shows that these heatwave conditions are now 10 times more likely due to climate change. Before humans heated the climate with fossil fuels, such events were expected every 50 years. Today, the likelihood is every five years. Overall, June heatwaves are now 2-4°C more intense due to climate change, the scientists say. A previous WWA analysis of the 2022 UK heatwave - when temperatures exceeded 40°C for the first time - found that climate change made the temperatures 2°C hotter and about 100 times more likely. 'Saturday could well end up being the hottest day so far this year, with highs around 33°C locally from Lincolnshire to the London area,' Lars Lowinski, a meteorologist at Weather and Radar who wasn't involved in the study, told Euronews Green earlier in the week. 'This is quite exceptional for June. The highest 21 June so far was in 2017 when 34.5°C was recorded in the London area. The overall June record in the UK is 35.6°C in 1976.' The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an Amber Heat Health Alert for the whole of England, from midday yesterday until 9am on Monday 23 June, to prepare the health and social care sector. 'For the most vulnerable, temperatures above 28°C are dangerous in the UK, especially in June, before people have acclimatised to hotter weather,' says Maja Vahlberg, technical advisor at Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and WWA report co-author. 'Sadly, most people die from heat indoors and alone, especially older populations and people with underlying health conditions, such as lung or heart disease.' Dr Agostinho Sousa, Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at UKHSA, has urged people to 'check on friends, family and neighbours who are more vulnerable and to take sensible precautions while enjoying the sun.' But WWA's report points to more structural issues too, flagging the need for urgent climate adaptation in the UK. Dr Otto describes the way heat risks are magnified by inequality: 'People working in air-conditioned offices will probably be okay this week, but poorer people working outdoors, in kitchens, and in other hot environments endure these conditions all day and then return to poorly insulated flats that can become dangerously hot. 'Making our societies more equal is essential to reduce the impacts of climate change.' Theodore Keeping, wildfire researcher at Imperial College London's Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, also flags the high risk of wildfires this week - given soaring temperatures follow an extremely dry spring. 'People going outside to enjoy the warm weather should not be using fire or disposable barbecues, dispose of cigarette butts carefully and should immediately notify emergency services if they do notice a fire,' he says.
