World

UAE names oil company chief to lead UN climate talks COP28

Published

2 years ago

2023-01-13

“Sultan al-Jaber has the credentials and background to lean into existing trends,” said Ryan Bohl, a Mideast analyst with the RANE Network, a risk-intelligence organization. “As an oilman, I don’t think that will be a major danger for him.”

Al-Jaber, a long-time climate envoy who is 49 years old, is in favor of “a pragmatic, practical, and solutions-oriented approach” to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050, according to the Emirates’ state-run WAM. According to scientists, this restriction can avoid or at least mitigate some of the most devastating future climate change effects.

However, Al-nomination Jaber’s was met with swift condemnation. According to Harjeet Singh, the head of Global Political Strategy at Climate Action Network International, al-position Jaber’s as CEO of an oil corporation presents an “unusual and worrisome conflict of interest.”

“Polluters have no place in a climate conference, let alone presiding over a COP,” Singh remarked.

UAE Has More Climate Talks

“You wouldn’t ask arms merchants to conduct peace talks,” said Alice Harrison of Global Witness. So, why should oil execs be in charge of climate talks?” Greenpeace expressed “grave concern” about al-appointment, Jaber’s saying it “sets a hazardous precedent, jeopardizing the UAE’s reputation and the faith that has been placed in them.”

Each year, the country hosting the United Nations deliberations known as the Conference of the Parties — from which the acronym COP is derived — chooses a chairperson. Because the talks can be extremely difficult to direct between rival states and their interests, the hosts usually choose a senior diplomat. Delegates normally confirm the nominee’s position as “COP president” without opposition before the commencement of the negotiations.

When asked if Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thinks someone linked with fossil fuels should lead COP28, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. had “absolutely no participation” in the selection.

“Having said that, the evidence is crystal clear: We are losing the battle to mitigate the worst effects of the climate disaster,” Dujarric added. “The secretary-general reiterates that there is no way to avoid such a climatic disaster unless we abandon our reliance on fossil fuels.”

Foreign Minister Chastised

The caliber of COP presidents has shifted over time. Most people thought that Alok Sharma of the United Kingdom was energetic and driven to reach a high goal.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, on the other hand, was chastised by some for the chaotic and, at times, the opaque manner in which he presided over the meeting last year.

During the summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which Shoukry oversaw, a call by countries such as India and the United States for a phase-down of oil and natural gas, for example, was not discussed publicly.

Activists are concerned that the COP being held in a Mideast country relying on fossil fuel sales for the second year in a row may result in something similar happening in the Emirates.

According to WAM, the UAE has spent “more than $50 billion in renewable energy projects across 70 nations, with oil intentions to invest at least $50 billion over the next decade.”

30 Billion Invested In Renewable Energy

Masdar announced Friday that it had invested or committed $30 billion in renewable energy projects and oil. According to the New York-based research firm Global SWF, Mubadala, UAE Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, has invested $3.9 billion in renewable energy since 2018.

According to Global SWF, Mubadala invested $9.8 billion in oil and gas projects during the same period.

The UAE is home to a major solar park in Dubai and the Arabian Peninsula’s only atomic energy source, the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant. But it takes a lot of energy to run the desalination plants that bring green golf courses to the desert areas, the air conditioners that keep the huge malls cool in the summer, and heavy industries like aluminum smelters.

The UAE’s renewable energy policy expanded in the mid-2000s when its real-estate boom saw it build its tallest and enormous, palm-shaped archipelagos off its coast. At the time, the World Wildlife Fund said that each person in the UAE had the largest ecological footprint per capita in the world. This meant that on average, each person in the UAE used more resources than people in any other country. The UAE continues to rank highly on comparable lists.

UAE Says Lessons Were Learned

The Masdar City project arose from this fear of becoming tarnished before being scaled back.

“We had access to lessons learned that no one else had because we did it and invested money,” al-Jaber told The Associated Press in 2010. “We must learn, change, adapt, and progress. We can’t be too strict.”

The UAE then transformed Masdar City into a campus that today houses the United Nations International Renewable Energy Agency and the enterprise itself, which is investing in renewables both at home and abroad. In 2016, before leaving office as America’s vice president, Joe Biden visited Masdar City.

Analysts say that the Emirates is trying to make as much money as possible before the world moves toward renewable energy. The UAE has committed to be carbon neutral by 2050, a challenging aim to analyze and one that authorities still need to clearly define how they’ll achieve.

The UAE “has made no bones about being a significant oil and gas producer, and presumably, he is extremely well linked to the country’s leadership,” according to Alden Meyer of the environmental think group E3G. “I hope (al-Jaber) has strong diplomatic and negotiation abilities and the capacity to reach consensus and compromise.”

COP28 will be hosted at Dubai’s Expo City from November 30 to December 12.

SOURCE – (AP)

World

Biden Escalates Ukraine War With Long-Range Missiles

Published

3 days ago

2024-11-18

Geoff Brown

The Kremlin announced on Monday that President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with US military long-range missiles is “fuel to the fire” and will exacerbate international tensions.

Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to employ US military long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia has raised concerns about growing tensions, with many fearing that this decision could lead to world conflict.

On Monday, with less than two months remaining in office, President Joe Biden authorized American-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike deep within Russia.

“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict,” said Peskov, the spokesman for the president.

Peskov reminded journalists of a September statement by President Vladimir Putin, who stated that enabling Ukraine to target Russia would dramatically raise the stakes.

It would alter “the very nature of the conflict dramatically,” Putin stated. This would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries would be at war with Russia.”

Peskov asserted that Western countries that deliver longer-range weaponry also provide targeting services to Kyiv. “This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict,” he said.

Ukraine War Escalation

In June, Putin threatened that if NATO permitted Ukraine to utilize the arsenal of its partners to attack Russian territory, Moscow would send longer-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.

“The Westerners supply weapons to Ukraine and say: ‘We do not control anything here anymore and it does not matter how they are used.'” Putin had said. “We can also say, ‘We supplied something to someone — and now we have no control over anything.'” “And let them think about it.”

Putin again emphasized Moscow’s willingness to deploy nuclear weapons if it perceived a threat to its sovereignty.

Biden’s decision will “mean the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in military action against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated.

The new policy has unpredictable consequences. ATACMS, with a range of roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles), can travel deep behind Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, although their range is modest compared to other types of ballistic and cruise missiles.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has not responded, but he won the election on promises to stop the conflict, and some people close to him have decried the action as a hazardous escalation.

Missile Decision Sparks Anger

The Military Industrial Complex appears to want to start World War III before my father has a chance to restore peace and rescue lives. We need to lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!! Imbeciles!” Donald Trump Jr., the President-elect’s son, posted on X

“On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles against Russia,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on X. “The American people gave a mandate on November 5 against these exact American last decisions.”

Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” speculated that the stories were a “trial balloon to disrupt Trump” and that Biden may not have authorized the ATACMS strikes yet.

According to Dani Belo, PhD, Director of Security and International Relations at Global Policy Horizons Research Lab, Ukraine’s ability to currently hit Russian territory has the potential to escalate the war with Russia.

However, Donald Trump’s victory is likely to moderate the escalation.

There is speculation that Donald Trump’s administration would restrict military hardware deliveries to Ukraine, putting political pressure on Kyiv to resolve the crisis. This implies Ukraine has no motivation to escalate now and lose its fighting capability in a matter of months.

Russia sees no reason to escalate the situation at this time. Moscow expects that Trump’s administration will try to finish the war soon, so the Kremlin will likely take a wait-and-see approach until the new presidential administration takes office without significantly escalating the conflict. As a result, any escalation is unlikely.

Source: AP

Trump Shakes Up Pentagon Names Pete Hegseth Defence Secretary

Trump Shakes Up Pentagon Names Pete Hegseth Defence Secretary

World

A Court Filing Reveals Elon Musk Flatly Rejected OpenAI’s ICO in 2018.

Published

6 days ago

2024-11-15

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – Elon Musk, the billionaire and CEO of Tesla, claims in a subsequent court filing that was submitted on November 14 that he was successful in stopping OpenAI from doing an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2018.

According to the filing requirements, this information was disclosed.

Musk and his legal team have claimed that two of OpenAI’s founders, Greg Brockman and Sam Altman, tried unsuccessfully to create a token in early 2018 to help the company grow. To the best of our knowledge, this was the founders’ intention.

Elon Musk accurately described the scenario.

Elon Musk made the remark during the pertinent time period, according to the lawsuit’s accusations.

This, in his opinion, would lead to a significant decline in trust in OpenAI and everyone involved in the initial coin offering (ICO). These statements are extracted from his initial declaration.

A unique project backed by Altman, Worldcoin launched a token twenty-three years ago with the goal of creating digital identification for verified individuals.

Furthermore, the company in charge of token distribution was Worldcoin. Through the use of the token, Worldcoin was able to authenticate individual identities.

When OpenAI was first founded, it was a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe artificial general intelligence (AGI).

In this context, the acronym AGI stands for artificial global intelligence. “Musk has continuously voiced concern about the grave threat that these sophisticated systems pose to humanity,” his attorney wrote in the complaint. These sophisticated technologies represent a serious threat to humankind.

“Musk remains apprehensive regarding this threat.” “Musk regards these threats with the utmost seriousness.” “Elon Musk has harbored these concerns for an extended period.”

This led to Musk joining OpenAI’s board of directors and continuing to serve as co-chair of the board. Furthermore, he was appointed to that board of directors post.

Elon Musk contributed $44 million to the enterprise.

OpenAI declared in a March 5th news release that it was imperative that the company adopt a profit-making structure in order to obtain the necessary funding to achieve its objectives. In order to enable OpenAI to fulfill its objectives, this transition was necessary.

According to both the OpenAI statement and the amended filing, Elon Musk advocated for the combination of OpenAI and Tesla to help the artificial intelligence startup with its financial issues.

The aforementioned measures were implemented to mitigate the challenges that the organization was facing at that specific moment. Musk submitted his resignation as an OpenAI employee in February 2018.

He founded his own artificial intelligence company, which he named XAI, in the ensuing years. His efforts directly led to the achievement he achieved.

We are deeply disappointed that our friendship with someone we have always held in the highest respect has deteriorated.

As we started to make significant strides toward OpenAI’s goal on our own, this person, who had previously motivated us to achieve greater heights, abruptly predicted that we would fail, established a rival company, and filed a lawsuit against us, according to the group’s press release.

In August of this year, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEOs, Altman and Brockman, claiming that they had violated federal RICO statutes, engaged in unfair competition, and committed fraud. OpenAI is the target of legal action taken by Elon Musk.

According to Elon Musk, they have engaged in additional illegal activity. Microsoft was named as one of the defendants in the dispute in the updated complaint, which was submitted on November 14.

It’s being presented as a case at the moment. Microsoft and OpenAI started working together in 2019, and Microsoft committed $1 billion in the partnership.

In July 2023, OpenAI’s native cryptocurrency, Worldcoin (WLD), was made available to the general public. Not too long ago, an article published by The Block disclosed this knowledge. When the market closed on November 15 at 11:36 p.m. Eastern Time (16:36 UTC), the price of a share of WLD was $2.21.

SOURCE: TB

World

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Geoff Brown

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

President-elect Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), sending Democrats and Big Pharma allies into a tailspin.

“I am delighted to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and medicine firms, which have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation regarding public health,” Trump stated in his announcement.

“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play an important role in ensuring that everyone is safe from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to this country’s overwhelming health crisis.

Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to gold-standard scientific Research and Transparency traditions, stopping the Chronic Disease Epidemic and making America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump added.

Reactions to RFK Jr HHS Appointment

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy is a former environmental justice lawyer who has recently started an anti-vaccine nonprofit. He ran for president as an independent candidate in 2024 but dropped out to join Trump’s closest circle.

House Republicans have reacted to Donald Trump’s nomination of former presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.

Chip Roy, a Texas congressman, calls it “great news”. He tells me, “We need disruption throughout the federal government.” He’ll be fantastic at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] to do that.”

Roy adds that he expects Kennedy’s candidacy will clear the Senate.

“There’s been a few Kennedy’s in the Senate in the past so maybe there’ll be some legacy there that they will want to move him through,” he speculates.

South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman concurs with Roy on Kennedy’s confirmation in the Senate: “I believe he was an excellent choice by the president, as have all of them. Kennedy is interested in, and passionate about, the medical industry. He will do a terrific job with it.”

According to Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group focused on consumer protection, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health.”

He should not be allowed to enter the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be appointed director of the nation’s public health agency.”

“Donald Trump’s mishandling of public health policies during the Covid outbreak resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. “By appointing Kennedy as secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another policy-driven public health disaster,” the organization continued.

Apu Akkad, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, described the statement as a “scary day for public health”.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical stocks such as Pfizer and Moderna plummeted following news of Kennedy’s nomination for HHS Secretary, as investors considered his potential impact on vaccine sales.

Novavax and BioNTech finished down more than 7%, with almost all losses occurring when word of the selection broke—Novavax shares fell to $7.22, and BioNTech shares fell to $103.56.

Moderna’s stock closed 5.6% at $39.77, reaching its lowest point of the year.

Sanofi’s stock fell 3.4% to $47.82, continuing a weeks-long share price decline that began after the company’s latest earnings report last month.

Pfizer lost less than its competitors on Thursday, closing down 2.6% at $26.02, despite having its sharpest drop of the day immediately following the RFK Jr. announcement.