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  • Lebanon devalues official exchange rate by 90%

    Lebanon devalued its official exchange rate for the first time in 25 years on Wednesday, weakening it by 90% but still leaving the local currency well below its market value. The pound has crashed since a financial meltdown in 2019 after decades of corruption, profligate spending and mismanagement by the ruling elite in Lebanon which has left the crisis to fester despite soaring poverty.

  • $1 Trillion of Oil and Gas Assets Risk Being Stranded by Climate Change

    But there are currently about 3,600 gigatons of CO2 in the world’s known coal, oil and gas reserves. Publicly traded companies like Exxon, Shell, bp, Chevron, Glencore and so on have about 1,060 gigatons of CO2 in their reserves, while state-owned entities own the rest. So there’s about 10 times more fossil fuel reserves than we can burn if we stick to no more than 1.5 degrees. So these companies are all trying to compete for the remaining share of the 300 gigatons. But the vast majority of the fossil fuel reserves of these companies — as much as 90% — will likely have to remain in the ground. That’s the core problem of stranded assets.

  • Climate Change May Have Impacted Rise And Fall Of Middle Eastern Civilizations

    ”Some 4,200 years ago, there was an Early Bronze Age community in Konar Sandal near Jiroft. Agriculture thrived, and an urban complex has been partly excavated at the site. However, something triggered the collapse of this highly developed Bronze Age community, and we were interested in what this could have been,” says Joyanto Routh, Professor at the Department for Thematic Studies at Linköping University, who led the study published in the Quaternary Science Reviews.

  • $1 Trillion of Oil and Gas Assets Risk Being Stranded by Climate Change

    Stranded assets are now generally accepted to be those assets that at some time prior to the end of their economic life (as assumed at the investment decision point), are no longer able to earn an economic return (i.e., meet the company’s internal rate of return), as a result of changes associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy (lower than anticipated demand/prices). Or, in simple terms, assets that turn out to be worth less than expected as a result of changes associated with the energy transition.

  • State-owned enterprises can lead the charge against climate change in the Middle East and North Africa

    Governments can play a part in setting ambitions and in the MENA region, increasingly, they are. However, companies undertake most economic activity and thus, the private sector will ultimately need to bear the responsibility of delivering sustainability action. In the MENA region, the 20 largest SOEs are taking the lead in some areas but must still deliver more consistent emission measurement, disclosures and target setting. Going forward, they can help smaller private and public companies in the region make rapid progress by:

  • World Bank seeks more funds to address climate change, other crises

    The World Bank is seeking to vastly expand its lending capacity to address climate change and other global crises and will negotiate with shareholders ahead of April meetings on proposals that include a capital increase and new lending tools, according to an "evolution roadmap" seen by Reuters on Monday. The roadmap document - sent to shareholder governments - marks the start of a negotiation process to alter the bank's mission and financial resources and shift it away from a country- and project-specific lending model used since its creation at the end of World War Two

  • Saudi Arabia celebrates step change in Christmas festivities

    The change of tone has been welcomed by some Saudis, including those who have studied abroad. One Saudi professional said that several of his friends enjoyed Christmas. “Young couples, western-educated Saudis with kids,” he said of those he knew who marked the occasion. “It’s usually for the kids, the presents and the celebratory atmosphere,” he added. The conservatism of previous times was waning, he continued, while also requesting anonymity so he could speak candidly. “They were [in previous years] closing down flower shops over Valentine’s Day, now they’re allowing people to celebrate Christmas. It’s a step forward for liberalism.”

  • Saudi Arabia celebrates step change in Christmas festivities

    This is not the first time that Christmas paraphernalia has been on sale in Saudi Arabia; restrictions on the celebration have been gradually easing for a few years. But 2022 marks a step change for a country where almost all Christians are expatriates, and where traditionally any form of worship other than Islam has been prohibited. Shoppers in one Riyadh shopping centre were this month treated to festive lights, Christmas trees and a toy polar bear holding a stringless cello.

  • Cultural exchange can foster a peaceful coexistence in the Middle East

    Cultural exchange is based on the will of individuals, groups, and nations to reach out to each other and better learn, or re-learn, to live together. This can involve the exchange of cultural symbols and artifacts, the alignment of historical narratives by revisiting controversial episodes of common history, offering reconciled versions to the new generations, the parameters of which are based on mutual understanding and respect, and recognition of the fact that difference in matters of faith, culture, and association is a basic human right.

  • Riyadh Cables debuts on Saudi exchange

    Riyadh Cables Group Company, which recently raised $378 million from an initial public offering (IPO), has made its debut on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). The maker of power and telecom cables began trading its shares on Monday on the Saudi bourse’s main market with the symbol 4142, and with a 30% daily price fluctuation limit for the first three days.