Workers approve latest contract at Boeing supplier Spirit

By AFP
Published June 29, 2023

After rejecting an earlier contract, workers at Boeing supplier Spirit Aerosystems ratified a new contract, ending a strike at the Wichita, Kansas plant - Copyright AFP/File TIMOTHY A. CLARY

Striking workers at Spirit Aerosystems, a key Boeing supplier, will return to the factory after approving an enhanced four-year labor contract, the union said Thursday.

The International Association of Machinists (IAM) and Aerospace Workers, which launched a strike last week at the Wichita, Kansas plant after rejecting an earlier pact, announced the ratification in a press release.

The plant builds parts for the Boeing 737 MAX and 787, playing a major role in Boeing’s supply chain for its two best-selling jets.

“We knew these negotiations were not going to be your typical set of talks,” said IAM Local 839 Chief Negotiator Jason Baze.

“Our membership clearly said the original offer was unacceptable by rejecting it soundly. The committee returned to the table to address their concerns.”

After the initial contract was overwhelmingly rejected, representatives of Spirit agreed to sweeten the package following talks with the union’s team.

According to Spirit, highlights of the contract included: maintaining the workers’ existing health care plan; increased pay and sign-on bonuses of $3,000 cash.

Striking workers will return to their jobsites on July 5.

Three French airports paralysed as air controllers strike


By AFP
Published June 29, 2023

Beauvais is a favourite for low-cost airlines - Copyright AFP Nhac NGUYEN

France’s civil air authority said Thursday it had ordered airlines to cancel flights to and from three airports because of a strike by air traffic controllers.

The airports include Beauvais — the main French hub for Irish carrier Ryanair and other budget airlines — as well as Brest, in the far west of the country, and Carcassonne, in the south.

The DGAC air authority had asked Wednesday for half the Beauvais flights to be cancelled, but Thursday called for a complete grounding of planes “given the widespread support for the strike seen at air traffic controller unions in Beauvais, Brest and Carcassonne”.

The strike, over working conditions, follows sporadic stoppages by air traffic controllers seen between March and May in protest against the government’s reform of the French pensions system.

Thursday’s strike did not affect the main French airports, the DGAC said, or carriers flying over France.

Beauvais, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Paris, is France’s 10th busiest airport with 4.6 million passengers in 2022.

Staff at Geneva airport go on strike for the first time in its history

By Daniel Bellamy  •  Updated: 30/06/2023 - 18:55

About a thousand workers at Geneva airport went on strike early on Friday morning in protest at the freezing of their wages.

The walkout, which started at 4am, affected around 8,000 travellers as dozens of flights were cancelled.

One traveller tweeted a photo of the departures board showing the cancelled flights.

But the possibility of another strike on Saturday was averted, after local authorities in the canton of Geneva who own the airport, intervened.

An agreement was made with the striker's union to delay the wage freeze for at least a year and a joint commission was established.

"We're having more and more difficulty simply getting wages indexed to the cost of living. So obviously, in such a context, attacking salary mechanisms and therefore lowering them, when the company is making a profit, obviously provokes resistance, and staff have no other solution," said  Pierre-Yves Maillard, the president of the Swiss Trade Union.

But Pierre Bernheim, president of Geneva Airport, said: “I'm sad because they are taking passengers, who may have saved money for a long time, hostage.”

Although very disrupted, air traffic has been partially resumed, bringing some relief to passengers who, in Switzerland, are not accustomed to this type of situation.

Inflation dropped slightly in the eurozone the EU statistics agency Eurostat announced on Friday from 6.1% to 5.5%.

It's the first strike at the airport, which is Switzerland’s second-busiest, since it opened in 1919. Around 18 million passengers used it last year.

Strike grounds flights at Geneva airport

By AFP
Published June 30, 2023

Travellers queued to enter Geneva International Airport before the strike was extended to last through Saturday - Copyright AFP Farooq NAEEM

A strike paralysed Geneva airport on Friday, grounding flights for two days at Switzerland’s second-busiest airport at the start of the busy summer travel season.

Airport employees initially walked off the job from 6:00-10:00 am (0400 GMT and 0800 GMT), forcing the cancellation of dozens of flights.

But shortly before the strike was due to end, staff gathered outside the terminal voted to prolong the walkout until the end of Saturday.

An airport spokesman said on Thursday that some 8,000 passengers would likely be affected by the four-hour walkout at the airport, a key hub for the EasyJet budget carrier.

A number of international flights from North America and the Middle East had been delayed in order to arrive after the initial strike was due to end, according to a tweet by the airport on Friday.

The strike was called after the airport’s board approved on Thursday a new wage policy contested by staff.

Many police and security staff were posted in front of the terminal and only passengers for flights scheduled for after the initial strike period had been allowed inside.

Striking workers and trade unionists were protesting outside the terminal’s main entrance.

It is the first-ever strike by staff directly employed by the airport, as opposed to subcontractors, and according to Swiss airline includes air traffic controllers as well as those which guide planes along the tarmac.

“In Switzerland strikes are very rare” as they may be called only after a process of consultations, said Claire Pellegrin, head of the airport staff commission.

“It’s the last option that we never thought we’d get to,” she added.

A trade unionist said it was difficult to understand how they had arrived at the impasse.

“The airport is a profitable business which enjoys a monopoly and is attacking the conditions of its staff,” said Pierre-Yves Maillard, head of the Swiss Trade Union Confederation (USS), who turned out to support the strikers.

Nearly 6.8 million passengers used the Geneva airport between January and May, according to official statistics.

The aviation industry has been keen to avoid a repeat of the chaos seen at European airports last year.

The sector struggled to cope with a surge in travel as it was severely understaffed after laying off thousands during the Covid pandemic.

Passengers faced huge lines, misplaced luggage and flight delays.

Other European airports and airlines have also faced strikes by staff.

64 flights cancelled at Geneva airport over strike

By AFP
Published June 30, 2023

Dozens of flights were cancelled at Geneva airport on Friday due a strike by staff

 - Copyright AFP Farooq NAEEM

Some 64 flights were cancelled at Geneva’s international airport on Friday, it said, after operations were halted for four hours because of a strike by workers at the start of the busy summer travel season.

“Because of the social action… the direction decided a temporary halt of operations from 6:00 am to 10:00 am (0400 GMT and 0800 GMT),” the airport said in a tweet early on Friday. “64 flights — arrivals and departures — cancelled.”

An airport spokesman said on Thursday that some 8,000 passengers were estimated to be affected by the cancellations at Switzerland’s second airport, a key hub for the EasyJet budget carrier.

Numerous international flights from North America and the Middle East were affected.

The strike was called after the airport’s board approved on Thursday a new wage policy contested by staff, and could be renewed for the days ahead.

Many police and security staff were posted in front of the terminal and only passengers for flights scheduled for after the strike period were being allowed inside.

About 50 striking workers and trade unionists were protesting outside the terminal’s main entrance.

It is the first-ever strike by staff directly employed by the airport, as opposed to subcontractors, and according to Swiss airline includes air traffic controllers as well as those which guide planes along the tarmac.

A trade unionist said it was difficult to understand how they had arrived at the impasse.

“The airport is a profitable business which enjoys a monopoly and is attacking the conditions of its staff,” said Pierre-Yves Maillard, head of the Swiss Trade Union Confederation (USS), who turned out to support the strikers.

Nearly 6.8 million passengers used the airport between January and May, according to official statistics.

The aviation industry has been keen to avoid a repeat of the chaos seen at European airports last year.

The sector struggled to cope with a surge in travel as it was severely understaffed after laying off thousands during the Covid pandemic.

Passengers faced huge lines, misplaced luggage and flight delays.

Other European airports and airlines have also faced strikes by staff.

Hollywood braced for ‘double strike’ as actors’ deadline looms


By AFP
Published June 29, 2023


Actors and writers are demanding significant wage hikes to counteract inflation, and a greater share of profits each time a film or series they starred in is re-watched

— © POOL/AFP Jade GAO

Andrew MARSZAL

Hollywood’s summer of discontent could dramatically escalate this weekend, with actors ready to join writers in a massive “double strike” that would bring nearly all US film and television productions to a halt.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) is locked in last-minute negotiations with the likes of Netflix and Disney, with the deadline fast approaching at midnight Friday (0700 GMT Saturday).

The labor union’s 160,000 actors and performers — from A-listers to extras — have pre-approved industrial action if a deal is not struck in time.

Should negotiators walk out, it will be the first time that all Hollywood actors and writers have been on strike simultaneously since 1960, when actor (and future US president) Ronald Reagan led a showdown that eventually forced major concessions from the studios.

Like the writers, who have already spent nine weeks on the picket lines, actors are demanding higher pay to counteract inflation, and guarantees for their future livelihoods.

Rebecca Metz, who has starred in FX’s “Better Things” and Showtime’s “Shameless,” told AFP it is “massively harder” for actors — even established ones — to earn a living in Hollywood these days.

“People who aren’t in this industry, and even some who are, vastly overestimate how much money actors make — you just assume that if you see someone on TV, they must be rich,” Metz said.

“But it has been extremely not the case in the last few years.

“I know lots of people at my same level who are taking second jobs, trying to come up with ways to keep themselves afloat until hopefully things come back.”

– ‘Tiny fraction’ –

In addition to salaries when they are actively working, actors earn payments called “residuals” every time a film or show they starred in is aired on network or cable — particularly helpful when performers are between projects.

But today, streamers like Netflix and Disney+ do not disclose viewing figures for their shows, and offer the same paltry flat rate for everything on their platforms, regardless of its popularity.

“I have watched my residuals decline over the last 10 to 15 years” to a “tiny fraction” of what they once were, said Metz.

“When we’re not working for a good stretch, all of a sudden we’re worried about qualifying for our health insurance.”

Whether a strike will go ahead is currently anyone’s guess. A media blackout on the talks has been imposed by both sides.

Last Friday, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher released a video message telling members of “extremely productive negotiations” and promising a “seminal deal.”

But union chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland warned there is a “very narrow window” to achieve a deal, fueling speculation that both sides could agree to a temporary extension of talks.

While the writers’ strike has already dramatically reduced the number of movies and shows in production, an actors’ walkout would shutter almost everything.

Some reality TV, animation and talk shows could continue, but even high-profile events like television’s Emmy Awards, set for September 18, would be at risk.

Popular series set to return to television as soon as this fall would be delayed. And further down the line, blockbuster films could be postponed too.

– AI and auditions –

Muddying the waters further is the issue of artificial intelligence. Actors want guarantees to regulate its future use.

“There’s currently no protections around a producer taking our voice, our likeness, asking us do things that we wouldn’t consent to do,” said Metz.

“Inputting our previous performances and building a performance off of it that we don’t have to get paid for — these things sound wild and fantastical, but they’re very real.”

Another grievance for actors is the rise of “self-taped auditions,” which SAG-AFTRA is attempting to regulate.

Used before the pandemic on occasions when in-person auditions were not possible, the practice has become ubiquitous in Hollywood.

It places logistical and technological burdens on actors, and robs them of feedback from casting directors.

Perhaps most importantly, performers do not even know if their audition has been watched.

“Acting is a collaborative craft, at the end of the day,” said Metz.

“Talking into a camera in your house, and knowing you’re never going to get any response, is several steps further removed from what acting really is.”

Op-Ed: Greedflation, huge debts, and lousy calls on inflation numbers — Crashing the world

By Paul Wallis
Published June 29, 2023

With prices still rising much more than desired, central banks face pressure to hike interest rates further - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP JUSTIN SULLIVAN

The original situation was low rates which led to incredible levels of debt. Interest rate rises were always going to pop this fool’s paradise bubble. Add incredible rises in prices and misinterpreted inflation numbers. You cannot get a clear picture of the realities.

Let’s start with the inflation figures. A smaller-than-expected rise off a very high longer-term base does NOT mean inflation is going down.

Say last year you had a cost that was $100. That cost is now likely to be about $135. The inflation rate goes up slightly last month. Your cost is now say $137.50. You’re not better off, are you?

Oh, but this is just a way of predicting future rises, you say. So what? You’re dealing with a real rate of 37.5% over the year. Feeling better? No, you’re not. …And you won’t. The overall massive losses caused by price rises aren’t going away. The tide is coming in. Wanna buy a bucket and spade?

Then there’s “greedflation”. Massive increases in prices by already extremely profitable companies which never talk about anything but what great numbers they have. …And they’re getting away with it mainly due to that great high school bully expression, “because they can”. The higher the level of deregulation, the more these parasites can suck.

These corporations are also invariably full of debt acquired at low rates. Those debts are getting more expensive. Perhaps Kindly Old Chapter 11 will get them out of debt comfortably. Perhaps not. Either way, your money goes with them. Mismanagement of anything and everything makes some people rich.

It doesn’t make the real economy, you know, the one that buys food and pays bills, rich. These price rises really are insane. People do make money out of them, of course. You can evict a few thousand people and maybe get to play golf with some slightly richer meaningless nobody. People living in cars and cardboard boxes can’t argue.

The Titanic is more likely to dock slightly behind schedule in New York with all passengers than this mess to float. The current cycle of “sociopathflation”* can’t be fixed by muttering about passing stats. Poverty is a leading cause of death in America.

*Sociopathflation – Noun – Economic chaos caused by absurdly high price rises inflicted by mindless executive peasants.

Since the nutcases got involved, capitalism doesn’t work now. Not that it worked all that well to start with, but people were reasonably prosperous back in the 60s and 70s. It’s been all downhill since. Just about all the essentials have been sabotaged. Health, education, housing, food, and water are all fundamentally screwed.

Add to this the global abuse of revenue. Tax evasion costs trillions. You can’t provide services with money you don’t have. You have to borrow. Then some insect tells you you’re borrowing too much. What choice do you have? Cut back on services people need.

Meanwhile, the vermin are making big money. If you try to fund enforcement, they block you from funding or try to block you.

Options available:Equally huge tax rises for the worst-offending sectors. They’ll try to evade the taxes. Then you can wipe them out.
Indefinite price freeze. They can’t argue. They’ve got all those “great numbers”, right? They have to reduce debt, too.
Basic business economic training to educate people to know how utterly irresponsible the financial sector usually is on any given day.
Debt management training.

Any house brick could tell you these price rises are just theft. To hell with them.

Orchestra-conducting robot wows audience in S. Korean capital

By AFP
Published June 30, 2023

The machine is not capable of listening or improvising in real-time, its developers say.

— © National Theater of Korea/AFP Handout

Kang Jin-kyu

A South Korean-made robot made its debut as an orchestra conductor before a sell-out crowd in Seoul on Friday, wowing the audience with a flawless performance in place of a human maestro.

Named “EveR 6”, the five-foot-ten-inch-tall (1.8m) robot guided more than 60 musicians of the National Orchestra of Korea who were playing traditional Korean instruments.

The robot successfully guided the compositions, both independently and in collaboration with a human maestro who was standing next to it for about half an hour, entertaining the more than 950 audience members who had packed the National Theater of Korea.

The robot was showered with applause when it first appeared from below the stage on a lift and turned to face the audience, bowing in greeting.

Throughout the performance, the robot’s blue eyes stared unblinkingly at the musicians, only nodding its head in time to the music.

The rookie performed well on its stage debut, audience members said.

“I came here worried whether this robot could pull this off without a glitch,” Kim Ji-min, a 19-year-old college student majoring in music, told AFP.

“But I found it to be in great harmony with the musicians… It felt like a whole new world for me.”

Named ‘EveR 6’, the five-foot-ten-inch-tall robot guided more than 60 musicians of the National Orchestra of Korea. — © National Theater of Korea/AFP Handout

While there have been musical performances led by robotic conductors in the past, including a 2017 concert led by the robot YuMi in Italy, this was the first time South Koreans were able to witness a robotic conductor on stage.

EveR 6, developed by the state-run Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, was programmed to replicate the movements of a human conductor through motion capture technology.

The machine is not capable of listening or improvising in real-time, however.

EveR 6’s developers are currently working on enabling the robot to make gestures that are not pre-programmed, said Lee Dong-wook, the robot’s engineer.

Improvising and communicating with musicians in real-time is the next big step, said Song Joo-ho, a music columnist who came to see the performance.

“It needs to improvise in real-time when musicians make a mistake or things go wrong.”

Senior China Diplomat Dispatched to Italy to Keep Nation in Belt and Road Initiative




Bloomberg News
Thu, June 29, 2023 

(Bloomberg) -- China dispatched a senior diplomat to Italy this week, as Beijing seeks to persuade the European nation not to leave President Xi Jinping’s flagship global investment pact.

Liu Jianchao, director of the Communist Party’s International Department, held meetings with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Senate speaker Ignazio La Russa and former prime minister Massimo D’Alema, according to the department’s readouts. He also met with group known as “Friends of China” in Italy’s parliament, during his three-day visit that began Sunday.

“It was the correct decision for China and Italy to sign the Belt and Road,” Liu said during a session with business people in Milan this week, according to the official statement.

Italy signed onto China’s massive BRI in 2019 when Giuseppe Conte was prime minister, becoming the only Group of Seven nation to join the pact. The country’s current leader, Giorgia Meloni, favors leaving the infrastructure initiative, Bloomberg reported in May. Participation will automatically renew in 2024 unless Rome exits the agreement.

Meloni told lawmakers on Wednesday that Italy can have excellent relations with China even without being part of the initiative. “There are ongoing evaluations,” she said. “The issue must be handled carefully and respectfully, also involving the parliament.”

Jia Guide, Chinese ambassador to Italy, warned in an interview with Italian news outlet Fanpage last week that there would “negative consequences” if Rome “recklessly decides” to withdraw.

European Struggle

Liu’s appeal to the Italians comes after Chinese Premier Li Qiang earlier this month traveled to Europe in his first overseas trip as China’s No. 2 official. His meetings with business and political leaders in Germany and France came as the European Union hammers out its position on how to manage economic rivalry with China.

Read more: Chinese Premier Tells German CEOs to Take Lead on De-Risking

Beijing is trying to persuade Europe to take a less hawkish stance than the US, which has imposed a sweeping raft of export controls on China to curb its access to advanced technology.

Italy has been caught in the middle of those escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing, especially in the wake of China’s support for Russian President Vladimir Putin after his invasion of Ukraine. The US has pressured Rome to take a public stance and ditch the BRI pact, according to people familiar with the matter.

Wang Yiwei, a Renmin University professor who specializes in Europe studies, said that given 152 countries had signed onto the BRI, China should have an “open mind” on Italy’s decision — noting that it was likely Italian companies who would suffer the most from an exit.

“The business community really wants to stay,” he added. “Otherwise, they’ll lose some of the preferential treatment they’ve been enjoying as a member country to the initiative.”

(Updates with quote from Liu’s meeting with business people in third paragraph.)

CENSORSHIP HIDES BEHIND THE WORDS; CHILDREN, PORN
Britain tightens planned tech law to stop children viewing porn

Parents walk their children to school in West London, Britain, March 20, 2020.
PHOTO: Reuters

PUBLISHED ON

JUNE 29, 2023 8:57 PM

LONDON - Britain said on Friday (June 30) it had tightened protections in its Online Safety Bill that will prevent children from viewing pornography in an update to long-delayed legislation that is being closely watched by the tech industry.

Under the government's latest amendments after debates in parliament, Britain will set higher standards for age verification tools used by services that publish or allow porn on their platforms, to ensure they are effective in establishing whether a user is a child.

Britain, like the European Union and other countries, has been grappling over how to protect social media users, and in particular children, from harmful content without damaging free speech.

New measures will also seek to hold top executives personally responsible for keeping children safe on their platforms, the government said, after agreeing to toughen the bill in January with the prospect of jail time for tech bosses.

"This government will not allow the lives of our children to be put at stake whenever they go online; whether that is through facing abuse or viewing harmful content that could go on to have a devastating impact on their lives," Paul Scully, minister for tech and the digital economy, said.

"To prevent any further tragedy and build a better future for our children, we are acting robustly and with urgency to make the Online Safety Bill the global standard for protecting our children."


Other changes to the bill will allow regulators to obtain information on a child's social media use if requested by a coroner, which will help bereaved families understand any possible influence of online activity in their death.

The tech industry including firms like Apple have criticised sections of the Online Safety Bill, particularly provisions that could be used to make messaging services break end-to-end encryption in order scan for child abuse material.

The bill, which is possibly months away from being passed, is currently at parliament's upper House of Lords where lawmakers can make amendments before deciding whether to pass or reject it.

ALSO READ: Snapchat kicks few children off app in Britain

Singapore Holds First LGBTQ Rally Since Gay Sex Decriminalized

June 24, 2023
Agence France-Presse

Supporters attend the annual Pink Dot event in a public show of support for the LGBTQ community at Hong Lim Park in Singapore, June 24, 2023.

SINGAPORE —

Hundreds of people wearing pink attended Singapore's annual "Pink Dot" LGBTQ rally on Saturday, the first to be held since the city-state decriminalized gay sex last year.

Brandishing rainbow flags and sporting glittery makeup, participants gathered in a downtown park -- the only place in Singapore where protests are allowed without a police permit.

"I'm celebrating today because it's been a really long fight," said Ernest Seah, a gay 58-year-old artist and teacher, while sitting on a pink inflatable couch. "And you know, it's great that love wins and the government understands that."

Singapore's parliament last year repealed a British colonial-era law that penalized sex between men with up to two years in jail, although the statute was not actively enforced.

But at the same time lawmakers passed a constitutional amendment bolstering the existing definition of marriage as between a man and a woman.

Supporters form the word 'Family' during the annual Pink Dot event in a public show of support for the LGBTQ community at Hong Lim Park in Singapore, June 24, 2023.

The amendment essentially closed the door on any future legal challenges that could establish equal marital rights for LGBTQ people.

Describing the mood as one of "celebration and joyousness", Pink Dot's spokesperson Clement Tan said it was a "relief" to hold the rally with the law no longer on the books.

He declined to specify what Pink Dot, one of Singapore's leading LGBTQ advocacy groups, would focus on next.

"We recognize that post repeal, people need a moment to breathe," he said.

"Our goal has always been about slowly progressing, and LGBTQ equality, whatever form that looks like," he added. "So repeal was something that was important to us, but it's by no means the end of the work that needs to happen. There's a much longer road ahead of us."

The theme for Saturday's rally -- "A Singapore for All Families" -- sought to push back against pressure from conservative groups who fear decriminalizing gay sex will erode "family values.”

"It shouldn't really matter what families look like in Singapore. Most certainly not what the government defines as worthy of recognition. We believe that everyone should stand in the sun," Tan said.

Singapore's "Pink Dot" gay rights rally started in 2009 and has regularly attracted sizable crowds despite a backlash from some quarters.

Organizers did not release figures on the crowd size Saturday, but an AFP reporter estimated more than a thousand attended.

Open support for gay rights is growing, aided by changing social norms among the younger generation.

The percentage of Singaporeans who agree that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry has increased to 32 percent, up from 27% last year, a survey released this month by market research firm Ipsos found.

Climate change affects everyone – so it's time to unite

Calls in London this week for 'radical collaboration' reflect an understanding that global warming knows no borders

THE NATIONAL
EDITORIAL


The National Climate Clock at Piccadilly Circus in central London, part of London Climate Action Week. The clock provides a stark warning that there are only six years and 24 days left to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. PA

A defining aspect of climate change is its universality. Although it disproportionately affects poorer nations, global warming leaves no part of our planet untouched. It stands to reason, therefore, that action to mitigate it, to help afflicted communities and to transition to a cleaner, greener economy also needs to be worldwide.

This has been reflected in comments coming out of a high-level climate event in the UK this week. London Climate Action Week heard from Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan, the president and chief executive of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators, who made the apt observation that a borderless approach is needed to tackle the problems posed by global warming.

“Currently, there is a $3 trillion to $3.5 trillion gap in annual investment made towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals and climate in developing countries,” she told the Climate Investment Summit at the London Stock Exchange. “This will simply not be achievable if we continue to work in silos.”

The borderless approach Sheikha Shamma envisioned – something she termed “radical collaboration” – would include all sectors, and ensure that the voices of young people, women and marginalised communities are heard. This is an important dynamic to maintain as the world gets ready for Cop28 in the UAE later this year.



However, this requirement for unity is matched also by the need to balance urgency and optimism in the climate fight. Speaking on the opening day of the London event earlier this week, Razan Al Mubarak, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for Cop28, warned against climate conversations “drowning in the doom and gloom”.

Emphasising “communication, with collaboration”, Ms Al Mubarak rightly pointed out that “you will not have a green transition without a socio-cultural transition underpinning it”. To push forward this societal change, people will need to feel that all is not lost, that they have agency in this crisis and that their actions, no matter how small, can play a positive role.

Luckily, there are plenty of examples of progress to draw upon. The UN has said that human action to repair the planet’s ozone layer is working, and this protective shield above the Earth that absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the Sun could recover in decades. Earlier this month, Swiss citizens voted to adopt laws to tackle climate-change laws. Meanwhile, demand for electric cars is booming, with sales expected to leap 35 per cent this year after a record-breaking 2022, according to the International Energy Agency. Closer to home, this week the UAE agreed on closer co-operation with the UK to keep global warming targets within reach.

But those targets still need to be in people’s minds. In London this week, Britain’s King Charles III presided over the inauguration of a countdown clock that will mark the deadline set in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rises to less than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop28 President-designate, also attended the event. Dr Al Jaber has said a key goal of Cop28 is to keep this target within reach. It is a prudent presentation of the fact that there is not an infinite amount of time to put the brakes on global warming.

King Charles and Dr Al Jaber were also involved in a round-table event at London's Guildhall with key leaders on climate action. There, Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, said pollution and climate change were claiming millions of lives each year.

“And some people would think OK, well this is something that is happening in faraway countries due to flooding, drought, extreme temperatures,” he added, “but it is actually here, it’s affecting us all.”

The work being done in London and at other international climate events should go some way to building up the unity required before Cop28 begins in earnest. More engagement means more people breaking out of the “silos” that Sheikha Shamma referred to, and that can only be a good thing.

Published: June 29, 2023,