Author: Bapon Fakhruddin
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Navigating Flood Modeling Challenges in the Unique Terrain of the UAE
The UAE’s terrain is shaped by wind rather than water flows, presenting significant obstacles to accurate flood modeling. Instead of rivers, water flows along dune formations in an interconnected network of surface ponds. A study by UAE University found that predicting upstream dune absorption is impacted by factors like groundwater at 2-5m depth varying soil…
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Catalysing Resilience: The Water as Leverage Approach to Urban Water Security
The Masterclass on Catalysing resilience through innovative and bankable urban projects: Exploring the Water as Leverage Approach ran over till midnight! It’s been a pleasure to be a panelist and talk about the challenges we face in the water sector, which are multifaceted and complex. Climate change exacerbates water scarcity, flooding, and water quality issues,…
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Planet Vs Plastics
Earth Day 2024 is a day that reminds us of our shared responsibility to protect and preserve our planet. We are facing a crisis that threatens the very foundations of our existence – the plastic pollution crisis. The statistics are alarming. We have already created 11 billion metric tons of plastic, surpassing the combined weight…
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The Global Crisis of Land Subsidence: A Call for Holistic Action
In recent years, we have seen alarming rates of subsidence in major cities around the world. From Jakarta to Mexico City, from Venice to Shanghai, the ground beneath millions of people is literally sinking. In China alone, a systematic assessment using spaceborne synthetic aperture radar interferometry has revealed that almost half of the urban land…
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Advancing Towards a Circular Plastic Economy
Imagine a world where all the plastic we produce can be endlessly recycled. Where facilities exist to transform any type of plastic waste back into valuable raw materials, ready to be used again and again in a truly circular economy. This is the promise of advanced recycling technologies that are emerging around the globe. Over…
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Rethinking Corporate Climate Action: Beyond Emission-Reduction Targets
The fundamental assumption that emission-reduction targets should be the central and often sole metric for setting or benchmarking individual corporations’ climate action ambition is flawed. This approach fails to account for the dynamic nature of markets and the crucial role of future innovators in driving the necessary transformations. While corporate emissions targets can help curb…
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Harnessing the Power of Social Networks for Inclusive and Effective Climate Action!
The study by Airoldi and Christakis shows that we can use social networks (the connections between people in a community) to spread good ideas and practices more effectively. They found that if we choose the right people to start with – those who are well-connected and influential – the information and behaviors can spread much…
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Happiness Through Emotional Granularity
Today may be one of those days again, and I was searching for myself- how to be happier by increasing emotional granularity? Identifying and describing our emotions in detail is a skill called emotional granularity can help us better understand and regulate our feelings. People who use broad terms like “angry,” “sad,” or “stressed” have…
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Mobilizing Finance for Climate-Resilient Water Solutions
Financing is key to realizing this vision. We must align investments for water security with climate action and find innovative ways to mobilize new sources of funding. Blended finance instruments that strategically combine public and private capital can accelerate the deployment of climate solutions. Mechanisms like resilience bonds, environmental impact bonds, and blue carbon offset…
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The Uncertainties of Geologic Hydrogen
While geologic hydrogen may offer some emissions advantages compared to other hydrogen production methods, large uncertainties remain regarding its environmental impact and scalability. More research is critically needed to evaluate if geologic hydrogen can be a major climate-friendly energy solution, or if efforts are better focused on other decarbonization strategies that are farther along in…
Bapon (SHM) Fakhruddin, PhD 