Welcome to Backstory, a weekly newsletter turning global technology shifts into a three-minute read. This week, we’re thinking about climate change and COP26 – Mary Ames, Director of Strategy

THE BIG TAKE

COP26 is a Small Step Forward

The COP26 climate summit came to a close last week in Glasgow. The primary focus of this UN conference was to find ways to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5C in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change. The most important work of the summit took place behind closed doors as ministers and other government officials gathered to hammer out the details of an agreement the majority of countries in attendance could agree on. 

The power of the market: While governments have an important role to play in fighting climate change, the real mover is the market itself.  The technology underpinning clean and renewable energy is accelerating exponentially, with costs plunging through the floor. As a result of these developments, clean energy will soon be cheaper across every metric than traditional fossil fuels. Since these trends are happening by the forces of the market alone, the best thing that governments can do is meaningfully invest in climate technology infrastructure and companies.  

How the Gulf can help: Just before COP26, Saudi Arabia announced a decision to curb carbon emissions to net-zero by 2060. This is welcome news but the real opportunity of the Kingdom’s pledge remains unrealized. The Gulf needs to invest in climate technology startups. Leading Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have already laid out ambitious green-energy goals. With the capital to invest and the ideal conditions for research and development, Gulf states are positioned to support the next generation of climate-technology startups. These aren’t limited to renewable-energy projects but can focus on agricultural technology, smart-city development, and green hydrogen energy. With this investment, the market could take care of the hard work of climate change and the countries of the Gulf would see their knowledge economies get stronger.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.”

– Catherine the Great

OUR VIEWS THIS WEEK

The digital Dirham: Cryptocurrencies are booming, and so is talk of government-backed digital coins. This week, we turned our focus to government-backed digital currencies. Creating a state-backed digital currency is no easy task, but the potential return is hard to comprehend fully. With the right tools, human capital, and infrastructure, the UAE is poised to create a truly global digital currency that would entrench the country’s position as a hub of the emerging world. It’s time to take the plunge. 

Everyone is looking: Facial recognition technology is controversial, and it will likely stay that way for quite some time. That doesn’t change the fact that the industry is booming and expanding, particularly in North America. So it’s about time to address the concerns about facial recognition and make the necessary changes. In this piece from the archive, we take a deep dive into the debate about this powerful technology.

SPOTTED ELSEWHERE

The next big thing: Do you remember Google Wave? The answer is probably not, unless you are very deep in technology platforms. Wave was an early Google project that was ahead of its time (it’s a bit like Notion). The amazing thing about Google Wave is that Microsoft just announced plans to restart the project. Why is this interesting? We are so focused on the next big thing in tech that it’s easy to forget about the products that were ahead of their time. Maybe the next big thing has already been invented. 

Does this exist? Have you ever come across the word “plattern”? If you haven’t, don’t fear. The word doesn’t exist. It was invented, defined and used by a machine learning algorithm on a great website called This Word Does Not Exist. It’s a fun project to play around with that strangely highlights the power of AI to have the imagination to create.

QUICK HITS

• The global shortage of computer chips is forcing an industry shakeup.

• Inside the dual takeoff at Heathrow this week. 

• A look into the clothes of the hit show Succession.

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