Soheir El Sherbiny‏‏

On the evening of 13 April 2024, Iran launched a wide-scale attack on Israel, using a barrage of drones and missiles, in response to an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria that killed several Iranian leaders. This is the first time that Iran has directly targeted Israel. This escalation follows six months of near daily exchanges of fire between Israeli and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon. Other Iranian proxies in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have launched missiles and drones against Israel amid Israel’s war in Gaza. In this vein, questions abound regarding the economic cost of the escalation between Israel and Iran.

What Are the Repercussions of Iran’s Attacks Against Israel on the Global Economy?

The Cost of Escalation:

On 2 February 2024, the EU member states unanimously approved the Artificial Intelligence Act, following extensive negotiations among representatives of the Council of the European Union, European Parliament, and European Commission. Despite concerns in recent years about this type of law stifling European innovation, the EU member states gave the green light to the final text of the European AI Act. The AI Act was proposed by the European Commission in April 2021 to help address the challenges of rapid technological progress and the potential risks associated with AI, and to prevent its misuse through various unethical practices. However, the process of developing the law encountered major disruptions in December 2022 after ChatGPT was developed. This made it necessary to change the draft law and to establish guidelines specific to generative AI. Debate continued up until the adoption of the act, which is scheduled to be put to an official vote on 10-11 April 2024.

Understanding Europe’s New AI Act

Ethics of Technology:

The push to develop AI technologies gained significant momentum in late 2022, with the emergence of US-based ChatGPT, which uses generative AI technology. ChatGPT’s impressive ability to engage in conversations with people and professionally generate content has spurred Russia to embark on its own journey to develop AI technology. This comes at a time when Russia has been blocked from accessing Western technologies and critical computer components, including semiconductors, due to Western sanctions following Russia’s war on Ukraine since early 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated on many occasions that achieving "technological sovereignty" is important for Russia. Putin has made AI development a national security issue in light of the major challenges that Russia faces in this sector.

What Drives Russia Interest in Developing AI Technologies?

GigaChat:

Sanya Abdelqader‏‏

The COP28 Climate Conference in the UAE is gaining major importance amid growing international interest in climate change issues, especially with the increasing global environmental challenges of recent years. In this regard, the UAE is working toward a successful conference, whether in terms of the initiatives it has launched to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint, or in terms of contributing to climate action in line with the global trend aimed at achieving net carbon emissions.

How Has the UAE’s Interest in Climate Action Increased?

COP28 Opportunities:

Interest in carbon markets has recently spiked worldwide. Approximately 83 percent of nationally-determined contributions (NDCs) include intent to use international carbon market mechanisms to achieve climate agreement targets. Through limiting emissions, countries aim to prevent global warming from crossing the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Will Carbon Trading Succeed in Mitigating Climate Change?

Reducing Emissions:

The Middle East, which is the center of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, holds a large part of the world’s oil reserves and is a major source of oil and natural gas. The region boasts 31% of global oil production, 18% of gas production, 48% of proven oil reserves, and 40% of proven gas reserves, making it a crucial player in global energy markets. Thus, any regional instability would result in an interruption of energy supplies followed by fluctuating energy prices throughout the world. Historical events may demonstrate the true role the region plays in supporting the stability of global energy markets, driven by expectations regarding the potential effect of the conflict on Middle Eastern energy production.

How Does the War in Gaza Affect Global Energy Security?

Supply Threat:

Two decades ago, Asia’s labor scene was extremely different. Finding young workers to work in factories was simple, involving little effort or obstacles. But over time, the attitudes of new generations of young people in Asia have changed. Asian youth no longer want to work in factories, and Asian companies and factories have trouble recruiting and retaining young workers. This poses a serious threat to the competitive advantage that factories in Asia have long enjoyed—namely cheap and abundant labor.

Why Has Factory Work Grown Less Attractive to New Generations in Asia?

Youthful Aspirations:

Since the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, the world has been facing enormous threats to food security and its capacity to meet peoples’ needs. Russia and Ukraine are two of the most important wheat exporters in the world, and the war and economic sanctions imposed on Russia have prevented the two countries from maintaining the same export volume of wheat and other key food commodities. This now poses a grave threat for global food security. As a result, other countries have accelerated measures to increase their arable land and develop self-sufficiency to ensure food security. These steps will also help countries to mitigate any domestic unrest that arises as a result of food shortages and price spikes. It remains to be seen whether these countries will be able to achieve self-sufficiency through increasing agricultural production.

Soheir El Sherbiny‏‏

Soheir El Sherbiny‏‏

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