Latest news with #LeadingwithImpact
Straits Times
a day ago
- Business
- Straits Times
London climate week receives boost as Trump policies weigh on New York event
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales walks with former Mayor of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg during the \"Leading with Impact\" event, as part of London Climate Action Week, at Bloomberg headquarters in London, Britain, June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/Pool/File Photo LONDON - London's climate week attracted record attendance, bolstered by the cloud hanging over its sister event in New York in September as the U.S. government turns its back on efforts to stop global warming and tightens entry requirements. The annual London Climate Action Week (LCAW), which ends on Sunday, more than doubled in size compared to the 2024 edition, hosting 700-plus events and more than 45,000 attendees. That was helped by the UK's more robust stance on climate action and support for visitors from developing countries, two dozen business, political and civil society sources told Reuters. "We have gone much bigger on LCAW this year - we are hosting several events and putting considerably more effort (in) than in the past. If we do send someone to New York, it will almost certainly just be an American citizen member of our team," said Alexis McGivern, Head of Stakeholder Engagement at Oxford Net Zero. Under President Donald Trump, the United States has left a global deal to lower climate-damaging carbon emissions, cut development aid, rowed back on environmental standards and moved to slash support for green technologies. By contrast, the British government was present across multiple events during LCAW, with energy secretary Ed Miliband saying he wanted Britain to be a "clean energy superpower" and to "get off the roller coaster of fossil fuel markets". 'YOU CAN TALK FRANKLY' Given the U.S. pushback, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a U.N. Indigenous Peoples representative and climate change expert, said London offered more freedom to discuss climate change, diversity and human rights. "You can talk frankly with the government of the UK or any government here in London without being afraid of how you get treated, or targeted," she said. Philanthropists and private investors, too, are able to speak more openly without being targeted politically, or risking damaging business interests, she said. "This year the New York Climate Week is going to be very challenging," she said. "Not only to indigenous peoples, but even to governments. There are so many barriers that are making people say, let's act now in London." Among steps taken in London was a push by governments for indigenous peoples' land rights to be better protected and a plan to encourage companies to buy more carbon credits. Chief among the concerns about New York, particularly for civil society representatives, was whether they could even get in. TRAVEL BANS This month, the U.S. banned travellers from countries including Afghanistan, Congo Republic and Somalia - many exposed to rising extreme weather events and in need of the most help - and may yet add more. Ibrahim, whose home country Chad is also on the list, said she would travel using her diplomatic passport but was uncertain if she would be allowed in - a concern flagged by half a dozen other LCAW attendees. Helen Clarkson, CEO of Climate Group, which runs New York Climate Week, said she understood it would be harder for participants from certain countries to attend but that many businesses, governments and civil society were planning to come and were "super up for New York." " is shaping up similar to other years," she said. "This is a critical moment before COP." COP30 will take place in Brazil in November. REUTERS Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Kuwait Times
Uber and Waymo launch autonomous ride-hailing service in Atlanta
LONDON: CEO of Uber Dara Khosrowshahi shakes hands with Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales on stage during the 'Leading with Impact' event, as part of London Climate Action Week, at Bloomberg headquarters in London, on June 24, 2025. – AFP TEXAS: Uber Technologies on Tuesday is beginning autonomous ride-hailing in Atlanta with Alphabet unit Waymo after offering the service in Austin, Texas, since March. The companies, which first announced the plan for the Atlanta service in September 2024, will offer Waymo autonomous vehicles on the Uber app for travel across 65 square miles of Atlanta. The race to deploy robotaxis is picking up pace as Waymo expands testing and Tesla began limited trials of its autonomous taxi service in Austin on Sunday, a sign of growing momentum in self-driving vehicles. There are now 100 Waymo vehicles on the Uber platform in Austin and it will launch with dozens in Atlanta. Uber will manage and dispatch a fleet of fully autonomous, all-electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles that 'will grow to hundreds' over time, the company said last year. Riders will pay the same rates as UberX, Uber Comfort, or Uber Comfort Electric when driven in a Waymo self-driving vehicle but they will not be prompted to tip. Waymo is operating fully autonomously on highways in California and Arizona for employees but not yet for the public. The Atlanta service is limited to surface streets. Last week, Waymo said its vehicles will be back in New York City next month for autonomous testing. Waymo has applied for a permit from the New York City Department of Transportation to operate autonomously, with a trained specialist behind the wheel in Manhattan. Waymo in March said it aims to launch fully autonomous ride-hailing in the US capital city of Washington next year. Waymo has more than 1,500 vehicles running over 250,000 rides a week across San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin. Uber sold its own self-driving division in 2020 to reduce cash burn and refocus on its core business, including ride hailing and food delivery after the 2018 death of a pedestrian who was struck by a self-driving Uber. The backup safety driver behind the wheel of the Uber in the fatal crash pleaded guilty in 2023 and was sentenced to probation, prosecutors said. — Reuters
Western Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Trump criticised for climate policy as William celebrates Earthshot finalists
William met the 2024 cohort of his environmental award during an event marking London Climate Action Week, and said governments, businesses and innovators needed to work together to 'fix' the problems affecting he globe. He described how he was 'very excited' to be visiting to Rio de Janeiro in November, the host city for this year's Earthshot Prize, and praised the Brazilians, saying: 'I think they epitomise the approach to what we can do more sustainably – the vibrancy, the energy, the enthusiasm.' Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (left) in discussion with his London counterpart, Sir Sadiq Khan, watched by the Prince of Wales and former Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg (Carlos Jasso/PA) Rio's mayor Eduardo Paes told guests, including Willia,m during a discussion with his London counterpart, Sir Sadiq Khan: 'Local governments are the ones that are going to deliver. 'I mean, I don't want to do any politics here but we saw what Donald Trump did in his first term. If it were not for the local governments, the mayors, the US would be in big trouble.' Mr Trump announced his decision to withdraw America from the Paris climate agreement at the start of his first term in 2017, a move that was countered by some US mayors. Los Angeles's then-mayor Eric Garcetti helped to rally a number of his counterparts across the US to commit to the agreement that saw world leaders pledge to try to prevent global temperatures rising by more than 1.5C above 'pre-industrial' levels. The Prince of Wales, founder and president of Earshot Prize and Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber during the 'Leading with Impact' event (Carlos Jasso/PA) The event was hosted by former New York Mayor and business news mogul Mike Bloomberg, a global advisor to Earthshot Prize winners, at his landmark offices in the City of London. In his introductory speech, Mr Bloomberg also criticised the American administration but did not mention the president by name. He said: 'There's a good reason to be optimistic, lots of problems around the world, America has not been doing its share lately to make things better, I don't think, nevertheless, I'm very optimistic about the future…'
