ABU DHABI // Arab countries are expected to spend over Dh550 billion on food imports each year by 2050 if countries fail to address gaps in their food production, according to a recent Arab Forum for Environment and Development report.

The report shows that, as of 2011, Arab countries spent over Dh205 billion annually importing food as a solution to their resource management problems.

Findings from the report will be explored by leading policymakers, industry executives and government officials at the upcoming International Water Summit, where more than 70 global experts will discuss water sustainability and security challenges in the region next week.

DUBAI // The Emirates Green Building Council yesterday launched a service to make it easier for energy-efficient companies to find partners and potential customers.

The online database aims to connect energy consultants with contractors, equipment vendors, facility management companies, banks, insurance companies and other players in the sector.

Saeed Al Abbar, the council’s chairman, said the initiative was in response to growing interest in reducing energy use from the public and private sectors.

ABU DHABI // A number of fishermen and fish market vendors on the east coast have said that prices are at their lowest rate this year as a result of cooling weather.

Cooler water temperatures allow fish to swim closer to the surface, and fisherman to stay asea longer. The result is an increase in the amount of fish at market. Sham Eddine, a fish vendor, said that prices have gone down significantly.

One kilogram of Argyrops spinifer now sells for Dh25 as opposed to a summer price of Dh40. Hammour has remained under Dh180 per kilogram.

When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its last major report on climate change last year, stating with the highest degree of confidence that people are mucking up the planet in ways that will cause a whole mess of human suffering, it understandably generated a lot of media attention. One headline that broke through the chatter came from a journalist’s emotional public renunciation of air travel.