Kim Kardashian is getting in on private equity: Reality TV star and serial entrepreneur Kim Kardashian and Carlyle’s former global head of consumer, media, and retail Jay Simmons, are launching a new private-equity firm, Skky Partners, Kardashian announced on Twitter. “The firm focuses on both control and minority investments in high-growth, market-leading consumer and media companies,” according to a statement posted on the firm’s Twitter account.

Sammons is bringing the financial know-how and Kardashian is there for… her audience reach: The partnership will allow the pair to utilize their complementary skill sets, given his experience in the financial and investment side and Kardashian’s ability to draw on her massive reach and influence to grow companies, Sammons said, according to the Wall Street Journal. Kardashian and Sammons will serve as co-founders and co-managing partners, while Kardashian’s mother and manager Kris Jenner will also be a partner at the firm. Neither party has commented on the fund’s expected size or other investors.

All jokes aside, Skky is a testament to Kardashian’s business acumen — and her commitment to name branding. Kardashian founded shapewear and undergarment brand Skims in 2019, and the company was valued at USD 3.2 bn in January, according to the WSJ. She has also launched a nine product skin-care line, SKKN BY KIM, earlier this year. Skims, SKKN, SKKY — noticing a pattern here? All a play on Kardashian’s name or initials.

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Temperatures in the Middle East are rising almost twice as fast as the rest of the world, the Washington Post reports, citing a new study published in the Review of Geophysics. The climate in countries in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt, are projected to warm by around 5°C by the end of this century. The rapid rise in temperatures will lead to longer-lasting heat waves, more intense droughts, and recurrent sandstorms, affecting the lives and health of the 400 mn inhabitants of the region. The rise is expected to have consequences on freshwater resources and crops, increasing the likelihood of conflict, the report suggests.

Middle East greenhouse gas emissions have surpassed those of the EU and India, as the region has become a “dominant emitter,” according to the report. Critically, the Middle East’s emissions are also on an upwards trajectory, unlike the EU, where there’s a trend of declining emissions. The report highlights the need for the region to decarbonize its energy and transportation sectors transitioning to greater reliance on renewable energy.

And speaking of climate + sustainability: Reaching sustainability goals got even more expensive over the past year: The cost of achieving the UN’s sustainability goals of combating issues including hunger, poverty, and climate change increased by 25% to USD 176 tn over the previous year, according to a report released today by the Force for Good Initiative (FFGI). The higher cost was fueled by soaring inflation and the increasing costs related to achieving net-zero carbon emissions, it said, in addition to historical underfunding. According to the analysis, the funding gap for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 2030 objectives supported by all member nations, has also widened, rising 35% to hit USD 135 tn. The SDGs are now “set to fail to be achieved by 2030 and risk needing many more decades,” the report said, adding that “course correction is needed.”