17 NOV 2022

“Nature can be our ally in the fight against climate change,” H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak tells ASDW talks.

Climate change and biodiversity loss should be tackled together, said Her Excellency Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak.

For billions of years our planet, its climate and the fabric of life have evolved together, said H.E. Razan, President, International Union for Conservation of Nature.

But in the past 150 years this “rich tapestry of life” has started unravelling, she added in her ADSW talk about climate change and biodiversity loss.

“Nature, the foundation upon which life is based, is in a state of crisis,” she said. “We see it in the rapid decline of species and habitats, and this is happening at a time when we realize that we need nature now, more than ever.”

She called for urgent action to address climate change and biodiversity loss on a local and global scale.

H.E. Razan said that the UAE has long recognized the critical role that “natural capital” plays in the nation’s development and well-being.

That is why the UAE has committed to protecting 30 percent of its land and sea by 2030, by investing heavily in its fisheries and wildlife, she added.

“We need to protect our wild spaces, and restore our degraded habitats, so that nature can be our ally in our fight against climate change,” she said.

The UAE’s role as host of COP28 next year also presents an opportunity for the country to see climate change as a driver of its economic transformation.

H.E. Razan said Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which is in its 15th year, has demonstrated its capacity to convene, to communicate and to inspire collaboration on climate action issues and innovation.

17 MAR 2023

Masdar Chairman’s Energy Experience an “Advantage” for COP28, says Dutch climate envoy

HE Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber’s experience across the energy sector and in government will put him at an “advantage” in leading climate negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) taking place in the UAE later this year, the Climate Envoy for the Netherlands told ADSW Talks.

As well as being the COP28 President-Delegate, Dr Al Jaber is the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Group CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and Chairman of Masdar, the UAE’s flagship renewable energy company.

“What we need is to get the companies to invest way more of their portfolio into making a shift away from fossil fuels and into more diverse energy sources,” HRH Jamie de Bourbon de Parme said on the latest edition of ADSW Talks. “I think he (Dr Al Jaber) has a great role to play because he actually understands the whole market. He could bring the oil and gas companies on board to greater commitments, and I think that’s a great opportunity at this COP which we haven’t had before.”

As the Netherlands’ Climate Envoy, Prince Jaime’s role entails fostering international cooperation on climate action. He said the UAE is playing “a great role” by hosting COP28.

The ADSW Talks series hosts influential figures from across the sustainability sector to share their perspectives on the most pressing sustainability challenges facing the world and the collective willpower and solutions needed to build a more sustainable future for all.

The Netherlands and the UAE could join forces to develop the green hydrogen supply chain Dutch Climate Envoy, HRH told ADSW Talks. Collaborating on port development and hydrogen shipping could help to wean the Netherlands off hydrocarbons, he added. “There is great potential for green hydrogen production in the UAE and we have the need to import green hydrogen, to overcome our dependence on fossil fuels,” said Prince Jaime. “The whole supply chain of green hydrogen will have to be developed; port development, green energy development, hydrogen shipping, and all the way to the customers. The supply chain is what we can work with the UAE on.”

Prince Jaime added that the two countries could also work together in developing “sustainable aviation fuels and many other derivatives of hydrogen”.

As the Netherlands is a low-lying nation it has been “battling” water for centuries, said Prince Jaime. The country plans to expand its offshore wind capacity by 20 gigawatts to 70 gigawatts by 2050, he said. The father-of-two added that he hoped that humanity would start seeing nature as a “partner” rather than a commodity. “We need to let nature regenerate and give it space so that my children will have space to enjoy nature also,” he said.

13 FEB 2023

UAE’s focus on sustainability led to COP28 hosting, Dr Al Jaber tells ADSW Talks

The UAE leadership’s early focus on sustainable development set it on a progressive path for climate action that contributed to its selection as host for the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in 2023, Masdar’s Chairman told ADSW Talks.

“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, wanted to build on his father’s legacy of sustainable development,” Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE Special Envoy for Climate, and Chairman of Masdar, said on the latest edition of the web series. “And long before anyone in this region saw a future in renewables, His Highness saw renewables and sustainable development as the future.”

Dr Al Jaber, who has played a key role at over ten COPs, including the Paris COP21 in 2015, said the UAE recognized that sustainability was about progress and innovation. “For us, sustainable development is about never settling for the now, it is always about the next, about building on previous breakthroughs building new partnerships, staying one step ahead, never hitting the pause button because next never stops,” he said.

The UAE is ready now to take its focus on ambitious and progressive sustainable development into its role as host of COP28, to ensure its success and impact.

“This is the mindset that makes us optimistic about hosting COP28, where we will convene all stakeholders to drive transformational progress across mitigation, adaptation, climate finance, loss and damage. The UAE has been built on the principle of partnership and we will apply this to COP28 to make sure it is a COP for action and a COP for all,” Dr Al Jaber said.

30 JAN 2023

COP28 will be stage for ‘big deals,’ actor and conservationist says on ADSW Talks

Hollywood actor and environmental activist Adrian Grenier believes the COP28 climate change conference, to be held in the UAE later this year, will go down in history for securing ‘big deals.’

“I’m excited about the Emirates Climate Conference, COP28. I find it’s going to be a very promising COP. “I think it will go down in history,” Grenier - who starred in ‘Entourage’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ - said on the latest edition of ADSW Talks. The former United Nations Goodwill Ambassador shared his views while attending Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in the UAE capital this January.

Grenier, who is also Chief Earth Advocate for space tourism firm World View, added that he believed the right leadership and vision were in place to achieve results at COP28.

“The stage is set for countries around the world to come together and really make some big deals,” he said. “Based on my experience here, so far, it feels like there is the right vision and the right leadership to set the stage.”

The actor also said that he was beginning to hear different people using “similar rhetoric” at ADSW 2023, which indicates a growing willingness to work toward the same goal.

“So, I’m very much encouraged,” he said. “People are starting to talk in the same direction. So, it’s now just a matter of how to start implementing the programs and putting the money in the right place, so that we can make the changes that we as a collective, united planet want to see.”