The UAE, represented by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCaE), participated in the second global Ministerial Conference of the United Nations Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) held in Berlin, Germany, on 27 & 28 March, 2017, to emphasize the country’s support for international concerted efforts that aim to tackle global environmental challenges.
Following the first Global Conference in Dubai in 2014, the two-day conference focused on the themes of green investments, sustainable lifestyles and inclusive growth. Around 40 ministers, CEOs, high-level representatives of UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations and trade unions, as well as more than 300 sustainable development experts, met together in Berlin to explore how world economies and financial markets can be “enablers” for the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.
Through participating in various parallel sessions and events on the sidelines of the conference, the UAE’s delegation presented the environmental initiatives and projects that were recently launched in the country, as well as the green development legislations and policies, best practices for green buildings, waste management and development projects based on innovation and research.
Announcing the Dubai Declaration on Sustainable Finance and the UAE State of Green Economy Report 2017 Update, Aisha Mohamed Al Abdooli, Director, Green Development Department at MoCCaE, highlighted UAE’s determination to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of its national development efforts and preserve its environment for future generations.
Al Abdooli indicated the UAE has set National Key Performance Indicators to monitor and evaluate progress of diverse development areas in order to meet the target of the UAE Vision 2021, to become one of the best countries in the world by the country’s 50th anniversary. She noted that rather than addressing sustainable lifestyles separately, the UAE has taken a holistic lifecycle approach of sustainable consumption and production.
“Engaging different stakeholders is key to success in promoting sustainable lifestyles, which cannot be tackled by environmental authorities alone and require enhanced cooperation with other authorities as well as the private sector and civil society,” she said.
“The UAE Green Agenda includes 41 Green KPIs to monitor the progress of the green economy transformation and report annually in the UAE State of Green Economy Report. The country’s major efforts are being devoted to clean energy deployment and energy efficiency as outlined in the Nationally Determined Contribution. In January this year, the UAE Energy Plan for 2050 was unveiled. This first unified energy strategy in the country aims to raise the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix to 50%, while slashing the carbon footprint from power generation by 70%. From consumption side, the strategy also aims to change energy consumption culture and reduce residential use by 40% through smart meters, demand-side management and behavioral changes,” Al Abdooli explained.
She stressed that attracting private-sector investments and promoting sustainable finance among financial institutions is an essential contributor to the positive atmosphere created by the globally accepted Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and the Paris Agreement on climate change, and represents one of the key priorities in the UAE Green Agenda.
“The UAE hosted the UN Environment Finance Initiative’s 14th Global Roundtable event in October last year, and successfully attracted 400 sustainable finance experts from over 40 countries. As a key outcome of this global event, the Dubai Declaration on Sustainable Finance was announced, where 32 signatories, so far, confirmed their support for the UAE Vision 2021 and endorsed the government’s commitment to the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement while recognizing the role that the finance sector can play in enabling a climate-resilient and inclusive green economy and sustainable development,” Al Abdooli said.
“The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment aims to keep the momentum of the Dubai Declaration going by organizing regular meetings with the signatories to facilitate exchange of knowledge and learning from global best practices in specific areas of sustainable finance,” she concluded.
Dubai is poised to organize the World Expo 2020 for the first time in the MENA region. A festival of human ingenuity, Expo 2020 will offer nations and organizations participating in the event, and the millions who visit, a chance to explore the power of connections across the spheres of opportunity, mobility and sustainability. Sustainability will encompass every aspect of Expo 2020 - from its overarching philosophy to the physical design of the site and infrastructure. Furthermore, the UAE will host the fourth Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) conference to coincide with Expo 2020. Collectively with member PAGE countries, the UAE will showcase innovative ideas and promising solutions to truly achieve a global collaboration for sustainable living.