As the World Future Energy Summit launches in Abu Dhabi, the Arabian Gulf region is witnessing heavy rains, confirming the urgent need to mitigate the effects of climate change and its various consequences.
During the opening speech of the summit, Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President and CEO of the United Arab Emirates Independent Accelerators for Climate Change, praised the recent cooperation to launch the road map to reduce the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the “troika” of the presidencies of the Conference of the Parties, which consists of The UAE and the next hosts of the conference, Azerbaijan and Brazil.
It warned that limiting global climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels, would require “high levels of financing.”
She said: “We realize that it is not possible to achieve climate action goals individually; We trust in the power of diverse voices to foster dialogue and knowledge exchange to find creative solutions to challenges. This shared spirit fills me with pride, as I stand with you today; Forums such as this week’s World Future Energy Summit provide critical opportunities for actors from various sectors to exchange views and stimulate collaborative action. The UAE is proud of its ability to build bridges everywhere, and I am very pleased to announce the “Troika” presidency of the Conference of the Parties, and I am fully confident that this new alliance will strengthen our efforts towards limiting global warming below the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius, while emphasizing the need to unprecedented levels of funding to achieve these goals.
She highlighted the potential of “blended finance,” which is defined as a combination of concessional public financing with public or private capital, and this model is increasingly recognized as a key mechanism for providing the financial resources needed to address climate change.
A new analysis, conducted by the International Federation of Manufacturing Industries, in cooperation with Convergys and HSBC Bank, on blended finance in the Middle East and North Africa region, indicated that the financial model is still in its early stages, with the total committed financing amounting to 14.2 billion. Dollars, and this number represents 7% of global mixed transactions, while climate-related mixed transactions amount to approximately $7 billion.
Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency, participated in the opening speech, during which he pointed to the need to identify energy transition priorities and immediate steps, to accelerate progress towards tripling the production capacity of renewable energy to at least 11 terawatts by 2030.
The latest data issued by the agency shows that the world is still suffering from a deficit, as 473 gigawatts of new renewable energy will be deployed in 2023, compared to about 1,100 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity required annually.
In his speech during the opening of the Green Hydrogen Summit, hosted by Masdar as part of the summit, Boris Johnson, former British Prime Minister, praised the role played by the UAE as one of the most prominent centers of technological innovation, before referring to the country’s hosting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Last year, he described this step as a victory in the face of challenges towards achieving climate neutrality.
Swiss explorer and clean technology ambassador Dr. Bertrand Picard, President of Climate Impulse, spoke about his latest expedition, powered by renewable energy, which is sailing around the world in a plane powered by green hydrogen.
The new flight, which Picard hopes to complete in 2028, follows his historic 23-day flight around the world on a solar-powered aircraft in 2015 that began and ended in Abu Dhabi.
Lynn Al-Sibai, General Manager of RX Middle East and chair of the summit, said: “The event once again proved its success in bringing together the brightest leading minds in the sector, as the first day was full of constructive dialogues about the efforts required to bring about tangible change against the backdrop of the success achieved by the United Nations conference.” COP28 on climate change.