Before the Climate Summit… UAE Aims to Transform into a Hub for Climate Change Solutions
The UAE seeks to transform into a hub for climate change solutions. Government entities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the technology and space sectors have joined forces to enhance collaboration ahead of the upcoming Cop28 Climate Summit scheduled to be held in Dubai in November. The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, the UAE Space Agency, and the Cop28, through the office of the UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, are working together to encourage organizations in these sectors to contribute to climate efforts at the Technology and Innovation Hub.
The Cop28 summit is scheduled to take place in Dubai from November 30th to December 12th, and it is expected to be the most comprehensive climate summit held in Dubai to date, according to the international magazine “The National.”
Producing New Technologies
According to the UAE government, the partnership aims to increase contributions to the comprehensive environmental system of Cop28. It brings together major technology companies, global institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, and space agencies to enhance joint efforts towards climate goals.
The partnership is expected to encourage global technology and industrial companies to use the UAE as a base for developing new technologies that can support sustainable industrial development, address climate change, and accelerate carbon removal. The three agencies are also working to facilitate knowledge exchange to accelerate the development of advanced technology and contribute to the Cop28 legacy.
Advanced technology and space sectors are more than just fundamental aspects of national economies, as stated by Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology: “They are drivers of innovation and crucial enabling factors for net-zero, accelerating the development of climate-related technologies.”
She continued, “This collaboration will help rally stakeholders of all sizes ahead of Cop28 as MoIAT and UAESA bring the UAE and the global innovation ecosystem together at the Technology and Innovation Hub.”
Transition to Clean Energy
The partnership aims to encourage cross-field collaboration to increase joint efforts and align industrial and space sectors’ outcomes with Cop28 goals. Through this collaboration, they aim to accelerate progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and enhance the UAE’s status as a global innovation hub for climate technologies.
Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, Director-General and Special Representative for Cop28, stated, “Leveraging technological solutions is the key to accelerating the energy transition, building better and more advanced early warning systems, supporting local adaptation, and enhancing the resilience of cities, industries, and communities.”
The UAE’s Cop28 presidency has also turned to key global players like Canada and Germany to assist in achieving the objectives of the Dubai Climate Summit. UN Environment Programme and Cop28 Presidency announced the development of the Global Cooling Commitment in January, which provides incentives for governments and stakeholders to work on sustainable cooling in five areas: nature-based solutions, ultra-efficient devices, cooling chains for food and vaccines, cooling regions, and national cooling action plans. More than 20 countries have signed the commitment so far.
