UAE… New support from its youth for Cop 28
Since its inception, the UAE has been working to empower youth in entrepreneurship, creating a cadre of young people who have made their way to the world. Many of the UAE’s leading role models have come into being to live up to the era started by the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyane.
With the COP28, the UAE is living through a new year of challenge. With climate change, the UAE has decided that young people will be the nucleus and fuel of the World Conference, and that they will determine the future of the planet.
Climate and Youth Summit
To support youth, the UAE convened representatives of 12 universities and higher education institutions to launch the University Climate Network, which seeks to stimulate youth participation in COP28. The UAE supports university youth and the future of the UAE.
The university climate network will include universities such as the American University in Sharjah, the Anwar Gargash Academy of Diplomacy, the Higher Technical Colleges, Khalifa University, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Mohammed bin Zayed University of Human Sciences, the National Defense College, New York University Abu Dhabi, the Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates University, and Zayed University.
University Climate Network events
The University Climate Network’s activities begin with the “Ramadan Dialogs” series, which includes a number of seminars. Various educational institutions host some of the most prominent climate speakers, and related topics such as climate diplomacy, hydrogen economy, modern urban life in the Gulf States, and the importance of the COP28 and others.
The UAE presidency of the conference launched last March the International Youth Climate Delegates Program, which will select 100 young people, most of them from least developed countries and small island developing states, to participate in climate negotiations and related public-private partnership initiatives. The application process was closed on April 7, 2023.
Implementation conference
The United Arab Emirates is working to make the COP28 Climate Summit, which is scheduled to be hosted in Expo, an implementation conference, not just for pledges, by investing money and effort in this regard. The upcoming climate summit comes at a very complex international moment, with many countries reneging on their climate pledges to achieve energy security for their citizens, in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine, which led major countries to blockade Moscow, resulting in an energy crisis, casting its shadow on many countries of the world.
The UAE selected officials known for their efforts, led by Dr. Sultan al-Jaber, the special envoy on climate change who was appointed president of the summit, and Shamma Al Mazrui, the Minister of State for Youth Affairs.
