Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week to be held at Cop28

The event will address issues such as investing for inclusion and climate finance

The ADSW Summit will take place on December 4 at the Connect Conference Centre in Expo City. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will hold a special edition at the Cop28 UN climate change conference, which will be hosted by the UAE from November 30 to December 12.

The one-day Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit will take place on December 4 at the Connect Conference Centre in Expo City, Dubai, under the theme, United on Climate Action at Cop28.

The gathering, hosted on Cop28’s thematic finance day, will address issues such as investing for inclusion and climate finance, and identify ways to speed up sustainable development, event organiser Masdar said on Monday.

The event will play a “critical role in maintaining worldwide climate momentum” at Cop28, Masdar said.

“As the UAE looks ahead to hosting Cop28, it is vital that we use every opportunity at our disposal to fast-track a just and orderly energy transition and to keep 1.5ºC within reach,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Cop28 President-designate and chairman of Masdar.

“Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week was set up by Masdar in 2008 and has grown into a leading global initiative that extends well beyond one week.

“The special edition at Cop28 provides an important platform for a wider community of key stakeholders to have their voices heard and to accelerate a just and inclusive transition to a net-zero future.”

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, chairman of Masdar and Cop28 President-designate said ADSW will support the focus on a just transition to net zero. Photo: Masdar

Cop28 is the first summit to evaluate the progress made since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, which calls for action to limit temperature rises to 1.5°C on pre-industrial levels.

Pledges to keep the goal alive would be assessed every five years. This is known as a “global stocktake” and will take place for the first time at Cop28 in the UAE, with Denmark and South Africa invited to assist.

Throughout Cop28, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will host events in the blue and green zones.

In the green zone, the ADSW Partnership Hub will run a series of structured collaborative activities. Its virtual content platform, ADSW Live, will stream live interviews from the green zone.

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will also feature the WiSER initiative, which aims to boost the role of women and girls, while Youth 4 Sustainability, a Masdar initiative, will host the Y4S Forum on December 8.

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  Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Cop28 President-designate and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology speaking in March at the Road to Cop28 launch event held at Al Wasl plaza at the Expo City in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

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  Dr Al Jaber said the UAE presidency had received more than 600 submissions on the two-week agenda in an “innovative and inclusive” consultation with delegates. Pawan Singh / The National

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  A picture shows empty tourist facilities by the Habbaniyah lake affected by severe drought in Iraq's Anbar province, August 11. The sustainability of nature, land use, and oceans are integral to achieving all the Paris Agreement’s goals. AFP

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  Climate change is creating severe pressure and risks for the food, agricultural and water systems that ensure human wellbeing. AFP

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  In a first for Cop, a day will be dedicated to discussing health and its relationship between climate change. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organisation's director general, thanked Dr Al Jaber during a recent meeting.

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  December 10 will focus on how to fix this, from scaling up regenerative agriculture and water-food systems that support habitat restoration and conservation and increase food security, to implementing stronger, fairer integrated governance between states and corporations, farmers and producers. AFP

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  Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Minister of State for Food Security in July launched Cop28's Food Systems and Agriculture Agenda. Ms Al Mheiri called on governments to demonstrate leadership by signing the first-ever Leaders Declaration on Food Systems, Agriculture and Climate Action during the Food Systems Summit in Rome.

“We … look forward to welcoming key stakeholders in sustainability and clean energy as we look to drive positive change to tackle the world's most urgent and pressing challenges together,” said Mohamed Al Ramahi, chief executive of Masdar.

Masdar, which plays a key role in the UAE's clean energy agenda, is active in more than 40 countries and has invested in a portfolio of renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of around 20 gigawatts.

It aims to increase this to at least 100 gigawatts by 2030. The company is also targeting green hydrogen production of 1 million tonnes per annum by the same year.

Masdar has renewable energy projects under development in Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Americas.

These include the Cirata floating solar plant in Indonesia, the largest in South-east Asia, and the Garadagh Solar PV Plant, Azerbaijan’s first foreign investment-based independent utility scale solar project.