UAE President Sheikh Mohamed on Tuesday welcomed delegates to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's World Conservation Congress at Qasr Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE is hosting the Congress from October 9-15. It is the first time the congress will be hosted in the UAE.
Sheikh Mohamed welcomed the guests, who included Crown Prince Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, of the Malaysian state of Pahang.
They were accompanied by IUCN President and Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Nature Razan Al Mubarak, Wam reported.
Sheikh Mohamed wished the congress success in establishing ways to protect nature, preserve biodiversity and raise global awareness of environmental challenges.
The guests expressed their appreciation for the UAE’s approach to environmental protection, its commitment to sustainability and its support for international collective action in this vital field.
The World Conservation Congress is expected to draw 10,000 visitors, who will attend more than 1,500 sessions on biodiversity and nature across 140 different country pavilions.
It takes place with only five years remaining until the 2030 deadline for the Paris Agreement, a key part of which is to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Key issues at the event will include scaling up conservation efforts to address the global biodiversity crisis and reducing climate overshoot risks.
