ABU DHABI // The country is working on a system to monitor and record its greenhouse gas emissions, says the new director general of the Global Green Growth Institute.
Frank Rijsberman, who was on a two-day visit to the UAE for the World Future Energy Summit, said that although there was room for improvement, the UAE had become a leader in the renewable energy sector.
“We’ve been rapidly expanding our roots and we now have 25 country programmes, with the UAE one of our oldest,” he said.
“And while we were initially working on supporting the Government with green growth, we are getting close to the next stage, which is realising bankable projects that help governments to finance their visions, particularly green cities.”
The institute is working with the UAE to develop its climate change plan, which is about to be approved.
The country is also interested in implementing the Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system – a database for greenhouse gas emissions used to show reductions under the Paris Agreement.
“If you do a project in greenhouse gas emissions and you get credit as part of your national commitment to the Paris Agreement, you need to document it and compare it to the baseline,” said Mr Rijsberman, who is from The Netherlands.
“That requires a pretty complex greenhouse gas emissions inventory, estimates and stringent rules according to international standards.
“Quite a few countries who don’t have that find it pretty complex to build it. It was built by the South Korean government and we are sharing the expertise.”
Many countries have been adopting the system, which will take several years to become fully operational in the UAE.
The country is also contributing to developing green strategies. Last year, it invested US$400,000 (Dh1.4million) in Morocco and $600,000 across the Middle East.
It also gives $2.5m to the institute in Seoul each year, $1.1m of which is reinvested at home.
“It is sponsoring work in Morocco and Jordan this year and we’re exploring a new proposal to work on food security,” Mr Rijsberman said.
“We’re looking into a partnership between our members in the region, like the UAE and Qatar, with three African countries, including Ethiopia, Senegal and Rwanda, to make agriculture more climate-resilient.”
He said the UAE had become a leader in renewable energy and in “making this shift from a fossil fuel based economy to realising the future is elsewhere”.
“There is still a lot of scope in energy efficiency, in electrical public transport system and in highly efficient buildings, to advance the energy supply and demand with many members, including the UAE,” Mr Rijsberman said.
“The mood is that it’s become both much smarter for governments and huge business opportunities to invest in renewable energy, particularly in solar.”
Last year, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said he was proud to see the UAE ready to capitalise on international opportunities.
“Renewables is my area,” he said at the time. “In the past six years we committed more than $840m to renewable energy in more than 30 countries.”
The UAE ratified the Cop21 agreement at the United Nations last September, committing to the Paris Agreement, which is aimed at reducing global warming to less than 2°C.
Dr Al Zeyoudi said then that the agreement was the world’s first durable response to climate change that allows each country to contribute climate actions in accordance with their own economic priorities.
“For the UAE, this means solutions that create new social and economic opportunities and support our ambitious agenda towards economic diversification.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
