Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on Friday launched a plan with Britain, the US and others to develop technology that helps farmers in developing nations cope with the effects of climate change.
Sheikh Mohammed spoke at US President Joe Biden's two-day gathering of 40 world leaders to get the world's biggest economies to cut emissions of planet-heating gases and keep rising temperatures under control.
“I am pleased to announce that the UAE will be partnering with a group of champions to launch the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
“This is a new initiative to support research and development and innovation for food systems over the next five years.”
Brazil, Denmark, Israel, Singapore, Australia and Uruguay are also involved in the plan.
The planet has so far warmed by 1.2°C and is headed for at least 3°C this century. Globally, farmers are struggling against the effects of increasingly frequent droughts, flash floods and soil degradation.
According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Agency, climate change has affected rainfall patterns, drought, flooding and the distribution of locusts and other pests, threatening the livelihoods of smallholder and subsistence farmers.
The UAE has over the decades developed know-how in irrigation, water management to use its arid soil for farming. The mission will focus on research and development of farming innovations. It remains unclear how much funding is associated with the project.
"Climate change is not a temporary concern," Sheikh Mohammed said.
“It is rather a global challenge that is ongoing. We must unite our efforts to safeguard the planet for the future generations or else risk paying heavier costs in the future.”
At the same session, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates praised the initiative, saying subsistence farmers in poor countries needed help to cope with the effects of climate change.
"We have to address the climate impacts that are going to come because of the heating that's already taken place," Mr Gates said. "This means accelerating agricultural innovation so that subsistence farmers can withstand the shocks that come with more unpredictable weather."
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister for Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy for Climate Change, said the plan promised "far-reaching and long-lasting socio-economic benefits".
"By investing in innovation and technology in the agricultural sector, we can unlock opportunities for effective mitigation and adaptation, feed growing populations in resource-stressed areas, and create economic growth," Dr Al Jaber said.
US climate envoy John Kerry, who recently visited Abu Dhabi, said he was proud to be involved in the initiative.
"I was impressed by the ingenuity being applied to food and climate challenges during my recent trip to the UAE, and know that we all stand to benefit by sharing best practices and raising innovation ambition when it comes to climate-smart agriculture," Mr Kerry said.
"AIM for Climate can serve as a unique platform for co-operation among many countries on these shared challenges."
Mr Biden on Friday said America would boost co-operation with India, the UAE, Britain, Russia and other nations in efforts to tackle pollution, rising temperatures and the impacts of climate change.
At his gathering of 40 world leaders and business and technology chiefs, Mr Biden announced plans to work with India and Sweden on cleaning up the industrial sector and creating carbon-free power networks with the UK.
"And the agricultural sector, where we will launch the agriculture innovation mission for climate with the United Arab Emirates and other partners," Mr Biden said on the second day of his two-day climate summit.
"Also I'm very heartened by [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin's call yesterday for the world to collaborate on advanced carbon dioxide removal. And the United States looks forward to working with Russia and other countries in that endeavour as a great promise."
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Egrets are seen on mangrove trees during sunrise at Kajhu beach, Aceh province, Indonesia. AFP -
Fire burns on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. AP Photo -
A fisherman on his pirogue throws a net in the Niger river in Mopti, Mali. Fishing is threatened by climate changes, unselective fishing and armed groups present in the rural zones in central Mali. AFP -
World leaders virtually attend the Leaders Summit on Climate, as seen from the East Room of the White House. AP Photo -
US President Joe Biden speaks to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. AP Photo -
US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, from the East Room of the White House. AP Photo -
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate in a video screenshot. Bloomberg -
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate in a video screenshot. Bloomberg -
German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a virtual international climate summit with US President Joe Biden in Berlin, Germany. AP -
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. Bloomberg -
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Climate Summit video conference, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France. EPA -
Sheikh Hasina Wajed, Bangladesh's prime minister, right, speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. Bloomberg -
Yoshihide Suga, Japan's prime minister, speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. Bloomberg -
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen listens to US President Joe Biden during a virtual global climate summit, at The Prime Minister's Office in Copenhagen, Denmark. Reuters -
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. Bloomberg -
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate from Moscow, Russia. EPA -
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. Bloomberg -
US President Joe Biden speaks to the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry looks on. AP Photo -
Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. Bloomberg -
President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, right, listen during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. AP Photo -
Resident Lourdes Martinez fills water tanks with water for her family daily use as Mexico City and the metropolitan area is running out of water as drought takes hold of the city of almost 22 million people in the municipality of Xochimilco in Mexico City, Mexico. Reuters -
Smoke bellows from a power plant on a polluted day in Cangzhou, some 180 kms from Beijing, in northern China's Hebei province. AFP -
A man collects garbage, including plastic waste, at the beach of Costa del Este, in Panama City. AFP -
A polar bear stands on melting sea ice in Svalbard, Norway. AFP -
Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid attends the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted remotely by US President Joe Biden. -
Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid attends the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted remotely by US President Joe Biden. -
Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid attends the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted remotely by US President Joe Biden. -
Sheikh Mohamed Bin Rashid attends the Leaders Summit on Climate hosted remotely by US President Joe Biden. -
South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (Lee Jin-wook/Yonhap via AP) -
Charles Michel attends a virtual Global Climate Summit via video link from the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, April 22, 2021. (Johanna Geron, Pool via AP) -
epa09152991 A screen shows Xie Zhenhua, China's Special Envoy for Climate Change, speaking during a media briefing on Chinese President Xi Jinping's attendance at virtual international Leaders Summit on Climate, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Beijing, China, 22 April 2021. Around 40 international leaders attended the summit called by US President Biden. The meeting is intended to underline the urgency and economic benefits of stronger climate action on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY -
epa09152984 A handout photo made available by the Presidency of Brazil that shows President Jair Bolsonaro, along with the Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Salles (L), during the climate summit convened by the US President, Joe Biden, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, 22 April 2021. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced that his country will seek to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, ten years before the previous environmental commitment. Around 40 international leaders attended the summit called by US President Biden. The meeting is intended to underline the urgency and economic benefits of stronger climate action on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021. EPA/MARCOS CORREA / BRAZIL PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT MANDATORY CREDIT: HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES -
Pope Francis speaks during the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate in a video screenshot on Thursday, April 22, 2021. President Biden pledged to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 as he convenes 40 world leaders in a virtual summit intended to demonstrate renewed American resolve to fight climate change and pressure wary nations to raise their own ambitions. Source: White House/Bloomberg -
BERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 22: German Chancellor Angela Merkel takes part in the virtual international climate summit with US President Joe Biden, on April 22, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. The meeting aims to underline the urgency and economic benefits of stronger climate action on the way to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November. Around 40 top international politicians take part in the summit. (Photo by Kay Nietfeld - Pool/Getty Images) -
Prime Minister Boris Johnson listens to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (on screen) during the opening session of the virtual global Leaders Summit on Climate, as he sits in the Downing Street Briefing Room in central London, Thursday April 22, 2021. The virtual event attended by many national leaders from their countries around the globe, to raise global ambition on climate change is taking place on Earth Day, and hosted by US President Joe Biden. (Justin Tallis/Pool via AP)
