Countdown to COP28 Concludes Climate Future Week at the Museum of the Future
Dubai, September 30th - The Climate Future Week at the Museum of the Future came to a close with the "Countdown to COP28" event. In alignment with the United Arab Emirates' leadership vision, the COP28 presidency is committed to involving all segments of society, raising awareness about the perils of climate change, and emphasizing the significance of climate action. Their aim is to support efforts to reduce emissions and forge a sustainable future for everyone, everywhere.
The primary objective is to maintain the possibility of preventing global warming from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Over 6,300 experts, specialists, university students, and individuals interested in environmental and sustainability fields from the United Arab Emirates, the region, and around the world participated in 29 events throughout the Climate Future Week.
This event was organized in collaboration with the "Fikr Foundation" as part of the "Year of Sustainability" and the preparations for the United Arab Emirates to host the Conference of the Parties (COP28) at the end of next November.
His Excellency Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the designated President of COP28, affirmed that in accordance with the vision of the UAE's leadership, the COP28 presidency aims to ensure the involvement of all segments of society. It seeks to raise awareness about the dangers of climate change and the importance of climate action, encouraging individuals to support efforts to reduce emissions and build a sustainable future for everyone, everywhere.
This announcement came during His Excellency's participation in a special dialogue session titled "Countdown to COP28" regarding preparations for the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held at the end of next November. This session marked the conclusion of the "Climate Future Week" hosted by the Museum of the Future in collaboration with the "Fikr Foundation" for five days, bringing together more than 6,300 experts, specialists, university students, and individuals interested in the fields of the environment and sustainability from the United Arab Emirates, the region, and around the world.
The session featured the presence of His Excellency Razan Al Mubarak, the United Nations Climate Leader at COP28 and the President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It was moderated by Dubai Belhoul, the Emirati writer, novelist, Rhodes Scholar, and founder of the "Fikr" platform.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber stated, "The United Arab Emirates is approaching the hosting of COP28 with humility, responsibility, and a full awareness of the importance of climate action to enable the world to keep pace with the future."
He elaborated on the impact of climate change repercussions on the United Arab Emirates, situated in a region characterized by extremely high temperatures, water scarcity, and threatened food systems. He emphasized that we live in an interconnected world where the effects of climate change affect everyone, everywhere.
"Our primary goal in hosting COP28 is to preserve the possibility of avoiding a global temperature increase beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius. We aim to achieve this through our action plan based on four pillars: accelerating the transition to a sustainable, responsible, and equitable energy sector, developing climate finance mechanisms, protecting people, improving their lives and livelihoods, and supporting the previous pillars by fully involving everyone in the conference's working system. We must seize the opportunity presented by COP28 to unite global efforts to deliver feasible and effective solutions to reduce the impacts of climate change," Dr. Sultan Al Jaber added.
In her participation, Her Excellency Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, the United Nations Climate Leader at COP28 and President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, emphasized the need for an approach that involves all segments of society to address the impacts of climate change and support the transition to sustainable systems. She stressed that the full inclusion of all in the COP28's working system is one of the fundamental pillars of the presidency's action plan, and it involves collaborating with businesses, investors, cities, civil society, indigenous peoples, including women and youth, to ensure their tangible and effective participation in climate discussions and the identification of necessary solutions.
She further called for the adoption of principles that ensure a positive impact on nature in designing and implementing climate action. She highlighted the urgent need to strengthen the connection between the climate agenda and nature, as the COP28 would be a pivotal moment to consolidate nature as an influential and effective means to preserve the possibility of achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Climate Startups Council.
The closing day of the Climate Future Week also featured the "Climate Startups Council" session, moderated by Faisal Kazim from the Emirates Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It highlighted various important climate topics, including waste management solutions, smart agricultural innovations, the use of agricultural technologies, and sustainable production. Participants included Dr. Saeed Al-Khazraji, a professor at Khalifa University and the founder of Manhat, Lamis Al-Hashimi, co-founder of Balmed, Onur Elgun, co-founder of CarbonSi-Fi, Rabih Al-Shaar, co-founder of Nadira, and Dr. Joseph Schmidhuber, CEO of Sustainable Development at Pure Harvest. Lara Hussein and Céline Oren, founding partners and soil specialists at The West Lab, also took part in the session.
Diverse Activities.
The activities during the "Climate Future Week," organized by the Museum of the Future in collaboration with the "Fikr Foundation" from September 26th to 30th, included a conference with 20 plenary sessions and six different workshops, along with three main accompanying events. It featured a group of elite speakers and experts from the United Arab Emirates, the region, and around the world, emphasizing the importance of preserving natural resources, promoting climate awareness and proper human behaviors, the role of advanced technology in achieving future climate goals, and encouraging entrepreneurship and emerging businesses in the face of climate and environmental challenges.
Leading Experts.
The list of speakers during the "Climate Future Week" conference sessions included His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, in a session about the future of sustainable global trade, His Excellency Issam Kazim, the CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, in a session on sustainable tourism, Laila Mustafa Abdul Latif, the CEO of Emirates Nature Society, in a session about the need for innovation in nature conservation, Najib Saab, the Secretary-General of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development, discussing the Arab climate future, and many others.