Abu Dhabi: Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, will be joined by former US Vice-President Al Gore, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón at the Abu Dhabi Ascent, an international summit that opens on Sunday.
The summit is a high-level climate change meeting to be attended by government, business and civil society leaders. Over 75 cabinet-level government ministers will participate in the meeting, which plays a pivotal role in mobilising action in advance of the Climate Summit, to be hosted by Ban at the UN in September, a press release said on Saturday.
The meeting, in Abu Dhabi, is designed to build momentum for the Climate Summit, which aims to catalyse transformative action and build political impetus in advance of the 2015 UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Conference in Paris, where a global, binding climate agreement will be finalised.
Calderón, who chairs the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, said: “A major focus of Abu Dhabi Ascent will be on the economic benefits of action on climate change. Reducing emissions, while promoting economic and social development, is the challenge before us, because there is no alternative.”
Goals of the Abu Dhabi Ascent include bringing world leaders together to advance an ambitious climate agenda for the September Climate Summit, at a time when climate change has once again emerged as one of the world’s most pressing issues. As the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported earlier, greenhouse gas emissions worldwide have risen dramatically over the past decade and need to be cut by a minimum of 40 per cent, and as much as 70 per cent, in order to limit the increase of the global average temperature to 2 degrees Celsius by mid-century.
“The Secretary-General’s decision to schedule this important meeting in Abu Dhabi underscores the transformation already under way in the UAE and the role we are playing in addressing the global climate agenda,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and special envoy for energy and climate change. “While we have long been rich in hydrocarbons, we now export both conventional and renewable sources of energy worldwide. Accelerating the pace of renewable energy adoption is a critical strategy as we face the challenge of climate change, and this is one of many issues to be discussed during the Abu Dhabi Ascent.”
During the two-day meeting attendees will address action areas that offer significant impact in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while creating strategies for resilience. Issues to be discussed include those surrounding agriculture, cities, climate adaptation, climate finance, energy-efficient technologies, forest management, renewable energy and transportation. The meeting will also evaluate international and multi-stakeholder efforts that can inspire action at the grass roots level.
The selection of Abu Dhabi to host this meeting is reflective of the UAE’s worldwide reputation as a progressive leader on energy diversification and climate change policies. The UAE’s status as a global energy hub of expertise is behind the selection of Abu Dhabi as the permanent headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency, the first intergovernmental organisation located in the Middle East.
