UN meet in UAE seen driving global climate action
Dr McPherson hails UAE’s climate action leadership at Majlis Mohamed bin Zayed
- Businesses urged "to do the right thing — because it also the smart thing”.
- Global COP28 meeting will be held in Dubai, from November 30 to December 12, 2023.
- It will conclude the global stock-take to assess countries’ collective progress towards achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2050.
Abu Dhabi: The upcoming 28th UN Climate Change Conference is a pivotal meeting that will drive global climate action.
It will also serve as a referendum to UAE’s inclusive, pragmatic approach to tackling climate change, a top climate tech expert has said.
Dr Sharron McPherson, founder of the climate tech firm Green Jobs Machine, has called on the UAE leadership and community to “lead the world” in climate action.
The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC — more commonly referred to as COP28 — will be the 28th UN Climate Change conference, to be held from November 30 until December 12, 2023 at the Expo City, Dubai, UAE.
Speaking at the Majlis Mohamed bin Zayed, McPherson said: “The stakes are high as the UAE prepares to host the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28). The meeting will conclude the global stock-take intended to assess countries’ collective progress towards achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2050.
Business leader as COP28 president
“COP28 also marks the first time ever a business [leader] has served as COP President – emphasising the increasing importance of the business world in tackling climate change,” Dr McPherson said.
She was referring to Dr Sultan Al Jaber’s appointment as COP28 president. Dr Al Jaber is currently serving as the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology.
He is also group chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), as well as chairman of the UAE’s renewable energy developer Masdar.
“I’ve been involved with the climate action movement from a community perspective for a long, long time. I believe in the pragmatic approach,” Dr McPherson said, referring to Dr Al Jaber’s statement last year that climate action should be “tailored to real-world scenarios”.
Lt. Gen. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, attended the Majlis session.
Inclusive approach
Dr McPherson, who is a strategic advisor to global corporations and governments, hailed the UAE’s inclusive approach to climate action.
“The UAE’s ‘leaving no one behind’ climate approach requires courage and a commitment to bold new ways of thinking and being,” she said.
“It also means that business and governments must learn to better embrace complexity and uncertainty that have historically proven difficult. Inclusive approaches, by their very definition, must include investing differently in communities that have historically been left behind,” she said.
The UAE had already demonstrated its ability to lead during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in a manner that allowed even young Emiratis to be heard.
Dr McPherson said this kind of leadership is now needed at the global level when it comes to climate resilience, especially with resilience being defined as allowing communities to thrive, not just respond.
Tackling existential threat
“Advancing technologies like space tech, the IoT, and of course AI and predictive analytics can help by amplifying our capacity to take decisive action despite the inherent complexity of climate resilience investing, and an increasingly complex and anxious business environment.
“The UAE has already committed millions to climate action. It is now positioned to lead by saying that every investment that we make, we should have a resilience score,” she said.
DrMcPherson also called for “bold new approaches” to climate investment.
“Our models for investing and managing risk and uncertainty depend on historical data. But since 1970, the Earth’s temperature has raced upwards faster than in any comparable period, and no one can predict the real impact of the existential threat that we are facing,” she warned.
'Hottest in 125,000 years'
“The last decade was the hottest in 125,000 years, and we will have to incorporate the concept of resilience into how we build and maintain the built environment, produce energy, grow our food and invest if we are to survive and thrive in the years ahead.
“What we do know is that climate-related disasters will continue to proliferate for the foreseeable future, and that adverse climate-related events — together with factors such as global pandemics, war, and the inter-connectedness of global markets — will continue to have the greatest impact on the most vulnerable communities on Earth. Without bold new approaches, many will be left behind,” she warned.
Allowing businesses to lead
One of the new strategies she espoused was allowing businesses to lead.
“My prayer is that we use this opportunity to drive the idea of pragmatism. I won’t apologise for the belief that businesses should lead. Because I have tried it other ways, and it doesn’t work. When I go in to a very complex organisation and say we are going to measure your resilience, and also provide a framework to show how resilience is connected to the operating environment — the community, [businesses care],” Dr McPherson explained.
Metrics and real-world data can help corporations see the benefits of climate action.”
Indicators, metrics
“I think this is the COP to [evolving our understanding]. If there is something that can come out of this COP, it is to say that we have lots of indicators; what about the metrics that matter to business? [These metrics will] make it clear that what happens to the community absolutely has an impact on the bottom line. I want it to be easier for businesses to do the right thing because it also the smart thing,” McPherson said.