Summit discusses sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery plans

In the presence of Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit got underway on Tuesday as part of ADSW 2021, the global platform for accelerating the pace of sustainable development.

Hosted by Masdar, the event is being held virtually this year due to restriction in place to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed welcomed the leaders, officials and experts participating in the sessions of this year’s summit to discuss how to enact a ‘green recovery’ to help economies rebound from the pandemic and build a more sustainable future for all.

Sheikh Hazza emphasised that the UAE is continuing its efforts under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and with the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to stimulate sustainable development, and said that ADSW is particularly relevant this year as it represents a global platform for dialogue and setting the sustainable development agenda based on the principles of the green recovery.

Sheikh Hazza said, “In light of the exceptional circumstances that the world is experiencing, there is an urgent need to take practical steps and initiatives that contribute to accelerating the application of the principles and foundations of sustainable development, with the need to take proactive steps, plan for a more flexible future and strengthen capabilities in order to efficiently face the existing and emerging challenges.

“The Emirati initiatives, present to the world a practical model on the economic feasibility of renewable energy, stressing the importance of cooperation and joint work to achieve tangible progress in the field of reducing the repercussions of climate change.”

He said that Abu Dhabi continues, year after year, to consolidate its position and pivotal role as a platform that brings together the international community to discuss key issues in sustainability.

He said that he hoped that this year’s ADSW would be the starting point for constructive global dialogue on building a secure and stable future for current and future generations.

Prince Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco, delivered the Summit’s keynote speech, thanked Abu Dhabi for hosting this event under these circumstances and said, “I believe the crisis we are experiencing is urging us to reinvent the ways we live, produce and travel in a more radical manner. It is urging us to rethink our relationship with nature and to re-evaluate our priorities. In this respect, the coming year will be full of opportunities which we need to grasp.”

COVID-19 wake-up call: Dr Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Special Envoy for Climate Change and Chairman of Masdar, in his speech praised the wise leadership’s support for sustainable development.

He said that the COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call to humanity as a whole, and that it demonstrated the importance of sustainability in its broadest sense, and revealed the interdependence between health and food and resource security.

He explained how efforts made by the UAE to face the pandemic, through proactive measures enacted by the wise leadership, focused on enhancing resource security and supporting vital supply chains.

He stressed the concept of cooperation and building bridges of dialogue and communication, noting that the country will host the Dubai Expo later this year, with sustainability and the future as the main themes of this event.

Dr Al Jaber touched on the Zayed Sustainability Prize and its role in promoting global sustainability efforts, as it has achieved a positive impact on more than 350 million people around the world.

He explained that the award will return in its usual form next year, with a focus on aspects of innovation and recovery for the post-COVID period.

The ADSW Summit comprises three sessions of two hours each, and focuses on three topics: restoring the circle of life (Live & Move), enhancing responsibility and interaction (Care & Engage), and doing business and investment (Work & Invest).

As well as the Summit, ADSW, which runs from January 18-21, hosts a series of high-level virtual activities, including the General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Abu Dhabi Forum for Sustainable Finance, and the Global Energy Forum of the Atlantic Council. the virtual forum for the “Youth for Sustainability” platform, and the World Future Energy Summit forums.

In addition to Prince Albert II of Monaco; speakers at the summit include: Prince Khalid Bin Al-Waleed Bin Talal Al Saud, Chairman of the Board of Directors of “KBW” Investment; Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, Group Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Director of Mubadala Investment; Grace Fu, Minister of Sustainability and Environment of the Government of Singapore; Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), and founder and CEO of Kalimat Group.

WAM