EAD hosts youth debate during COP27

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

As part of its forward-looking vision and youth empowering agenda, the Environment Agency — Abu Dhabi (EAD) hosted a youth debate during COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt that is being held from November 6th to 18th.

The debate took place on the 10th of November at the UAE Pavilion, and it was organised in collaboration with the Federal Youth Authority of the UAE and covered the challenging topic of climate change and securing energy. Other stakeholders include Arab Youth Council for Climate Change, TAQA and ADNOC.

The 45-minute debate saw a dynamic battle between the team that supported the existence of opportunities in securing energy while limiting the repercussions of the climate change crisis, and the opposition team that opposed the idea. Both teams presented their points of view in the presence of the jury and the audience that later voted for the winning team.

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The debate was won by the supporting team, who shared their point of view on the importance of energy security and mentioned some facts about greenhouse gas emissions and how energy resources can be changed and converted into resources that help reduce emissions. They also focused on the need to diversify clean energy sources such as renewable energy and supported their argument with examples from different countries of the world, including China and the UAE.

The jury included a group of high-level experts and specialists, including Sheikha Shamma Bint Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Executive Director of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, EAD’s Secretary General, Eng. Mohammed Al Hammadi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), and Abdel Moneim Imam, Member of the Egyptian House of Representatives, Secretary of the Parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee.

The main objectives of the initiative were: to hone the critical thinking skills of youth and enhance their research capabilities, educate them on sharpening their public speaking skills on a global level, and help themexperience the power of teamwork and persuasion.

The supporting debate team included Ali Al Shammari from TAQA, Azza Al Raisi from ADNOC and Sherif Al Rifai from the Arab Youth Council for Climate Change, while the opposition team included Ahmed Fathi, Ahmed Sabaa Al Leil from the Arab Youth Council for Climate Change and Shaima Al Bulooshi from EAD. The session was moderated by Nouf Al Qadi, Environmental Assessment Specialist in the Environmental Quality Sector at the Agency.