Youth 4 Sustainability Forum grooms environment leaders of tomorrow

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Youth 4 Sustainability (Y4S) – the UAE’s premier youth empowerment platform on sustainability – hosted an insightful programme of empowering discussions and speeches at the Y4S Forum at COP28.

Held on COP28’s day for Youth, Children, Education and Skills, the Y4S Forum opened with a Youth Circle with Engineer Awaidha Murshed Al Marar, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, who encouraged the young audience to reflect on the three major factors affecting energy supply – the environment, affordability and security of supply – and emphasised the importance of balancing these factors.

Masdar Executive Director of Brand and Strategic Initiatives, and Y4S Program Director, Dr Lamya Fawwaz, said: “The Y4S Forum at COP28 played a critical role in promoting meaningful, youth-led sustainable development and climate action. By providing a voice for young people, the Forum showcased the vital role of youth in addressing climate change and brought together leading industry speakers and panellists to inspire and empower the next generation of change makers and innovators to become the sustainability leaders of tomorrow.”

The wide-ranging panel discussions included the role of Y4S in climate action, the impact of startups, and the role of youth as climate policy advocates. Among those speaking at the Y4S Forum, Tom Simmons, CEO of Supplant, described how the company addressed some of the big health and climate issues by taking the most abundant and discarded parts of crops, transforming them into natural replacements for refined sugar and starch.

 Engineer Awaidha Murshed Al Marar, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, at the Y4S Forum

Esther Wanjiru Kimani, Founder & Managing Director at Farmer Lifeline Technologies in Kenya, described how the company had developed the first-ever solar-powered AI-based crop pest and diseases detection devices that can improve farm yields by at least 40 per cent. Shaikha Al Zaabi, Vice President Youth Council, Mubadala, stressed the importance of investing in projects and initiatives to help build a better future for the planet and find solutions for climate change.

Further panel discussions were devoted to the subjects of investment in green technologies, the circular economy and sustainable practices, concluding with a Sustainable Innovation Workshop and networking event. Y4S aims to empower young sustainability leaders by connecting them with policymakers, entrepreneurs, and technology pioneers. Y4S will continue leading sustainability-focused events and activities for youth during COP28 and beyond, providing the next generation with education, leadership training, and opportunities to take tangible climate action.

About Y4S

Y4S is aligned with the UAE’s Principles of the 50, UAE Net-Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, and UN SDGs for mitigating climate change by building youth capacity, resilience, and adaptability.

The Masdar platform hosts two year-long education and skill-training programmes – the Future Sustainability Leaders (FSL) and Sustainability Ambassadors (SA) programmes – both of which aim to empower the next generation of sustainability leaders by connecting them with global policymakers, corporate decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and technology pioneers to learn about best sustainability practices and leadership. FSL targets university and postgraduate students aged 19 to 35, whereas SA targets students aged 15 to 19 in high school.

About Masdar

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is the UAE’s clean energy champion and one of the fastest growing companies in the world, advancing the development and deployment of renewable energy and green hydrogen technologies to address global sustainability challenges. Established in 2006, Masdar has developed projects in over 40 countries, helping them to achieve their clean energy objectives and advance sustainable development.

Masdar is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), and under this ownership the company is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of at least 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and an annual green hydrogen production capacity of up to 1 million tonnes by the same year. Gulf Today, Staff Reporter