COP28 - Year of Sustainability

Water security will be among key green initiatives taken up by the UAE and the Netherlands ahead of the Cop 28 climate summit in Dubai later this year.

Diplomats from both countries said the work will have a global impact.

Jamal Jama Al Musharakh, the UAE's ambassador in the Netherlands and Gerard Steeghs, the incoming Dutch envoy, told The National about taking on challenges related to water, energy and food.

“When it comes to collaboration with the kingdom of the Netherlands, the focus on water is very important and the next is food security,” Mr Al Musharakh said in an interview at the UAE embassy in The Hague.

The UAE is taking a leaf out of the Netherlands' book in attempting to persuade young Emiratis to take up farming by using advanced technology – including artificial intelligence – to drum up interest in the agricultural sector.

UAE professors and government officials from the environment and education ministries recently met diplomats, private companies, farmers and academics in the Netherlands to discuss food security before Cop28.

The meetings were part of a series of dialogues to gain knowledge of how the Netherlands has retained its role as the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural produce after the US.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber brings two decades of leadership experience in government, business, energy systems, and diplomacy. During his double tenure as Special Envoy for Climate Change (2010- 2016, 2020-present),

Dr. Al Jaber has played a seminal role in shaping the country’s clean energy path, including as founding CEO and currently the Chairman of Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s pioneering renewable energy initiative, that has since become a leading global clean energy player. Dr. Al Jaber has also been an outcomes-focused participant at over 11 COPs, including the historic Paris COP21 in 2015. Upon joining Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) as its CEO, Dr. Al Jaber has spearheaded a $15 billion decarbonization strategy and new low-carbon solutions business.

COP28 UAE brings the world together at a critical moment for global transformative climate action. To deliver on its ambitious agenda, COP28 UAE will be inclusive, transparent, pragmatic, and results-oriented.

The COP28 presidency is pleased to provide a high-level draft program for November 30 to December 12, 2023, outlining the potential theme days that would be run in both the Blue and Green Zones.

In the three decades since the Rio Summit and the launch of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP) has convened member countries every year to determine ambition and responsibilities and identify and assess climate measures.

The 21st session of the COP (COP21) led to the Paris Agreement, which mobilized global collective action to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C, and to act to adapt to the already existing effects of climate change.