In an effort to strengthen
collaboration with other regions of the world, a UAE delegation, headed by Saeed Al Tayer, vice chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy
and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), will
participate in the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22).
The event is hosted in
Marrakesh, Morocco, Nov. 7–18.
The high level delegation is
committed to working with different countries across the globe to find answers to
climate change, while following the guidelines set at COP21 last year in Paris.
The delegation is made of dignitaries like Ahmed Al Muhairbi, secretary
general of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy; Waleed Salman, chairman of the
Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (Dubai Carbon); Dr. Yousef Al Akraf,
executive vice president of business support and human resources at DEWA; Khawla Al Mehairi, vice president of marketing and corporate communications at
DEWA; and Mohammed Al Shamsi, acting executive director of the UAE
Water Aid Foundation.
Tayer highlighted the fact
that the UAE’s involvement in COP22 falls in line with the strategic plan set
forth by President Khalifa Al
Nahyan and Vice President Mohammed Al Maktoum.
The UAE leaders want to better
sustainable development while supporting global collaborations to protect the
environment, as noted in the agreement set forth during COP21. Part of that plan
specifically identifies keeping the world’s average temperature far below 2°C above
pre-industrial levels, and to restrict it to 1.5°C.
“Our participation in COP22, and the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakesh, has a
special importance,” Al Tayer said. “We will show the UAE’s support for the
international community’s efforts to enhance sustainability and green economy,
while limiting the increasing effects of climate change. Dubai has a
comprehensive vision for a sustainable future which is pivotal to the success
of building a green economy. The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy has
participated in a number of international events. The UAE delegation played a
vital role in the negotiations that led to the Paris Agreement in 2015, and the
Dubai Declaration 2016.”
The UAE is noted as one of
the world’s first countries to take on the issue of climate change, to have
supported the extension of the Kyoto protocol in 2005, and to minimize
greenhouse gases throughout industrial regions.
Finally, at COP15, the UAE was
one of the first countries in line to sign the Copenhagen Accord to limit
emissions.
