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‘The time to act on climate action is now’

Khaleej Times’ The Journey to Net Zero event in Dubai brought together industry leaders, government officials, experts under one roof to discussion the most pressing issue of our times

Khaleej Times on Thursday hosted the second edition of The Journey to Net Zero conference in Dubai. The event brought together thought leaders, corporate honchos, government officials, industry experts, and participants from various industries who discussed various aspects of the most pressing issue of our time: net zero emissions by 2050.

Highlighting the importance of the event and such discussions, Ravi Tharoor, CEO, Khaleej Times, in his opening remarks said: “We find ourselves at a critical juncture in history. The scale of human impact on our environment has reached unprecedented levels.”

He added: “It is crucial that we utilise the opportunities provided by global platforms such as COP28 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. These platforms enable us to collaborate, share knowledge and develop solutions to combat climate change and achieve a sustainable future. However, it is not enough to solely rely on international agreements and organisations. We must each take personal responsibility and set an example in our daily lives. Recycling, reusing, and repurposing are not just buzzwords. They are actions that we can all incorporate in our routines and contribute to a more sustainable future.”

Endorsed by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, the event was supported by Tetra Pak, Uniqus, Danube Hospitality, Link, Survey2Connect, Contentsquare, US Green Building Council, Clean Energy Business Council, MESIA, Emirates Environmental Group, Energy Industries Council, and Advancing Net Zero.

Habiba Al Mar’ashi, Chairperson, Emirates Environmental Group, stressed upon the many initiatives taken by the UAE government and said: “In the UAE, we are not only looking at adopting new clean and green ways of energy generation, but we are also consciously reflecting on how to be more energy efficient, particularly in the built industries and all the sectors of life. The UAE will play a big role in this equation.”

Eng. Faisal Ali Al Rashid, senior director demand side management, Supreme Council of Energy, Dubai, talked about the importance of the circular economy and highlighted the UAE’s policies and regulations that support energy efficiency and security and complement the global decarbonisation efforts.

While the Paris Agreement, ratified in 2016, is a guiding document for countries and organisations globally to chart their own paths towards a more sustainable future, Francesco La Camera, director-general, International Renewable Energy Agency, highlighted regional disparity in the transition process from fossil fuels to renewable ones. “We currently stand at 3,000 gigawatts and to stay on track to achieve the Paris Agreement goals, we must aim to install over 10,000 gigawatts by 2030. It is crucial to diversify deployments across regions and technologies, and not limit it to a handful of countries and sectors. We must also look beyond the power sector to areas like transport and industries as they require rapid transformation to achieve the Paris calls.”

An underlying theme among the panel discussions and keynote addresses was the need for greater collaboration between the public and the private sector, and how organisations and individuals all have a unique responsibility to play their part in this journey towards net zero.

“Collaboration is the key for the private sector to achieve net zero goals. We need to set collaborative KPIs for the future,” said Shubhojit Mahalanobis, director, Danube Hospitality, during the opening panel discussion on Net Zero and business: Opportunities and Challenges for the Private Sector.

Marcelo Piva, regional sustainability, director — Middle East & Africa, Tetra Pak, too agreed, and said: “ The circular economy cannot work on its own; the public and private sector have to work together to make it a success. We need national governments, local authorities, consumers and packaging manufacturers to do their part. To ensure consumers play their part, we need to provide the right kind of infrastructure.”

The fashion industry, which is the second biggest polluter after the oil and gas industry, too, was represented in one of the panels. Dr Lucas B. Naves, global head of materials & sustainability, The Giving Movement, noted that sustainability in fashion is all about promoting awareness about the industry. “Telling consumers about the value chain, forced labour, where and how the garments are made will educate them and raise awareness on how their choices benefit the environment.”

Transportation and mobility is another most vital sector that significantly contributes to carbon emissions. In a bid to do their part, industry leaders such as Volvo have introduced electric commercial vehicles. Then there are companies like Fuse that refit conventional vehicles to become clean and green.

Jonathan Spear, transport policy and strategy advisor, noted that cities need to set up regulations that protect public safety and public interest while encouraging innovation and development. Whether it is retrofitting conventional fossil fuel vehicles, or adopting a multimodal way of transportation, cities can uniquely lower down carbon emissions from the transport sector.

“The second edition of The Journey to Net Zero was a great success. The event was very well received and attended by eminent people from various industries and the government. The journey to net zero is high on agendas of the public and private sectors. Khaleej Times will continue to provide a platform for many such meaningful conversations to keep the momentum on this seminal topic,” said Nilesh Devadia, Director, Business Development, Khaleej Times.

The second edition of the Journey to Net Zero was attended by around 200 attendees in Dubai on Thursday.