UAE: Companies urged not to look at profits to accelerate climate action

Achieving a Net Zero environment, or cutting carbon emissions to a residual amount that can be absorbed by nature, can be done only if governments and the private sector would accelerate their transition to use of renewable sources of energy — now, experts said.

Speaking at The Journey to Net Zero Forum organised by Khaleej Times on Tuesday, sustainability and environmental experts said private companies must not look at their profit margins but embed climate change solutions in their core business strategies.

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“What we have to do is to accelerate the transition to clean and renewable energy,” said Sal Jafar, CEO at ESG Mena. Unfortunately, green projects are not prioritised because they are not seen as profitable in the short and medium term, he said.

Surging seas; acidification and warming of the oceans; torrential rains flooding cities and villages; and extreme heat causing wildfires — these are manifestations of climate change that can be mitigated if governments and private companies would accelerate their transition to renewable sources of energy, experts like Jaffar said.

Climate action demands urgency, said Jaffar, who suggested: “We must push various boards of directors to invest in sustainability and clean projects, which are not about generating immediate profits.”

He added that the UAE is a pioneer in renewable energy, “with plenty of sunshine, human resources and political will” to transition to clean energy — but the private sector must catch up.

Boost public–private partnerships

Accelerating the journey to Net Zero requires enhancing PPPs or public–private partnerships, added Lucia Fuselli, founder and board director of Climate Strategies Consulting.

Speaking during the panel discussion on The Role of Green Finance in Accelerating Sustainable Development, Fuselli said boosting PPPs means “for example, increasing the flexibility and coordination of various stakeholders throughout the project lifetime, and start allocating climate risks and impacts”.

“There also needs to be more incentives aimed at green procurement and at spending choices towards green products so as to create and sustain a demand for products that still carry a green premium," she said.

"Also, I would think about procurement eligibility and qualification criteria, for example, or PPPs with companies that are going to manufacture green technologies in the region,” she added, underscoring the alignment of business and environmental objectives.

Fuselli also underscored investing “in the decarbonisation of hydrocarbons, starting from making the system efficient to then invest in research aimed at increasing the efficiency and scalability of circular carbon technologies".

The Journey to Net Zero Forum — attended by senior executives across various sectors, including energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, waste management, transport, tourism and green project finance — also discussed strategic investments and policies towards increasing renewable energy capacity and efficiency.

Hashem Stietiya, director for research and development at Beeah Group, said: “We cannot achieve Net Zero (regime) if we continue to do more of the same.” He said Beeah is a prime example of PPP that is working on producing energy from converted landfills.

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