Dubai: World far away from showing real progress to achieving net zero goal, says top expert

The world has made great strides in setting targets to achieve the net zero goal, but it is still far away from showing real progress, said Silvia Rigato, Managing Director and Sustainability Leader, Accenture Middle East.

“At the current pace of emission reduction, the majority of companies will not be able to get to net zero by 2050. Only If every company doubles the pace of emission reduction from now till 2030, then 80 per cent of companies will be able to achieve net zero by 2050,” she said at The Journey to Net Zero forum hosted by Khaleej Times on Wednesday.

The forum was sponsored by sustainability partner Accenture, Gold Sponsor Trane Technologies, Silver Sponsor Fugro and supported by Clean Energy Business Council, Middle East Solar Industry and Energy Industries Council Mena. The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy officially endorsed by the forum.

Rigato said companies need to set clear targets and action plans to move forward to net zero by 2050. “Leveraging digital technologies is going to be a key enabler for success. Collaboration with partners whether technology, consulting firms or NGOs will be extremely important. There is no single recipe for success. It is quite a complex problem to solve,” she said.

She stressed that there is no single solution to achieving net zero goals but collaboration and engaging the ecosystem.

In order to have the best credentials, Accenture has set goals for itself to be carbon neutral by 2025.

While speaking at a panel discussion at the forum, Alexis Lecanuet, senior managing director, Middle East Market Unit, Accenture, said the UAE is known for its long-term vision as well as early and fast adopter of technology that can have an impact.

“Fast adoption of cloud, AI technology is carbon efficient and starting point of any sustainability journey. Fast adoption of the metaverse helps create a more efficient physical world. On all those directions, the UAE has a very good starting point,” he said.