2023 is bound to be a year of uncertainty and staggering variability, and yet it is when actions become intensified with regard to pushing sustainability as a top priority on national and global agendas.
Recently, in Switzerland, the Davos 2023 conference gathered public and private sector leaders to discuss the best practices toward helping to ensure that the cities of the future are environmentally sustainable and socially resilient.
To have successful innovation hubs implemented in new smart cities and traditional cities across the globe, reinforcing cooperation between the government and business sectors is vital. For economic growth to lead to a strong and long-lasting recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, it needs to be sustainable and resilient.
A lot of advanced solutions and public-private cooperation are tackling the world’s most pressing challenges. Within the Middle East alone, as concerns about sustainability and energy conservation arise, the GCC governments are taking serious measures to ensure more efficient practices are being exercised through the use of new technologies.
Navigating the net-zero transition as countries and organizations alike set their net-zero targets entails a significant shift in demand, capital allocation, costs and jobs.
A recent analysis estimated that the cumulative CAPEX on physical assets such as technology, infrastructure, and natural resources must increase by $3.5 trillion annually until 2050. This investment would bring growth opportunities and open markets for low-emission products and services.
In light of this, there is a compelling case for climate action that will help MENA’s citizens and businesses adapt to the growing climate realities and prepare them for the future.
Advancing Clean Technologies
The ultimate aim of clean technology is to reduce the environmental footprint and minimize environmental pollution through the use of eco-friendly materials, processes or practices.
In terms of the environment, the concept of “clean technologies” refers to the use of minimal resources with maximum efficiency in order to achieve resource conservation and environmental protection. On the other hand, from an economic point of view, it means cost-effectiveness and increased productivity within the boundaries of available resources.
An analysis shows that if countries around the world fully implement their announced energy and climate pledges, the global market for key mass-manufactured clean energy technologies will amount to US$650 billion annually by 2030.
Progressive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), renewable electrification and deep tech will provide opportunities for R&D, innovation and deployment-at-scale, as well as large-scale benefits to productivity, lower prices and decarbonization.
With the complexity of the massive information and data the world is generating, AI approaches can help understand, synthesize and prioritize problems and solutions with more accountability and responsibility, and thus an overall higher ethical standard.
The net-zero transition will require innovation across green technologies, from carbon removal to sustainable forms of fuel. In the next five years, it has been reported that more than half of the tipping points for crucial green technologies will be met.
In fact, the sustainability revolution promises the scale of the industrial revolution, coupled with the immediate rise and pace of the digital revolution.
The acceleration of sustainable action is now, and AI is creating real opportunities with regard to this. Large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies, enabled by AI and digital enablers, will transform sectors such as energy, transport and ocean systems.
Many of the new climate and AI technologies will increase economies of scale, making the comprehensive technological transformation of energy, transport and production processes the key narratives of the 21st-century growth story.
During the 16th edition of the Telecom Review Summit, a panel discussion focused on sustainability and green tech, addressed the subject of green environment, with a focus squarely set on intelligent operations, intelligent networks and an ecological approach.
Research shows that after exceeding US$1 trillion in 2022, investments in clean energy technologies are on the verge of overtaking such spending on fossil fuels for the first time ever.
2023: UAE’s Year of Sustainability and COP28 Hosting
The UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, announced that 2023 will be the “Year of Sustainability,” and highlight the nation’s extensive efforts to promote sustainable circularity ahead of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), while showcasing its commitment to fostering a global collaboration in seeking innovative solutions to conservation-related challenges.
Leaders are looking ahead to COP28, which will take place in November 2023 at Expo City Dubai. Already, we can expect to see a continuation of the shift from commitments to actions as organizations make progress on balancing net-zero targets with long-term energy resilience and ensuring a secure, affordable and clean transition.
The fight against global warming should not be at the expense of economic growth, according to Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of oil giant ADNOC, who will lead this year's UN climate talks. He emphasized that the energy transition needs to make the planet both "wealthier and healthier."
We need to hold back the global rise in temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in compliance with the 2015 Paris Agreement, without slowing economic growth.
In preparation, the UAE Circular Economy Council convened its first meeting in 2023, where Her Highness Sheikha Shamma, CEO of Alliances for Global Sustainability, noted: “Convening key representatives from the public and private sectors, the discussion highlighted the need for cross-industry collaboration, transparency and access to information in order to ensure the success of several waste management and decarburization initiatives that are currently underway.”
In her welcoming note, Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, minister of climate change and environment, said: “As the UAE will host COP28 later this year, the conference success depends on the ability of all of us to present and position the UAE as a role model for a sustainable and climate-friendly fast-developing nation.”
One of the focuses for a successful COP28 is demonstrating the UAE’s ability to adopt circular approaches and innovations to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
“Our commitment to global climate action and the UAE’s adoption of the National Net Zero by 2050 Pathway presents our long-term emissions reduction targets as we aim to achieve 18% emission reduction compared to [the] 2019 baseline by 2030,” Almheiri added.
According to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, COP28 will be the most important event in the UAE in 2023.
During the UAE Government Annual Meeting session, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, minister of industry and advanced technology and UAE special envoy for climate change, highlighted the importance of the UAE hosting COP28.
“The late Sheikh Zayed laid the foundations of environmental sustainability and climate action that we have built on in the past decades. Today, we have a proven track record of reducing emissions, accelerating the growth of renewable energy and enabling the energy transition,” said Dr. Al Jaber.
The UAE was the first country in the region to ratify the Paris Agreement and announce a strategic initiative to achieve Net Zero by 2050. The GCC country has invested more than US$50 billion in clean energy projects, including in 40 developing nations, and recently announced the UAE-US partnership to accelerate the transition to clean energy (PACE), which will catalyze US$100 billion in financing to deploy 100 gigawatts of clean energy globally.
Dr. Al Jaber reiterated that the success of COP28 is a national responsibility and that all members of society, including the public and private sectors and the residents themselves, should come together in solidarity to host a successful and inclusive global event.
Moving forward into 2023 and closer to COP28, focusing on both short-term measures and coordinated long-term action will be crucial for a sustainable future.
Contributions in the Middle East
When it comes to the top ICT companies in the region, many of them have been operating and deploying projects to save energy and support sustainable development.
Organizations in the UAE and throughout the Middle East that move workloads to the new AWS Middle East (UAE) infrastructure region can benefit from Amazon’s sustainability efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. In fact, the recent AWS infrastructure was found to be 3.6 times more energy efficient than other enterprise data centers.
Last year, Middle East operators, namely e&, stc, Zain, Batelco, du and Omantel, signed an MoU aimed at strengthening their cooperation to preserve and protect the environment and reduce their operations’ carbon footprint.
Early in 2023, Telecom Egypt and Huawei Technologies announced their coordinated activation of the first eco-friendly wireless network tower made of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP).
More than two years after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments across MENA are now focused on leveraging digital services and technologies to be more environmentally friendly.
Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and its partners are working steadily in NEOM, the $500 billion cognitive city, to complete the construction of the world’s largest green hydrogen project. By 2025, the first phase of the green hydrogen facilities is expected to come online.
SirajPower, the UAE’s leading distributed solar energy provider in the region, and master developer Nakheel have teamed up to install solar panels across key communities in Dubai, powering residential areas through such solar solutions,
Oman’s sustainable city, Yiti, reaffirmed its commitment to roll out initiatives to support Oman Vision 2040 and the National Tourism Strategy by creating a people-centric, green and energy-efficient city. Reportedly, over 50 SMEs in Oman have benefited from the job opportunities spurred by the sustainable city.
And in Qatar, the FIFA World Cup 2022 will not only be remembered as the first 5G-powered mega event but also as the first entirely demountable stadium in World Cup history. The stadium, constructed with repurposed shipping containers and modular steel, left an indelible mark on both the sporting and sustainability worlds.
With all eyes on climate change — and with proper funding — 2023 can be the year when the Gulf states work together on a strategy to quicken MENA’s course towards net zero. With the region hosting consecutive COP summits — COP27 was previously held in Egypt — the climate change discourse is heating up within the Middle East. And this will certainly have an impact on both the neighboring countries and the world at large.
