An Address from the UAE Minister of Climate Change & Environment

[Music] wonderful good morning everyone and welcome to abui Welcome to the Abu Dhabi economic Forum I really am honored to be here with you today I don't think it's that typical for a minister of climate change and environment to be amongst the finance Community but it has become now more important than ever that the finance and the climate folks work together and so it's really an honor to be here with you and I want to thank his Excellency Ahmed J zabi the chairman of the abudhabi economic uh department and also the chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market for his kind invitation to address you today Abu Dhabi Finance week is one of the most influential Gatherings of the finance and business community in the Mina region it is a platform to connect to discuss to debate and crucially to solve problems arguably no challenge is greater than the threat posed by climate change and my colleague his Excellency Abdullah MOG already mentioned that it's the new kid on the Block I like that and of course we're feeling the effects of climate change from across the globe from the polls all the way to the tropics climate change is disrupting our world even a seemingly Shi slight shift and temperature might look so small but it's causing such dramatic changes with significant rep repercussions for us all today we know that climate change is a force um that impacts the strength of our society the health of our economy and also the growth of our businesses our people and our nation for too long Mankind's response to climate change has been one-dimensional an environmental challenge with a purely environmental solution today this is not the case and I'm proud of the way in which the UAE has become a valued vocal and trusted voice making the case to our partners for a multi-dimensional response to climate change our position is proclimate PR growth we believe that climate action is good for growth and as Excellency abdella also mentioned we always look at things that whatever challenges lie ahead these are new opportunities so our Net Zero pathway by 2050 reaching Net Zero maximum by 2050 this is the pathway that the UAE is going along this is the pathway that wec will create new Industries it will attract new partners new technologies new jobs and so put simply climate action makes good business sense this Viewpoint is increasing ly gaining traction not only here in the UAE but across the Mina region and being embraced by our by our partners abroad but there is a critical component which we must win at cop 28 which is just happening in two days time and of course the cop 28 presidency has put this as a center topic that he needs to fix and that is we need to fix climate finance and that's why it is also timely that you are gathering today just days before we bring the world for cop 28 so at cop 28 we must deliver on our old promises and set the framework for a new deal on finance Finance is the critical enabler for climate action but to unleash its power it has to be available accessible and affordable to developing countries as well as the developed world now we know that to achieve the goals of the Paris agreement emerging and developing countries need an excess of $2.4 trillion us uh of annual investment in climate action by 2030 but we know that current International Financial architecture is fragmented and offers insufficient Solutions particularly for those who need transformation the most so at cop 28 we want to Kickstart the process of this change we want to help create a system where climate Finance Arrangements deliver at scale required and support Finance mobilization directed to developing countries at unprecedented levels and to make progress we must first address the longstanding commitments that risk undermining trust in the process we need to deliver on the promise of the green climate fund the presidency was pleased to have announced just a few days ago that the delivery of the 100 billion US Dollars has finally been met it's been 14 years we are also continuing to urge developed countries to ensure that the goal of doubling adaptation Finance by 2025 is on track as agreed at cop 26 and we are calling on multilateral development Banks and development Finance institutions to continue putting a stronger emphasis on scaling adaptation Finance in parallel we need to build the foundation for a finance system of the future creating a new Financial architecture that is fit for purpose including stronger international financial institutions that work better as a system I firmly believe that each of these areas especially on the issue of Finance for the developing world can be done and I believe the GCC countries can show leadership in this area with our deepening ties with Africa GCC countries are well positioned to take a leadership role in facilitating the continent's energy transition GCC investments in Africa have seen a substantial upswing in recent years if we just look at 2012 to 2022 that's a 10year span more than $100 billion of foreign direct investment flowed from the Gulf into Africa spanning over 600 projects the UAE alone has invested 59.4 billion dollar making it the fourth largest global investor in Africa after China Europe and the us earlier this year the UAE cop 28 presidency committed 4.5 billion US do for climate projects in Africa the distinctive track record of support enables GCC countries to function not just as financiers but as partners of the energy transition a role which we should embrace and which is an important part of supporting our Global Climate climate commitments your excellencies friends you have a critical role to play in this transition era the world right now is not in a good place we need you to support us to make cop 28 the place to unite the world again let's make cop 28 a Beacon of Hope a beacon of inspiration especially for all our young people living in the world today I count on your support thank