UAE hosts Bloomberg Global Business Forum and Leaders’ Roundtable at 72nd UN General Assembly

NEW YORK, 21st September, 2017 (WAM) -- Against the backdrop of the devastation caused by hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and Vitaly Vanshelboim, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Office for Project Services, UNOPS, hosted the Bloomberg Global Business Forum, held on the sidelines of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The Forum brought together government and business leaders, financial institutions, international organisations and academics to discuss solutions to combat climate change, make rapid advances towards sustainable development, and bridge the gap between climate and humanitarian needs.

"In humanitarian relief, the priority is to get children back to school, restore business operations and public services, and implement utility systems that are resilient to extreme weather. Renewable energy is the solution for minimising the impact of climate change and reversing the current trend of increasingly severe natural disasters that cause tragic loss to life and property, as well as immense material and environmental damage," Dr. Al-Zeyoudi said in his opening remarks.

"To achieve these objectives, the UAE has allocated about US$1 billion for renewable energy aid since 2014 to provide both, economic empowerment to communities, as well as climate-resilient and carbon-mitigating solutions. This week, we announced the first five projects under a new US$50-million grant fund for the Caribbean Islands. The projects include cutting-edge solar, geothermal, and energy storage solutions in the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbuda," he added.

In addition, Dr. Al-Zeyoudi indicated that the UAE has already pledged US$10 million to the United Nations to fund a solar and battery power system for the island of Barbuda that was devastated earlier this month by Hurricane Irma.

Vanshelboim emphasised that UNOPS’ mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

"When we build anything, from a school to a road, we aim to have the support of local communities, employ local companies and workers, be environmentally friendly and have a plan to maintain it for the future.

"Each year, UNOPS helps a range of partners implement US$1 billion worth of aid and development projects in over 80 countries around the world. As outlined in its strategic plan 2014-2017, UNOPS is firmly committed to working with diverse actors in order to increase efficiency, innovation and encourage collaboration, while being an enabler and active supporter of the Sustainable Development Goals," Vanshelboim added.

Furthermore, Dr. Al-Zeyoudi co-hosted the ‘Leaders’ Roundtable: Integrating Climate and Humanitarian Action’ with Vidar Helgesen, the Norwegian Minister of Climate Change and Environment.

Building on the ‘Every Woman Every Child Everywhere’ 2016-2017 panel series hosted by the UAE and Norway missions in New York, the session was moderated by Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah Zeid, Co-Chair of the ‘Every Woman Every Child Everywhere’ global movement.

Dr. Al-Zeyoudi stressed that the connection between climate change and humanitarian crisis is real, and as oil producers, both Norway and the UAE take this point seriously.

He said, "This year, the world has faced devastating hurricanes, terrible weather events in South Asia and West Africa, as well as a long series of droughts, floods, and storms.

"We must also acknowledge the gender dimension of the nexus. Crisis situations affect around 2 to 3 percent of the global population but account for 15 to 60 percent of global deaths of mothers and young children. This alarming impact will also worsen with climate change.

"In the UAE, we are trying to rapidly integrate the nexus into our own national and foreign assistance strategies. Last week, we formalised our US$50 million contribution to a new World Bank fund focused on women’s entrepreneurship, as part of our broader foreign aid effort to empower women in countries that are also climate vulnerable," Dr. Al-Zeyoudi concluded.

Vidar Helgesen emphasised the importance of focussing on women’s and children’s health in distressed and humanitarian locations.

"Women, girls and children are more vulnerable to managing climate change, because of less access to information and education on how to adapt, especially in farming or agricultural places. They are also less likely to effectively recover in post-disaster situations, where most jobs in the reconstruction industry are male-dominated. Women, girls and children are also less likely to have assets or capital to survive off in post-disaster situations," he noted.

Her Royal Highness Princess Sarah Zeid moderated discussions on three major topics: within the climate-humanitarian nexus; coping and preparing for climate change, and gender and finance.

Her Royal Highness stressed that climate change is a risk multiplier that when added to challenges that a lot of countries face, such as poverty, inequality and tensions, would create a toxic mix for all, and it is vital that we integrate humanitarian and climate action to form powerful and innovative solutions.

Concluding the session, Her Royal Highness praised the leadership of the UAE for setting global benchmarks in combating climate change and for its approach in finding holistic solutions, describing it as a tremendously important contribution to the world.