COP 28 UAE: Key Focus Areas and their Impact

Sustainability is more important than ever in the Middle East, and plenty of occurrences prove this. His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of UAE, has declared 2023 as the "Year of Sustainability", showing the commitment to go green right from the region's highest level. 

Adding on, Dubai will host the United Nations climate summit' Conference of the Parties' (COP28) towards the end of this year as a continuation of the session held in Egypt - COP27. 
COP27 concluded with five key highlights focusing on accountability, practicality and finance. The first action item was to provide 'loss and damage' financial aid to countries constantly affected by climatic disasters, including floods, droughts and more. 

The Dubai session will discuss how to generate the fund, which countries would pay the aid, and who would receive them. 

The second takeaway was to reduce carbon emissions to as low as a 1.5% increase per year, leading to a substantial reduction of 43% by 2030. 

Promoting accountability among businesses and organizing support for developing countries took the third and fourth spots. COP28 in Dubai will focus heavily on the fifth action item - "implementation" by establishing international relations to achieve the above-said outcomes. 

COP28 will discuss aspects such as the climate financing that would go out to the countries at risk, supply chain challenges, new food production and security models, and ocean health. 

It also aims to speed up the reduction of emissions by transitioning to practical energy sources and reforming land use.

Countries across the middle east have pledged to do their best for a sustainable future through various initiatives. The Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) focuses on reducing emissions, increasing the dependence on clean energy and safeguarding the environment. 

The UAE also implements individual and community-level sustainable practices, including the "Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative", to protect the environment and develop thriving communities. Qatar's Transportation Master Plan 2050 emphasizes sustainability, while Oman aspires to go carbon neutral by 2050. 

The logistics sector in the Middle East will find it particularly challenging to achieve sustainability, considering the lack of well-defined standards, emissions from fuel oils and an ever-growing supply chain. 

However, the government has plans to encourage individuals and businesses to shift to green technologies and sustainable fuels and recycle whenever possible. Read more here.