High-level participants discussed the impact of climate change on communities around the world yesterday at a conference titled ‘Climate Change Forum – Climate Action Now’ in Dubai, UAE.

Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, welcomed the participants at the event which was organised by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment as part of the sixth World Government Summit in Dubai.

The forum includes four sessions on the key themes of peace and prosperity, gender and youth, and preparing for climate-linked disasters.

Dr Al Zeyoudi kicked off the event with a session titled ‘Climate Change and its Impact on Human Prosperity’, which provided a perspective on how climate change is merging with humanitarian crises and threatening global peace and prosperity.

He said: “Imagine that you live in a world where you are not talking about category 2 and 3 hurricanes, but category 5. Then imagine that you can do something to stop all of this.”

Dr Al Zeyoudi added: “The facts are very clear. Not opinions, not politics, but scientific facts. Humans – you and me – are causing climate change. Change that is making droughts more common, and putting massive pressure on our food systems and people’s livelihoods, and causing mass displacement and migration.”

To offset and prepare for these environmental changes, Dr Al Zeyoudi referenced several pioneering projects in the UAE and abroad that provide economic empowerment as well as climate-resilient solutions to communities, such as the UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund, a new $50 million grant fund for resilient renewables in the Caribbean Islands with a focus on hurricane recovery.

Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the World Government Summit 2018 is running from February 11 to 13, at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

The landmark event convenes more than 4,000 participants from 140 countries, including heads of state and governments, as well as top-tier representatives of 16 international organizations.

Hosting more than 130 speakers across 120 interactive sessions, WGS 2018 features six distinct forums that examine the challenges of vital sectors for the future with a view to finding the best resolutions for the greater global good. Furthermore, over 20 specialised global reports spanning key sectors and topics of the summit are being launched during the event, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service