ABU DHABI –March 13, 2013 –In support of the UAE’s commitment to follow a green growth pathway for sustainable development, the UAE Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) hosted a workshop as part of the Green Growth Knowledge Sharing Program series. The workshop was held in March 12 and 13 at Yas Island Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.
This workshop is the second in the series, which will be held throughout the year in the UAE. The first workshop was held on November 5, 2012, introducing an overview of recent theories and practices on green growth in the areas of policy, technology and industry and received positive feedback from participants. More than 80 participants from the public and private sector attended the first workshop. The second workshop was held with approximately 100 public and private stakeholders from the key sectors of oil, gas, water, electricity, transport, building, industry, waste, land-use and agriculture in the UAE in attendance. The participating organizations included the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Economy, the Dubai Carbon Center of Excellency, the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi, the Department of Transport, Sharjah Transport, the General Civil Aviation Authority, the Federal Electricity and Water Authority, the Dubai Electricity and Water, the Abu Dhabi Municipality and the Sharjah Municipalities.
The workshop was intended to identify and assess opportunities for green industries and green jobs for each of the sectors and discuss sector-based technologies as new engines for growth. Guest speakers from international and national organizations working with low carbon development and green growth initiatives joined the workshop to share their expertise and perspectives, while UAE-based participants contributed to sharing their country-specific experience to develop concrete green growth actions.
The workshop was opened by Dr. Thani Al-Zeyoudi, head of Department of Energy and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ms. Aisha Mohamed Abdullah Al Abdooli, Minister of Environment and Water. This was followed by a keynote speech by Dr. Chanho Park, Director of GGGI Abu Dhabi Office. Dr. Byung Wook, Lee, President of Korea Environment Institute and former Vice Minister of Environment in Korea also gave congratulatory remarks.
“Building local capacity is one of the key pillars of the UAE’s green growth strategy, aiming to develop national competencies to shape future policies that well-matched with the insightful vision of our leadership, said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, new Minister of State and Special Envoy of Energy and Climate Change, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar.”We look forward to achieving a greater role for the regional office of the Global Green Growth Institute in Masdar City and to go beyond capacity building and exchange of knowledge to build strong links with the local research centers to promote advance research works in all areas, including green growth.”
Dr. Chanho Park from GGGI commented on its future plans of expanding the Green Growth Knowledge Sharing Program to cover the MENA region. “We will bring decision makers and experts in the MENA region to the UAE, provide them with opportunities to see the UAE Green Growth Success and share MENA oriented Green Growth Strategies and knowledge. It is to disseminate the UAE Green Growth Model to MENA Region.” Said Dr. Park.
The third Workshop in the Green Growth Knowledge Sharing Program will be held in May 2013. This workshop will further strengthen the community of green growth stakeholders in the UAE and help drive forward the UAE’s green growth ambitions. The UAE government is developing a National Strategy Green Growth driven by a dedicated Strategy team within the Ministry of Environment and Water, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office. GGGI plays a key advisory role in the UAE National Green Growth Strategy development. On the heels of the Knowledge Sharing Workshop, starting with Oil & Gas sector on March 5, the three key ministries (PMO, MoEW, MoFA) and GGGI have begun holding sectoral stakeholder consultations. The consultations were conducted with experts in each sector, covering one sector a day. The consultations will conclude on March 17 with consultations on the transport sector.
The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), a newly founded international organization with headquarters in Seoul, Korea, is committed to providing support for the development of green growth plans in developing and emerging countries. Having established an office in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City in 2011, the GGGI Abu Dhabi Office, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, began the development of the UAE Green Growth Initiative – a mid-to long-term national plan for the nation’s transformation into a regional green growth and clean energy powerhouse. In early 2011, the UAE joined GGGI as a founding member and in October 2012 and is also a member of the Council.