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Like many world occasions and conferences, the marquee sustainability gathering within the Center East, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), needed to cut back its plans because it went digital final week. However, the week-long occasion promised new developments on renewables, sustainable growth, youth engagement and meals safety.
Naming the Gulf area and sustainability in the identical sentence could appear counterintuitive. In any case, that is area beset with a harsh local weather, lacks few sources apart from oil and gasoline and is dwelling to numerous temples of consumerism and extra – monstrous buying malls, one in every of which in Dubai is dwelling to a ski slope. However as final week’s digital occasion in Abu Dhabi reveals, numerous opportunties resulting in a extra accountable, low-carbon economic system could possibly be on the horizon.
A brand new Center East?
There’s rising consciousness throughout the Gulf and that planning for a future economic system not based mostly on oil revenues is the truth; and to their credit score, among the area’s leaders have harnessed their oil largess for constructive change – as in training, philanthropy and overseas assist – slightly than merely squandering it.
On that time, there are a number of challenges on which this area can play a key position and even lead. A number of the following six points lend themselves to the Center East’s geopolitical realities – others, corresponding to know-how funding, present long-term strategic pondering of a future not based mostly on fossil fuels.
Desalination that’s far much less power intensive
Right here’s one factor the UAE and Israel have in frequent, apart from the normalization of diplomatic relations: each international locations are additionally each desalination superpowers. Whereas each nations’ prowess on this know-how is impressive, there’s a draw back: the huge quantity of power that’s wanted to show seawater into freshwater.
One desalination pilot venture based mostly between the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, nevertheless, reveals promise. 5 check desalinations crops operated within the small city of Ghantoot to see whether or not low-cost, energy-efficient desalination know-how might ever scale up. The consequence, a course of that makes use of solar-powered reverse osmosis, may have the potential to fight water shortage within the close to future.
Meals safety
Over a decade in the past, wealthier Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states had been locked in a race to invest in lands throughout areas corresponding to Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America with a purpose to safe their long-term meals safety. Critics accused these nations of accelerating a worldwide “land grab” that might bolster wealthy Center East nations on the expense of far poorer residents. Governments throughout the Gulf area responded that such methods had been mandatory to scale back dependence on expensive imports and meals subsidies. The pandemic has revived these fears, as agriculture generates little financial exercise in any of those international locations – no more than 2.5 percent, in reality.
These similar GCC governments have been coy about how these land investments will issue into their long-term meals safety methods; and in a big half, they’ve been capable of keep silent due to how world agriculture at a macro stage is at the moment performing. Regardless of water shortage, local weather change and shocks associated to the worldwide pandemic, the world has been capable of produce far more food than in did over the past world financial disaster. Spectacular yields for now shouldn’t nudge the Center East towards complacency, nevertheless.
The punishing Center Jap local weather truly is a chance for the area to guide the world on improvements in agriculture. Discovering methods to harness seawater for agriculture functions, corresponding to previous tasks in Jordan, Qatar and the UAE, have an opportunity to grow to be one other device within the Center East’s overseas assist technique – one which’s been severely tested as a result of world COVID outbreak.
Inexperienced hydrogen
Within the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi is exploring inexperienced hydrogen alternatives by way of the renewable power firm, Masdar, and its eponymous city innovation middle on the outskirts of the nation’s capital. This technique builds upon Masdar’s monitor document of funding wind and photo voltaic tasks inside and out of doors the UAE to fulfill the demand for clear energy throughout the globe. Plans name for a demonstration-scale inexperienced hydrogen plant at Masdar Metropolis to supply gasoline for floor transportation, delivery and plane.
Investing in renewables worldwide
Over the previous decade, Masdar has been investing in wind and solar energy developments to fulfill skyrocketing demand for clear energy throughout the Center East area, together with tasks in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Oman. However the firm’s portfolio stretches far past North Africa and the Center East, with comparable tasks in Pacific island states, the Indian Ocean and Sub-Saharan Africa. The corporate has lengthy been capable of rent each native and expat experience, with smaller nations benefitting consequently.
Final 12 months, Abu Dhabi announced what it mentioned might grow to be the world’s largest solar energy set up, a 2-gigawatt plant slated for completion subsequent 12 months 20 miles exterior the town middle.
An hour’s flight away, comparable efforts are occurring in Qatar, with the nation’s sovereign wealth fund announcing a latest three way partnership partnership with Enel Inexperienced Energy to discover alternatives to put money into renewables tasks throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sensible cities and sustainable design
One argument in regards to the importance of Masdar Metropolis is that if sustainable constructing designs can work in a area the place summer time temperatures on common hover round 110°F (43°C) in the summertime, nicely, they will thrive wherever. Although Masdar needed to roll again a lot of its bold plans a decade in the past (largely as a result of Abu Dhabi had little alternative however to throw Dubai a monetary lifeline through the 2008-2009 world monetary disaster), new tasks keep emerging exterior the event’s unique core.
Leaders within the world actual property sector who see the worth in additional responsibly constructed developments might wish to take notes from the recent launch of Masdar Inexperienced REIT, which the corporate says is the UAE’s first sustainable actual property funding belief.
There’s one other venture actual property professionals ought to hold their eyes on: an $82 million mixed-use growth that heralds itself because the “world’s most sustainable mall” that opened final 12 months.
Expertise that’s equitable and accessible for all
New applied sciences corresponding to artificial intelligence (AI) have been among the many hottest sectors to emerge worldwide, however with such developments come considerations about bias and ethics. If plans for a brand new AI college and analysis middle in Abu Dhabi come to fruition, the Center East might assist stage the enjoying discipline for not solely how AI might work for all residents as a substitute of discriminating against them. That effort builds on a $300 million fund an Abu Dhabi holding firm launched in its drive to draw extra startups to Masdar Metropolis, the place a number of hundred are already based mostly – providing entrepreneurs a chance to launch their enterprise concepts with minimal crimson tape.
Picture credit score of Abu Dhabi, UAE: Leon Kaye
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