The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) today wrapped up its participation in Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2020) with major wins for climate action in the UAE and abroad.
On the last day, the Ministry brought down the curtain on its Climate Innovations Exchange (CLIX), a global platform that connects sustainability entrepreneurs with progressive investors, by announcing the best innovators in each category.
The winner of Sustainability in Space was SATLANTIS, a Spanish startup that provides proven high-performance technologies to enable the development of high spatial and temporal resolution services for earth observation. The company entered the competition with its integrated Standard Imager for Microsatellites (iSIM), a high-resolution optical binocular telescope.
Plastic Fri, the Swedish startup that targets minimizing the environmental impact of conventional petroleum-based plastic via an environmentally-friendly alternative, was named the best innovator for the Future of Food and Agriculture category. It’s plant-based bag is 100 percent compostable, biodegradable, and non-toxic.
The best innovator in the Future of Mobility category was Ampaire, a US-based developer of electric aircraft that presented the world’s largest hybrid electric plane – the Electric EEL.
Meanwhile, Greek agtech startup Augmenta topped the Future of Food and Agriculture category. Easy to retrofit on top of any tractor, its device uses real-time computer vision and AI to automate agricultural processes.
The best innovator in the Future of Energy category was Liquidstar, a startup from Hong Kong that developed baby mobile Tesla PowerWalls to replace liquid fuel with battery powered Mobile Virtual Grids.
The highlight of the Ministry’s participation in ADSW 2020 was the launch of the Abu Dhabi Climate Initiative in partnership with Abu Dhabi Global Market, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, and Hub71. The synergy seeks to fast-track research and development in water and climate technology to create a global ecosystem for leveraging this technology to drive climate action. In doing so, it seeks to consolidate the UAE’s position as a world leader in sustainability.
Also, on the sidelines of ADSW 2020, His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, former President of Iceland and Chairman of the non-profit organization Arctic Circle, signed a letter of intent to host The Himalaya – Third Pole Forum in Abu Dhabi in January 2021.
Set to run under the theme ‘The Arctic and the Third Pole – Himalaya: The Frontlines of Climate Change’, the forum will emphasize the importance of international collaboration in the Arctic to the future of the glaciers in the Third Pole – Himalayan region and the water resources of Asia.
Furthermore, His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi headlined the seventh Green Group Ministerial Roundtable that convened ministers and senior representatives of the Green Group. The group, established by Slovenia, comprises six member countries dedicated to promoting the transition to a green economy and the use of renewables.
In a panel discussion titled ‘Before it’s Too Late: Meeting the Paris Agreement’, held as part of the Future Sustainability Summit, His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi presented the UAE’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement.
Prior to ADSW, His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi led the UAE delegation to the 10th Session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Assembly. The two-day gathering brought together renewable energy stakeholders from around the world to chart recent global advances and outline the measures still needed to scale up renewables.
For the first time, the Assembly included a youth forum, where His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi met with young climate advocates and urged them to take on a more active role in the sustainability drive.
In a ministerial roundtable on using green hydrogen in decarbonization efforts, His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi introduced a collaborative project between Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Expo 2020 Dubai, and Siemens that aims to build the first facility in the MENA region to produce hydrogen using clean energy.
The Minister also participated in the 5th IRENA Legislators Forum, where he pointed out that legislators have the power and potential to accelerate efforts to achieve a cleaner global energy mix.
