Ahmed Atef (Cairo)
Ghiwa Nakat, Executive Director of Greenpeace in the Middle East and North Africa (Greenpeace), confirmed that its activities during “COP28” include cooperating with Abu Dhabi University in a competition to explore the transformative horizons of the energy sector and the economy, and highlighting the best entries in the International Conference for the Advancement of a Sustainable Future. During the Conference of the Parties, highlighting innovative methods in the energy transition in the UAE.
She explained in an interview with Al-Ittihad that the organization is organizing at the conference an exhibition of alternative futures using artificial intelligence and photography to present the youth’s vision of the UAE’s evolving role as a pioneer in the field of renewable energy, preserving biodiversity, and transitioning to a green economy.
The organization also participates in the “Nation for Earth” coalition, hosting 6 side events in a pavilion focusing on issues of Islamic climate finance, water scarcity in the Middle East and North Africa, fossil fuels, and free places of worship.
Nakat explained that COP28 is being held at a pivotal juncture for climate action, as the world faces record temperatures, unprecedented forest fires, floods, storms, and droughts that are devastating to communities, lives, livelihoods, and the environment, and that is why Greenpeace will be at the event. The Middle East and North Africa is present at the conference, represented by climate experts, activists and those directly affected by the climate crisis in order to ensure that the voices of those affected are heard and their demands are heard by policymakers.
Ghiwa Nakat explained to Al-Ittihad that the organization is participating again this year with a delegation of young climate champions to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), including representatives of some of the most affected communities in our region, from Iraq, Morocco and Tunisia, to Jordan and Lebanon. .
Historic conference
It believes that “COP28” is one of the most important conferences of the parties to date, and history will record it as the most successful ever if an agreement is reached on a fair and just transition. More than 500 CEOs and civil society have been invited to consider accelerating the energy transition, and to consider… On how corporate finance can be reformed and support the path to a more sustainable future.
Ghiwa hopes that the conference will be a pioneer in including the voices of climate-vulnerable youth in the decision-making process. Therefore, for the second year in a row, Greenpeace welcomed 450 young changemakers to the transformative climate justice camp in Lebanon to exchange knowledge, resources and ideas.
She pointed out that it is important for world leaders to understand the urgency of the agreement on the equitable gradual elimination of fossil fuels, explaining that they at Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa agree with the presidency of the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties that reducing fossil fuels is necessary and inevitable, and must The shared ambition of this COP summit goes further, including a fair phase-out (not just a reduction) of the use of fossil fuels. We acknowledge that this poses challenges, especially for countries whose economies rely heavily on oil and gas production, and we must courageously embrace the challenge. To make the transition to fossil fuel-free energy systems fair.
Ghiwa expressed the organization’s interest in ensuring that the global assessment includes countries and obliges them to take measurable actions, especially in reducing dependence on fossil fuels. At COP28, leaders must chart a path to accelerate climate action, close the gaps to achieve the 2030 goals, and act urgently. To ensure that the 1.5°C limit remains within reach, and to survive this crisis, we need a reckoning that forces the historic fossil fuel polluters, who are most responsible for climate change, to start paying the costs of resolving the crisis they have caused.
In this regard, she welcomed the UAE’s firm commitment to climate finance on the agenda of the Conference of the Parties, stressing that the Loss and Damage Fund, which operates at full capacity and meets the needs of people on the front lines of the climate crisis, would hold these historic emissions, whether countries or companies, accountable for their impact. Environmental.
The UAE has already announced its impressive $4.5 billion fund for clean energy initiatives in Africa, in addition to its $54 billion investment plan to triple renewable energy by 2030.
Nekat called for the need to listen to the voices of indigenous people, women, youth and marginalized communities, and it is equally important that we remain vigilant against the undue influence of the fossil fuel industry, while recognizing that it is the root cause of the climate crisis, and when we balance the desire to achieve corporate profits with the needs of ordinary people, we must To remember the real suffering that many of them endure in a daily struggle for survival, and every day that passes without real change is a death sentence for these communities.
She called on the Executive Director of Greenpeace in the Middle East and North Africa (Greenpeace) to translate the results of “COP28” into concrete actions and commitments that are not only ambitious, but also fair and just, as climate change represents a global challenge that requires cooperation from all regions, including the Middle East and North Africa. Africa, because everyone is in a race against time in our fight against the climate crisis. The clock is ticking, the crisis is escalating at an alarming pace, and world leaders must show they can act more quickly, because the solutions are ready, and there is no reason why governments cannot solve this crisis in time. Present.
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