New Initiative Aligns with ‘2030 Climate Solutions Implementation Roadmap’
The UAE Universities Climate Network (UCN), co-chaired by Khalifa University of Science and Technology, launched the MENA Climate Solutions Research Network at the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC) Pavilion at COP29, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at Baku, Azerbaijan.
The MENA Climate Solutions Research Network is mandated to tackle critical climate challenges in the MENA region by implementing solutions aligned with the ‘2030 Climate Solutions Implementation Roadmap’, which was released earlier by the United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions.
The launch event was marked by a high-level workshop in which Khalifa University Professor Dr. Samuel Mao, Co-Chair of the UAE Universities Climate Network (UCN), was a panelist along with the other UCN Co-Chair Dr. Rasha Bayoumi of the University of Birmingham in Dubai, and colleagues of the Climate Champions Team.
The workshop at the GAUC Pavilion highlighted the critical areas for collaborations and discussed the next steps for enhancing the research community in the MENA region. Dr. Stephen Davison, Higher Education Head of the Climate Champions Team, provided an overview of eight thematic priorities in the ‘2030 Climate Solutions Implementation Roadmap’.The thematic priorities cover Energy, Transport, Industry, Land Use, Oceans & Coastal Zones, Water, Human Settlement and Finance.
Additionally, Dr. Mao was an invited panelist in the high-level water management workshop chaired by Ayesha Al Ateeqi, Lead of the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative, and Associate Director for Economic and Energy Affairs of the UAE Executive Affairs Authority.
The workshop offered an opportunity for participants to share their experiences of, and visions for, how technology can be leveraged to address global water scarcity and raise its importance on the international agenda. Reem Al Mansoori, Future Sustainability Leader of the UAE Youth for Sustainability Initiative, was also a panelist.Â
Clarence Michael
19 November 2024
