The race to go green in “backbone” areas of the economy has made progress despite a mixture of “headwinds and tailwinds” since Cop28 in the UAE, says a chief executive leading the effort.
Green alternatives are increasingly seen as an economic gain and not just a way of tackling climate change, said Faustine Delasalle, who leads an Industrial Transition Accelerator set up at the Dubai summit.
But the large sums of money needed could be held back by high global tensions and the suspense of the US presidential election.
To make the cuts in CO2 emissions by 2030 that scientists say are necessary, the funding for new green industrial plants needs to arrive “in the next couple of years”, Ms Delasalle said.
The Industrial Transition Accelerator, backed by the UAE's Cop28 presidency, the UN, billionaire Mike Bloomberg and former central banker Mark Carney, was set up to “enable us to do exactly that”, she said.
Its focus is on heavy industries such as steel, cement and chemicals production, as well as air travel and shipping.
Those areas are a “backbone of the global economy” that produce about 30 per cent of the world's emissions, she said.
Turning them green is tricky because familiar tactics such as replacing fossil fuels with electricity are not as simple in mid-air, at sea and at very high temperatures.
The 197-nation Cop28 climate deal, known as the UAE Consensus, called for these “hard-to-abate sectors” to be a focus of global efforts.
As those efforts gather pace “there's headwinds and there's tailwinds”, Ms Delasalle, a former French political adviser, told The National.
“There is greater momentum because I think governments understand that this is a matter of climate, but it is also a matter of industrial competitiveness. When it becomes a matter of industrial competitiveness, I think it jumps to the top of the political agenda much faster than when it's just a climate question.
“On the other hand, we've seen increased uncertainty on the political environment in a key number of countries, including the US. We've seen greater levels of geopolitical tensions, which obviously creates a more uncertain environment for investment.
“But that wasn't in the hands of the Cop28 presidency. I think we're making progress and the Cop28 moment has been an important moment to also frame this as an opportunity for investment and not just a climate imperative.”
Donald Trump's presidential campaign says he would once again pull the US out of the Paris climate agreement, as he did during his 2017 to 2021 presidency.
Pay a premium
The industry group is heading to the US next month and plans to use the annual New York Climate Week to encourage companies to go green.
It is telling manufacturers they should consider paying a little more for green versions of products such as steel and cement.
Experts hope the cost of clean alternatives, such as making steel and cement with hydrogen fuel, will eventually fall as they become more widespread. But scaling them up relies on people wanting to buy them, in what is sometimes called a chicken-and-egg problem.
“There's a number of companies that have committed to green purchase at a premium, and we really applaud those. They're really driving the market and differentiating themselves,” Ms Delasalle said.
“But what we're seeing is that voluntary demand is insufficient at this stage to drive scale, and so we really need to have an extra nudge towards companies that buy steel, buy cement, buy fertilisers.”
Her advice is that the extra cost will be “diluted” by the time it reaches houses and cars, meaning it should not raise prices too much for the everyday person.
“It shouldn't be that complex to propose a greener product to the end consumer with a premium that is very small and almost unnoticeable,” she said.
“If you realise that, then I think you can see opportunities to both decarbonise your supply chain and distinguish yourself in the market. But that is something that is not yet at the top of the mind of major consumer good companies.”
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EZack%20Snyder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESofia%20Boutella%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%2C%20Ed%20Skrein%2C%20Michiel%20Huisman%2C%20Charlie%20Hunnam%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
All%20We%20Imagine%20as%20Light
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPayal%20Kapadia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kani%20Kusruti%2C%20Divya%20Prabha%2C%20Chhaya%20Kadam%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
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Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
