Public and private sector must merge funds to fight climate change, says Sheikha Shamma

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan, president and chief executive of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators, on Wednesday called on the private and public sectors to merge funds so the country is better prepared for future emergencies.

During a speech at the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority conference being held in Abu Dhabi, Sheikha Shamma also urged nations around the world to work together to prepare for future crises such as pandemics and disasters fuelled by climate change.

She said combining private and government budgets should be a priority to ensure that societies around the world are better prepared for the problems of the future.

“By merging private capital with development funding, blended finance structures allow stakeholders to re-risk their investments while still investing with purpose,” she said.

“Much has changed as a result of Covid-19. Many organisations have implemented remote or hybrid working policies, a development that has affected not just the way we work, but also the way we live.

“Investment in vaccine research has revolutionised the medical field, while disaster relief efforts have expanded and viral testing techniques have evolved.”

Global health experts have said that one of the lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic was the need for global co-operation.

Sheikha Shamma went on to address climate change, particularly in the UAE, pointing to the extreme flooding that plagued the Northern Emirates last year, as well as the effect of global warming on other countries.

“We need to look no further than our neighbouring nations to see the devastating effects of cyclones in Oman and mass floods in Pakistan,” she said.

“Almost a year later, Pakistan is still recovering from one-third of the country being submerged underwater, 15,000 people suffering death or injury, and the displacement of more than eight million individuals.”

Developing countries often bear the brunt of the effects of climate change, and Sheikha Shamma said global co-operation was crucial to protecting cities and communities around the world.

“It’s important to recognise that the responsibility of building resilience lies not with one country or nation, but with all of us, as stewards of our planet,” she said.

According to the World Economic Forum, the cost of adaptation in developing countries is expected to reach $300 billion per year by 2030.

Global adaptation finance flows were $46 billion in 2020, of which only $28.6 billion went to developing countries, leaving a significant gap.

Waheguru Pal Sidhu, clinical professor at New York University, told The National that while global crises cannot be predicted, preventive measures must be taken.

“We really need to be able to detect [a global crisis] much earlier, and we need to have national and international co-operation,” he said and added that if countries work together to prevent a crisis, it will become easier to mitigate.

Saif Al Dhaheri, official spokesman for Ncema, said that although the UAE is prepared to manage the next crisis, there are other challenges that need to be addressed.

He pointed to areas such as cyber security and natural disasters, saying that there were hopes a “fully fledged policy” to address such issues would come into force the next few years.

“Governments around the world need to have an approach on how to assess and manage crises and emergencies,” he said.

“We look forward to recommendations to establish fully fledged policies and strategies concerning crisis and emergency.

“The next few years will be vital for governments to be proactive. There are expected threats and governments need to work together to find solutions.”

But the onus does not lie solely on governments. Experts have said that communities need to band together during the initial hours following a crisis, such as an earthquake or flood.

Riham Bahi, professor of international relations at Cairo University, said it was important to involve communities with recurrent and complex crises, especially in today’s ever-changing world.

“The role of society is very important, particularly during the first 70 hours following a crisis because governments take time to respond,” she told The National. “The top-down approach doesn’t work and people might die as a result.”

Loretta Hieber Girardet, chief of the Risk Knowledge, Monitoring and Capacity Development Branch at the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in Switzerland, added that by 2030, the world will have to face an average of 1.5 significant disasters per day.

“The good news is that there is no shortage of men and women who are willing to rise to the occasion to protect their communities when confronted by these disasters,” she said.

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