Twenty-eight companies in the UAE’s industrial sector have pledged to try to reduce carbon emissions and adopt more sustainable ways of operating, it was announced on Tuesday.
The move came at the 10th National Climate Ambition Dialogue, overseen by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
The dialogue is a series of industry-specific assemblies aimed at raising ambition in the UAE’s goal of becoming net zero by 2050, which means not adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
It comes with only six months to go before the UAE hosts Cop28, the UN climate summit.
Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and Minister of State for Food Security, told those attending that the pledge by the companies was important in light of UAE efforts to reach net zero and in trying to limit global temperature increases to 1.5°C on pre-industrial levels as mandated under the 2015 Paris agreement.
"The industrial sector is responsible for a large proportion of carbon emissions in the UAE and the world, and we need to work now to find practical solutions to reduce these emissions,” said Ms Al Mheiri.
"The UAE believes in the urgency of working to limit the global temperature rise to less than 1.5°C to avoid the consequences of climate change and its effects on human life. Therefore, the UAE was the first country in the Middle East to sign the Paris climate agreement and provide nationally determined contributions to reduce carbon emissions."
These companies are the sixth cohort to sign up to the “climate-responsible companies pledge" that is part of the dialogue and brings the total of signatories to 90 across various sectors.
Businesses pledge support
The 28 companies are: Zeroe Software Solutions; Dakerechsand; Eltizam Asset Management Group; ESG Integrate; FTI Consulting; Rak White Cement; Accor; Accuracy; Authentik Spoon; Because You Care; CCI France UAE; CMA/CGM; Eny; Gems; Inspexion; Lactalis; Legrand; Sanofi; Schneider Electric; Sodexo; TTI; Sopexa; RNZ Group; Tally Co; Maison Duffour; Keolis; Egis; and Iffco.
The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology; UAE Space Agency; Fujairah Environment Authority; Dibba Al Fujairah Municipality; Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi; Dubai Municipality; Ras Al Khaimah Municipality; and Emirates Steel Arkan, in addition to representation from 150 of the largest manufacturing companies in the country.
“As the largest publicly traded steel and building materials manufacturer in the UAE and a signatory of the UAE climate-responsible companies pledge, we are proud to be driving our industry's decarbonisation efforts at a scale that is supporting the nation's strategic initiative to realise net zero by 2050,” said Saeed Al Remeithi, group chief executive of Emirates Steel Arkan, which co-hosted Monday’s event.
Emirates Steel Arkan also signed an agreement at the event with assurance and risk management company DNV to boost co-operation on sustainable financing for decarbonisation and energy transformation.
There were also discussions on finance, hydrogen, recycling and the circular economy, and technology such as carbon capture.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
