25 May 2015: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) held its sixth national Green Economy Annual Conference in cooperation with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Finance Initiative (FI). The Conference highlighted the UAE Government’s green economy initiatives, including its national ‘State of Green Economy’ report, which was launched at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January 2015.
The conference, held on 25 May 2015, in Dubai, UAE, was organized around the theme ‘National Round-table on Financing and Investing in Green Economy Projects.’ It provided a platform for participants to exchange experiences and expertise on the financing of green sectors such as petrochemicals, green technology industries and energy-intensive resources such as aluminum, cement and others.
The national ‘State of Green Economy’ report, which was made available in print recently, is the first report developed to inform the public about the status of progress in the implementation of the UAE Green Growth Strategy. The report also represents the world’s first of its kind in national reporting on a Green Economy transition.
The conference featured five dialogue sessions on the financial sector’s evolution in accordance with the process of transitioning to a green economy. It also featured: a session on sustainable financing with a discussion on the state of the UAE’s green economy; a session on financing low-carbon emission opportunities; and a session on the leadership of financing the greening of industries. Discussions reviewed opportunities in financing the reduction of carbon projects with a focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The conference was held under the UN Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE), a joint initiative by UNEP, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) to provide comprehensive assistance to countries seeking to develop and implement inclusive green economy strategies. PAGE was launched in March 2014. [UAE Press Release on Sixth National Green Economy Annual Conference] [Publication: UAE State of Green Economy Report 2014] [UNEP Webpage on UAE Green Economy Report] [PAGE Conference Webpage]