The World Green Economy Summit (WGES), has announced the theme for this year’s gathering as ‘Galvanising Action for a Sustainable Recovery.’ This will unify regional and international endeavours and strengthen public and private sector partnerships towards achieving sustainable development.

The 7th World Green Economy Summit will be held from 6th-7th October 2021 at Expo 2020 Dubai.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO), organisers of the World Green Economy Summit, in collaboration with the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the UN Development Programme, extended an invitation to decision-makers, investors, experts, and specialists from the government and private sectors, as well as those interested in the green economy and sustainable development from around the world, to attend the summit by registering at www.wges.ae

The 7th edition of World Green Economy Summit aims to achieve strategic objectives centred around consolidating constructive dialogue between parties committed to advancing the green economy and reviewing the latest digital platforms and international best practices in the green economy and sustainable development.

The World Green Economy Summit will also provide a venue for participants to identify critical areas for investments that support green transformation. It will additionally explore effective ways to achieve recommendations of the 21st and 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement, and outcomes of the last edition of the World Green Economy Summit, including recommendations of the Dubai Declaration 2019.

The World Green Economy Summit 2021 will address four main pillars: Youth; Innovation and Smart Technologies; Green Economy and Policies; and Green Finance. The ‘Youth’ pillar will discuss empowering young people to innovate and lead countries into their sustainable futures. The World Green Economy Summit will also examine how to operationalise the outcomes of the COP26 Youth Summit in the Middle East.

The ‘Innovation and Smart Technologies’ pillar discusses ways to spark creative applications of advanced technologies to address climate challenges.

Discussions in the ‘Green Economy and Policies’ pillar will focus on harnessing global momentum for effective policy frameworks to accelerate climate action, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors, and build a regional consensus ahead of COP26.

The ‘Green Finance’ pillar will focus on capitalising on the boom in the Environment, Society, and Governance finance for green growth and position the Middle East as a driver of green infrastructure and innovation.

The World Green Economy Summit plays a key role in promoting a green economy and enhancing green projects in the UAE and the region.

The 7th WGES to be held in October at Dubai Exhibition Centre (DEC) at Expo 2020, is a strategic platform to support international collaboration in fighting global challenges, enhancing sustainable development, investing in the green economy, adopting effective policies, plans and initiatives. The Summit attracts current presidents, global leaders and influencers in addition to thousands of experts and opinion leaders in different areas of the green economy and sustainable development.

Together, they exchange views on successful sustainability strategies, systems and policies, and the possibility of propagating and upscaling them. Each year, WGES wraps up by issuing the Dubai Declaration, which includes the participants’ recommendations, the summit conclusion as well as its milestones and activities.

Since its launch in 2014, the previous versions of the Summit focused on three main pillars: sustainable development mechanisms, an international collaboration to enhance the green economy ecosystem, and adopting innovative green solutions.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority issued recently its 8th annual Sustainability Report 2020, which focuses on Dewa’s efforts in promoting sustainability with its social, economic, and environmental aspects.

Issuing the annual report is part of Dewa’s efforts to promote Dubai’s position as a global hub for sustainability and green economy. The report shows that Dewa continued its sustainability projects in 2020, despite the challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the key projects Dewa is building is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. It is the largest single-site solar park in the world using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. It has a capacity of 5,000MW by 2030 and will reduce over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

WAM