- Dr. Muhammad Al-Ali: The conference draws insights that contribute to achieving the goals of “COP28”
-William Wechsler: Climate change issues have become an indirect threat to international security.
- Osama Al Gohary: The Loss and Damage Fund is an important step to achieve climate justice
As part of its support to “COP28” conference, and enhancing its participation in the most important global event in the area of climate action currently being held in Expo City Dubai, the Trends Research and Advisory, in collaboration with the Atlantic Council, launched the third annual conference under the title: “Sustainable Security... The Soft and Hard Implications of Climate Action.” The conference has been attended by senior officials and specialists, as well as twenty political experts, academics, researchers and specialists in environmental, climate and security issues from various countries worldwide.
The conference which is convened under a media sponsorship by Sky News Arabia - the global strategic partner of the conference, lasts for two days. The first day of the conference included three main sessions, focusing on “the political and strategic issues challenging international climate action, the implications of climate change on political conflicts, and how climate change affects the nature of security.”
The conference was opened by Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of Trends Research and Advisory, who welcomed the participants, speakers and the audience. He indicated that the theme of the conference comes as a continuation of “Trends” discussions with its partners in the Atlantic Council, which began at the second annual conference held in Washington last year entitled “Sustainable Security in the Middle East...the Challenges and Prospects of Climate Change,” which was an indication of Trends’ interest in the climate issues at an early time.
Dr. Al-Ali added: “Convening the third annual conference coincides with the COP28 conference, which the whole world is counting on to draw the way out to confront the most dangerous phenomenon which threatens its future, which is the phenomenon of climate change. Therefore, we were keen to convene this conference in the heart of this global event.”
Dr. Al-Ali stressed that the climate change crisis is one of the biggest threats to global security in a broad sense, in view of what it entails in terms of economic, community, environmental, social, health, political, and even geopolitical risks. Climate change is also considered as the most urgent and complicated crisis that humans face in this century. Its effects accumulate and coincide with many other crises, in many other areas of the economy, natural resources, supply chains, and conflicts between and within countries. These challenges interact with each other, and their overall impact exceeds the total impact of each of them separately.
Dr. Al-Ali stressed that the aim of this conference is to draw visions and proposals from practitioners and experts, within and beyond the region. The Conference formulates specific recommendations that can contribute to achieving the goals of COP28 conference.
William Wechsler, Senior Director at the Rafik Hariri Center and Middle East Programs - The Atlantic Council, said in his welcoming remarks that the world had not previously witnessed sustainability related challenges, but recently the whole world has begun to face various challenges in connection with sustainability. He explained that competition has become revolving around energy sources. There is intense political competition, all of which compound with climate change challenges which endanger the entire world.
He stated that sustainable security is a critical concept which emerged after World War II. However, current threats are more challenging than before due to their interconnectedness and great diversity. The climate change issues have become an indirect threat to international security, with increased conflicts around the world, especially in the Middle East region.
Wechsler said that the COP28 Conference is working to confront these diverse and increasing climate challenges, especially the financial challenges which hinder a rapid and effective response to climate change. The conference is also working to confront conflicts that exacerbate the climate crisis, and envision appropriate future solutions to overcome extreme climate events.
Dr. Adnan Shihab El Din, Senior Research Fellow at Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and former Acting Secretary-General of OPEC, warned that the timeframe available to address the consequences of climate change is narrowing. He called for immediate action, and praised the UAE’s announcement to allocate $30 billion to finance climate change projects. He considered such announcement as a great incentive for international efforts in this field. Dr. Adnan stressed the need for collective action to mitigate conflicts and end ongoing wars, as they exacerbate climate change crisis and threaten global security.
He stated that transformation to clean energy will be very beneficial in the near future, but international commitments towards climate action must be diverse. Energy systems have to be transformed into sustainable systems to rapidly remove carbon and shift to sustainable approach to overcome climate change.
First session
The first session of the first day began discussing the political and strategic issues facing international climate action. It was moderated by Irina Patrahau, a strategic analyst at the Hague Center of Strategic Studies. The session was opened by Erin Sikorsky, Director of the Center for Climate and Security and the International Military Council on Climate and Security. She presented a paper entitled “How Great Power Competition shapes the energy transition?”
She stressed that the great powers are competing in the transition to clean energy, and the inevitability of this transformation and the rapid pace of countries in achieving it contribute to shaping the global geopolitical landscape. She added that competition is likely to benefit the transition to clean energy, especially if it is placed within the framework of the “race to the top.”
Osama El Gohary, Assistant to the Egyptian Prime Minister and Head of the Information and Decision Support Center, said that the Loss and Damage Fund, which was able to allocate $30 billion to combat climate change, is a very significant step for achieving climate justice, together with its pivotal role in reducing the costs of climate action. In the future, citing a recent study which considers that by 2025, countries around the world will allocate about $1.3 trillion to confront climate change, which heralds sustainable solutions to this phenomenon.
El Gohary stated that building on what has been achieved in raising funds for the Loss and Damage Fund will be an important topic in future discussions of the 29th edition of the Conference of the Parties, and it is important to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of this fund.
Professor Ahmed Ali Murad, Associate Provost for Scientific Research at United Arab Emirates University, pointed out the role of the UAE in unifying and mobilizing international efforts aimed at addressing climate change. He added that there are many efforts and initiatives by UAE, which focus on bringing humanity together and uniting efforts to come up with innovative ideas to mitigate the damage caused by climate change.
Professor Ahmed said that the efforts of UAE government at COP28 conference are focused on the best solutions to overcome climate change. The UAE has been investing in the field of renewable energy for 17 years, citing the Sustainable Masdar City, together with its investment of more than $50 billion in the field of renewable energy.
Second session
The second session, which was moderated by Mohammad Al Dhahouri, Researcher and Head of Strategic Studies Department at Trends, focused on the effects of climate change on political conflict. Francis Fannon, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) at the U.S Department of State, spoke about the idea that abandoning fossil fuels would be beneficial for humanity and the environment alike. He said it will also reduce disputes and conflicts, which requires finding new policies that help reduce the effects of climate change.
Sherry Goodman, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Secretary-General of the International Military Council for Climate and Security, addressed the issue of climate change effect on current and future transboundary water issues. She indicated that climate change is linked to several factors, especially security and defence, which makes confronting this risk a priority that requires a delicate balance between many factors. However, there are great opportunities to achieve water security, and we must work to develop and build on them to achieve resource sustainability.
Serge Stroobants, Director Europe & MENA at the Institute for Economics and Peace, stressed in his paper entitled “Environmental Threats and Conflict Potential” that climate change constitutes a catalyst for conflicts, increases the probability of their occurrence, and also affects the achievement of food security at international level.
Third session
The third session, moderated by Dr. Christian Alexander, a senior Researcher at the Strategic Studies Department at Trends, addressed how climate change affects the nature of security. The session was opened by Meredith Berger, Assistant US Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment. She indicated that reducing emissions is a major international task linked to the national security. It affects the possible solutions to achieve sustainable security. She explained that rising sea and ocean levels and increasing climate impacts require innovative ideas to respond to such repercussions.
Elsa Barron, Research Fellow at the Center for Climate and Security (CCS); Co-Chair of the Young Professionals Interest Group at the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, said that urban development and building resilience within communities will help adapt to the effects of climate change. She added that there are communities facing difficult challenges from climate crises, such as displacement, water and food shortages. She said that these challenges require sustainable partnerships and flexibility in responding to the issues facing low income countries.
Dr. Khawla Al Hattawi, Assistant Professor, Rabdan Academy in Abu Dhabi delivered the third and concluding theme of the first day of the conference. She focused on the United Arab Emirates’ point of view on climate change and security. She explained that preserving the environment is very a important matter for the UAE. We live in a region which suffer by its nature from climate change. This encouraged the country to launch many local strategies many years ago to protect natural resources that support conservation, including the 2023 national strategy to achieve air quality.
The conference's activities are scheduled to resume today, Tuesday, where three discussion sessions will be held, and concludes with the conference's recommendations as proposed by experts, academics and researchers over the whole conference sessions.
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