DUBAI: UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment Dr Thani Ahmad Al Zeyoudi on Tuesday called for greater investment in research and development into sustainable development projects.
Speaking at the opening of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Finance Initiative Global Roundtable, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Dubai, Dr Al Zeyoudi said, “Directing more investment towards research and development, innovation and environment-friendly technologies should be given special priority.”
He said the launch of the National Strategy for Innovation in 2014 and the UAE Strategy for the Future in September were important developments.
He added: “The process of transformation towards a green economy approach has been slow in many countries as a result of the absence or ineffectiveness of some basic tools - such as policies, partnerships, technology, financing and resource mobilisation - to facilitate the transformation process. But that is not the case in the UAE, which has taken bold and swift steps in that direction.”
UAE Central Bank Governor Mubarak Rashid Khamis Al Mansouri, in his opening remarks, said, “Achieving a green economy requires the contribution of the private sector to invest in several projects, not only in the renewable energy sector, but also in various green and eco-friendly business areas. We need to work towards improving the bank financing for green projects in the UAE, and to find the best way to contribute to the government’s efforts to change the flow of investments in the field of sustainability.”
After the opening ceremony, UAE financial institutions were asked to sign the Dubai Declaration on Sustainable Financing, marking cooperation between the financial sector, the UAE Government, UNEP and other institutions to efforts to improve corporate environmental and social performance.
