STRATEGIES to reduce carbon emissions in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region will be discussed at a major conference to be held in Bahrain next year.
The ‘Mobilising Action and Investment for Climate and Energy Resilience’ forum is expected to bring together senior decision-makers and climate experts to engage in and discuss regional decarbonisation goals and solutions to help businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to mobilise, plan for and embark on their net-zero journeys.
Oil and Environment Minister and Special Envoy for Climate Affairs Dr Mohammed Bin Daina is set to attend the forum, taking place from January 28 to 29 at the Crowne Plaza Bahrain.
“The third edition of the forum will focus on highlighting solutions for accelerating regional decarbonisation through the facilitation of dialogue and co-operation and hands-on learning,” said a statement on the forum’s website.
“The forum will once again feature a number of keynote addresses from leading climate and sustainability experts and panels made up of government and business leaders.
“Together, they will examine the national and regional net-zero commitments and pathways to achieving them,” it added.
More than 500 sustainability climate and business leaders from the Middle East, Africa and Europe and 50 expert speakers will attend, giving participants the opportunity to network with one another.
Numerous workshops supporting practical hands-on learning will also feature at the two-day event.
Sustainability Forum Middle East is a regional platform for promoting understanding and driving climate action on the part of the private sector, whose embracing of sustainability and decarbonisation is critical to the meeting of net-zero ambitions of the Mena countries.
It consists of an annual forum and a series of high-level roundtables held across the region throughout the year that delve into critical subjects in the drive towards decarbonisation of the Mena economies.
The last forum, which was held in January this year, discussed countries, government agencies and the private sector driving momentum in their targets, goals and ambitions towards net-zero and decarbonisation.
It also discussed applying pressure in terms of monitoring, measuring and reporting progress with the required transparency, comparability and integrity.
Another session looked at how the promises made by leaders at COP28 will impact business and what companies need to do to ensure they are ready and able to play their part in developing a more environmentally sustainable and equitable future.
To tackle climate change and protect the environment, Bahrain aims to reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2035 and reach zero carbon by 2060.
To achieve this goal, the kingdom has adopted a set of initiatives to remove carbon, including doubling the mangroves by establishing a group of agricultural nurseries to produce thousands of mangroves to rehabilitate a number of areas.
So far, 40,043 trees and shrubs were planted over an area of 14,243 square metres and 7,463 linear metres across the four governorates at the end of the third stage of a national afforestation campaign. A total of 50,814 trees were also planted in the second phase of the campaign, held from October 2022 to June last year.
Dr Bin Daina also previously highlighted that modern sea walls and wider beaches are steps that should be taken to combat one of Bahrain’s biggest environmental threats: rising sea levels.
Several international reports including from reputed research groups have warned that certain coastal parts of Bahrain could be submerged under water due to rising seas.
For more information on the forum, visit sustainmideast.com.
julia@gdnmedia.bh
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