ADSW 2023: three key takeaways and what’s next

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week - ADSW was held this week in the UAE and further affirmed the urgency to act on climate change. Here are my three key takeaways from ADSW 2023 as the UAE prepares to host COP28 in December:

1.      Perceptions don’t meet reality. Progress on climate action is too slow. And the situation is worse than what many of us perceive it to be. As part of our Global Energy Transition Readiness Index – a thought leadership report we have co-developed with international consultancy Roland Berger , we surveyed 2,000 experts in 5 regions to assess what they believe has been achieved thus far on the road to decarbonization. In most geographies, participants believe that their region’s current emissions levels are lower than in 2005. This is far from reality.

In the Middle East and Africa, where climate change is both evident and perilous, survey respondents estimated that emissions had fallen by 23% between 2005 and today. Only around one-third correctly identified that emissions have not fallen. Data shows us that they, in fact, grew by about 50% between 2005 and 2021. This is a reality check to drive quicker action. Next week, we will launch the full global report with our recommendations on the five key areas we believe it is essential to make progress in.

2.      Energy efficiency is a key priority. Energy demand continues to grow due to population and economic growth. This increase can outweigh all of our existing efforts to reduce emissions. Our first priority should be to conserve energy wherever possible. Energy efficiency represents more than 40% of the emissions abatement needed by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) Sustainable Development Scenario.

Achieving this significant cut in emissions will require innovation. In particular, we need to increase the electrification of industrial processes and transportation. But improving energy efficiency is more than just about driving innovation. Many energy efficiency technologies are available today and we should capitalize on them to reach net zero. For this, we also need a mindset change – from businesses, governments, and individuals alike.

3.      The inaugural Global Stocktake at COP28 will be a moment of truth, in the words of Simon Stiell , executive director of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Global Stocktake will assess the world’s progress towards achieving the purpose of the Paris Agreement and its goals. The Global Stocktake will allow us to look back – but also, most importantly, to decide how to move forward. It is already clear that achieving our targets will require action from across society.

Nevertheless, the private sector will have a crucial role to play in this. The actions we take now will determine whether we will be on track by 2030. There are great examples of existing decarbonization projects, but if we need to accelerate this by a factor or 5 – or 10 – we need to define what we have to do differently as businesses. We are looking into this as part of the work being done by the Alliance for Industry Decarbonization co-founded by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Siemens Energy. Together with 30 members companies, we are working to decarbonize industrial value chains and accelerate net zero ambitions.

The question is: what now?

To me, the answer is clear: we cannot wait until COP28. We must make progress now. When we look back 10 or 20 years from today, what do we want to say we have done to mitigate climate change? As businesses, as society, and as individuals, this is our chance to create positive impact for future generations.