ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 30th Jun, 2019) Brune Poirson, French Secretary of State for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, arrived in the UAE today to attend the ‘Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting for the UN Climate Action Summit 2019’, taking place in the capital on Sunday and Monday.
France, who currently holds the Presidency of the G7, has made combating climate change one of its top diplomatic priorities, by engaging with the international community to make sure that the objectives of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 to contain global warming below 2 C are kept.
On the sidelines of the multilateral event held in Abu Dhabi, Poirson is set to meet with Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment. The two ministers will have an in-depth discussion on the challenges and opportunities of climate change. They will also explore ways to enhance the already strong French-Emirati partnership in a number of fields such as renewable energies, waste management, the protection of biodiversity and the development of green finance.
The French Secretary of State for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition will also have an encounter with Francesco La Camera, new Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA, headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Talks during the meeting will focus on France’s total commitment alongside IRENA, reaffirming the role of renewable energies in reaching the goals set by the Paris Agreement.
Brune Poirson will have additional contacts with leaders from the financial sector, stressing the essential role of companies, banks and sovereign funds to speed up the global transition towards a low-carbon economy. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is part of the Sovereign funds coalition launched in Paris in December 2017 during the One Planet Summit in Paris, an initiative led by President Emmanuel Macron.
Speaking on the occasion, the French Minister said, "I am pleased to be in the United Arab Emirates to participate in the Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting. Climate change is a global emergency which affects all populations, especially the most vulnerable people. It is more than time for action and all stakeholders have a vital role to play: state actors of course, but also private companies, sovereign funds, universities, NGOs and other members of the civil society."
The French minister praised the sustainability-driven projects developed in the UAE with the participation of French entities, such as the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. She recalled that France’s ecological ambition will also be reflected in the French Pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai, designed to be reusable and powered by renewable energy. She thanked the UAE for joining the Space Climate Observatory, an initiative of the French National Center for Space Studies aiming to measure the impact of climate change.
