Cross-border Partnerships Crucial To Mitigating Climate Crisis, Decarbonising Energy Sector, Israel’s Energy Minister Tells GMIS

DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 23rd Nov, 2021) Countries and organisations must develop cross-border partnerships to ensure the global energy sector is meeting its responsibilities to mitigate climate change. That was the message from Israel’s Minister of Energy today, addressing an audience at the fourth edition of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (#GMIS2021).

Delivering a keynote ahead of a panel entitled ‘The Twin Transition: Where innovation, technology and sustainability meet’, Karine Elharrar highlighted a deal signed this week in which a solar plant in Jordan will generate power for Israel, while a desalination plant in Israel will provide Jordan with water, as part of the same three-party partnership with the UAE.

"Cross-border cooperation of this kind for a common international struggle in tackling climate change is a precise example of a twin transition in which innovation and sustainability meet and create holistic solutions to tackling the climate crisis that threatens countries and communities. This is our planet, our future, and it’s our mission to save it," she said.

Under the theme ‘Rewiring Societies: Repurposing Digitalisation for Prosperity’, #GMIS2021 convenes global leaders from government, business and civil society to explore how data and connectivity are shaping the future of the manufacturing sector while presenting opportunities for investments in technology, innovation and industrialisation.

During the high-level panel, Musabbeh Al Kaabi, CEO of UAE Investments at Mubadala, noted that while the oil and gas sector globally has missed multiple chances since the 1980s to build a sustainable industry, it now must embrace new modes of operations.

He said: "Going forward, energy companies around the world have a collective responsibility to become part of a future energy ecosystem.

"Oil and gas companies are now facing huge pressure from investors and policy makers to ensure they pivot from traditional businesses to more sustainable ones. The winners will be the nimble companies that can accelerate towards that pivot quickest."

Also on the panel was Professor Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London. She said: "Universities play a critical role in innovation. It is our integrated mission of research, teaching and innovation for the benefit of society that drives us. Bringing digital in to make a difference to climate change is exciting. We need those innovations helped by digital technology to revolutionise research in areas like nuclear power, batteries and carbon sequester."

Saideep Raj, Global Head of Innovation at Accenture, said: "The inter-connection between these two transitions represents a complex system where action and event is linked with everything else. We need to drive collaboration across these ecosystems."

Steven Kiefer, SVP and President at General Motors International, said: "We are most excited about this move to an all-electric future."

Co-chaired by the UAE Ministry of Industry Advanced Technology and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, #GMIS2021 is held during the six-day GMIS Week from November 22-27 at EXPO’s Dubai Exhibition Centre, featuring over 250 global speakers including key global leaders from government, business and civil society to discuss and debate how data and connectivity are shaping the future of the manufacturing sector while presenting opportunities for investments in technology, innovation and industrialisation.