Towards a Greener Future

Speakers explained that achieving a greener future meant major transformation of energy, water, food security, climate and virtually all sectors.

The Greener Future business forum took place as a hybrid event with speakers participating in person and online.

The discussion took place exactly three months before the ABCC’s Arab British Economic Summit (ABES22), whose programme would also consist of a discussion on net zero and how the COP26 commitments are reshaping the global economy.

In welcoming remarks, Mr Bandar Reda, ABCC Secretary General & CEO, described sustainable economy and renewable energy as vital for the future of everyone and our children. The Rt Hon Baroness Symons, ABCC Chairman, reiterated these comments in her remarks.

Chairing the session, Mr Abdeslam El-Idrissi, ABCC Deputy CEO & Secretary General, said that panel would be addressing key topics brought into focus by COP26.

The discussion was a preliminary to ABES 2022 which would be looking beyond COP26 and forwards to COP27 and COP28, which were both planned to be held in the Arab world.

These international summits were having an impact on how business was conducted across the entire range of economic activities.

The question of a greener future touched on areas of energy, water, food security, climate and the sectors that were transforming the economy of the future.

Mr El-Idrissi urged delegates to sign up for ABES2022 and participate in the opportunities that would be highlighted at the event. To give people an idea of what could be expected, a short video was screened concerning the proceedings of ABES2019.

Professor Upal Wijayantha, Head of the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems at Cranfield University, made the opening speech which began by describing his twenty year involvement in developing green energy solutions.

He had been among a team of experts responsible for developing a masterplan for a UK hydrogen strategy.

Prof Upal spoke of a growing public awareness of the urgency of the climate challenge. He recalled speaking more than a decade ago at a conference in the Gulf on the theme of moving beyond oil when renewables like solar power were not so widely appreciated as they are at present.

By contrast, today countries like Saudi Arabia were leading players in the development of green solutions, he said. He believed that the younger generation including those in the Arab world were eager to find green solutions to reduce the impact of human activities in the environment.

He stressed that green or sustainable solutions encompass far more than the transformation of the energy sector alone but included construction, transport, technology and the protection of nature.

Prof Upal had worked on drawing up a detailed ten point plan for green growth in the Midlands which had included participants from both the public and private sectors.

The proposals had examined the advantages of sustainable solutions to the main economic activities and had considered hybrid transport policies, the use of sustainable building materials in construction and the impact on such activities on the natural landscape

The plan had been inspired by a determination to improve how people live by developing green urban spaces and how low carbon hydrogen was a clean energy solution could create new jobs and produce savings.

Green innovation could assist industry to adapt to meet the climate challenge that we all confront, Prof Upal stated.

The investment needed to carry out the plan could be obtained from green finance.

The Midlands plan could be adapted to meet the needs of countries in the Arab world as they faced the challenges of moving towards low carbon economies, the professor believed.

The issues of water supply, energy, waste management and transport all posed distinct challenges shared by the Arab world and the UK.

Prof Upal argued that the search for solutions to these challenges presented

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