With UAE hosting COP28 later this year, climate action was a compelling agenda on Day 2 of the World Government Summit, held in Dubai with more than 20 presidents and 250 government and private sector leaders from more than 150 countries attending the forum.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 President-Designate, said that addressing the climate challenge represents the greatest opportunity for inclusive growth and prosperity since the first industrial revolution.

Al Jaber was speaking at a session called The Road Map COP28: Prioritizing Action, said: “As the UAE prepares to host COP28, we have placed a special emphasis on ensuring better, more efficient, and more equitable access to climate finance. The UAE is a trusted partner of many nations and actively supports the development of emerging nations.”

“Let’s cooperate, collaborate and share ideas. Let’s live up to the responsibility that we have been entrusted with. UAE is not shying away from the energy transition. In fact, we are running towards it,” he added.

Speaking on the biggest challenge to global growth, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, said, “forces of fragmentation are pulling us apart”. “It is quite scary because fragmentation can cost us anywhere between losing 0.2% to 7% of GDP. Just to give you a sense of what 7% of GDP means, it is wiping out Germany and Japan from the world economy.”

Since generative AI and ChatGPT have already created a buzz, the summit also discussed how the virtual and physical worlds interact constantly. 

Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education, “We announce today that the UAE will be one of the few countries in the world to incorporate generative artificial intelligence across its educational systems. UAE is fully committed to embracing this technology. Generative Artificial Intelligence will be part of our lives at home or work. Our responsibility is to prepare our children for this AI-driven future by providing them with the knowledge and skills in the future.”

The UAE is working to develop and launch a tutor powered by AI, added Al Falasi. ‘The Ministry of Education will be working with partners like Microsoft, OpenAI, and other tech companies to ensure that AI technologies are used to enhance the quality of learning and education.

During the AI-augmented Governance: Responsibility and Accountability panel discussion, Nick Clegg, President of Global Affairs, Meta, said: “AI is an extremely powerful tool.”

“Excessive optimism and excessive pessimism, neither are sensible attitudes towards technology. The truth is always somewhere in the middle,” Clegg added.

Furthermore, Masdar and International Finance Corporation (IFC) have teamed up to explore potential areas of collaboration to support climate action for emerging markets.

Under the agreement, Masdar and the IFC will explore support for establishing a green hydrogen platform for emerging markets and potential collaboration on bankability and structuring issues for African renewable energy projects. The framework also covers exploring mechanisms to accelerate the adoption of distributed photovoltaic (DPV) systems and developing innovative new technologies and business models in emerging markets in response to the evolving climate crisis. 

IFC also plans to sign an MoU with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to jointly invest $1.5 billion in energy transition and the fight against climate change, IFC Director General Makhtar Diop said at the World Government Summit.

Also during the day, Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) unveiled the 50 most promising opportunities under 10 global megatrends across five categories, including health, collaboration, nature, societies and global transformations.

The Global 50 report shares the foundation’s view of the future and 50 opportunities for growth, prosperity and well-being of governments, societies and individuals.

Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Chairman of the World Government Summit, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation, said that the UAE believes in the ability of societies to design the future and harness its opportunities.