Arab Virtual Week for Sustainability and Environment

04-January-2024

Conjointly organized by the Environmental Center for Arab Towns, and the Clean Energy Business Council (CEBC), the Arab Virtual Week for Sustainability and Environment has been held from: the 24th to 28th of October 2022.

This virtual week purposed to attain and realize the following goals and objectives:

Keeping pace with the national and global agendas in the sustainability and the environment arena
Having access to the best cutting-edge Arab and International practices in the domain of sustainability and the ecology.
Initiation of a platform for dialogue backing and supporting the mayors of Arab towns, city planners, professionals and specialists to deliberate and dialogue on numerous challenges, as well as the upcoming prospects via knowledge sharing and information exchange with experts and the participating global companies
Acquaintance with the up-to-the-minute technologies applied in Arab and international towns and municipalities
Offering opportunities for collaboration and partnership between the participating entities and the interested actors.

Target Groups:

Mayors of towns, municipal administrators and governors – public policy makers- professionals and specialists-investors and private sector companies-international establishments involved in sustainability and the ecology-institutions and organizations of the civil society-universities and scientific research institutes.

Areas of Emphasis of the Week:

Interpretations and overviews in the international trends, perceptions and indicators
Development approaches and policies
Productively applied initiatives, projects and practices that have received a notable local and international recognition
Eco-friendly applications and green technologies
Challenges, visions and projections for the future

It is noteworthy that, the Arab week for sustainability and environment comprised an extensive five-day program for undertaking discussion, discourse and acquaintance with the state-of-the-art technologies and initiatives effectively and successfully applied in the following domains:

THE EVENT Link : https://ecat.ae/en/Event/ArabSustainabilityWeek 

The Program

Time Title Speakers Link
Monday, 24th October
11:05 – 11:25 Overview of The Landscape of Sustainable Development in Arab Region Jil Amine

Economic Affairs Officer (Sustainable Development)

United Nations (UNESCWA)

 

11:25 – 11:45 Delivering Sustainable Finance Initiatives and Mainstreaming the Impact Fareed Bushehri

Sustainability Consultant

Bushehri Sustainability Consultants

 

11:45 – 12:05 Policy Roadmap for Sustainable Development: Recommendations and Best Practices Mr. Nabil Shahin

Technical Director, Dubai MENA

Office

AHRI

 

12:05 – 12:25 Overview of Green Hydrogen Projects in the MENA Region

 

Iwan Walters

Partner, Law

EY

 

 

12:25 – 12:45 Energy Transition in the Arab Region: Challenges and Opportunities Dr. Nawal Yousif Alhanaee

Director of the Future Energy Department

Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure UAE

 

12:45 – 13:05 The Experience of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure in Implementing Sustainability Standards Eng. Marwa Obaid Altaffag

Head of Federal Buildings Design and Housing Section

UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure

 

13:25 – 13:45 Unlocking Climate Finance for Local Projects Beatriz Fonseca

Junior Officer, Innovative Finance

ICLEI

 

13:45 – 14:05 The Landscape of Climate Finance in the Arab Region Mohamed Hamra-Krouha

Partner

Clifford Chance

 

14:05 – 14:25 Climate Finance in the Arab Region: Challenges and Opportunities Dr. Katharina Lehmann Uschner 

Economic Affairs Officer (Climate Economist), Climate Change and Natural Resource Sustainability Cluster

ESCWA

 

14:25 – 14:45 The Landscape of Sustainable Development & Energy Transition in the Arab Region Dr. Mustapha Taoumi

Chief Executive Officer

Energy Transitions & Strategies Ltd

 

Time Title Speakers Link
Tuesday, 25th October
11:00 – 11:20 Indicators of the Sustainability of Arab Cities and Urban Resilience under the Influence of Rapid Climate Dr. Ameera Alhassan

Head of UN-Habitat GCC Office in Kuwait

 

 

11:20 – 11:40 Beyond Smart Cities: The Role of Social Engagement Evita Faustina Francis

Vice President, Business Resilience Practice Leader

Marsh Advisory, MENA

 

 

11:40 – 12:00 The Digital Twin of Dubai Mahra Juma Alketbi

Principal GIS Officer

Dubai Municipality

 

 

12:00 – 12:20 Smart Cities and Environmental Sustainability for Urban Resilience

 

Dr. Sukaina Al-Nasrawi

Urban Development Lead

UNESCWA

 

12:40 – 13:00 Towards a Smart and Sustainable Built Environment in the Arab Region: Enablers and Barriers Deepthy K B

Regional Director – Market Development

GBCI Middle East

 

 

13:00 – 13:20 Electric Vehicle Charging: The Key to the Future of Sustainable Mobility Rami Abu Hayah 

CEO

CATEC Mobility

 

 

13:20 – 13:40 Role of Smart Cities in achieving Sustainable Development  

 

 

Time Title Speakers Link
Wendsday, 26th October
11:00 – 11:20 The Commitment of the Arab Countries and Saudi Arabia Brings Us the Most Challenging Question: “Are We on the Right Track?” Mr. Faisal Alfadl

Secretary General at Saudi Green Building – Chief Representative to the UN

 

 

11:20 – 11:40 Achieving Net Zero Buildings in Arab Cities Eng. Moneef Barakat

CEO

Solarabic

 

11:40 – 12:00 Energy Efficiency in Building in the Arab Region: Enablers and Barriers Aparna Aravindakshan

Business Head – Middle East

ZENATIX

 

12:00 – 12:20 The Synergies between Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in Buildings, Optimization of Domestic Water

 

Margarita Huaca Valdiviezo, Engineer & Sustainable Development Expert BD

Enernouva

 

 

12:40 – 13:00 Just and Inclusive Clean Energy Transition in the Arab Region Mr. Stephen Gitonga

Regional Energy and Environment Specialist

UNDP Regional Hub in Jordan

 

13:00 – 13:20 The Role of Sustainable Mobility in the Transitions towards the Smart & Sustainable City: Methods and Strategies Éric Dimnet

Mobility Officer

French Ministry of Ecological Transition

 

Sofia Rogozarski

Sustainability Science Officer

General Commission of Sustainable Development, French Ministry of Ecological Transition

 

13:20 – 13:40 Electric and Shared Mobility in the Arab Region: Enablers and Barriers Jaideep Dhanoa

CEO

FENIX

 

 

13:40 – 14:00 UAE National EV Chargers Network Eng. Noura Ali Alhouli

Director of Federal Road Control Center

Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure UAE

 

 

Time Title Speakers Link
thursday, 27th October
11:00 – 11:20 Circular Economy Strategies Raj Kumar Prasad

Head of Sustainability – Middle East & Africa

BSI

 

 

11:20 – 11:40 Circular Economy: Best Practices and Opportunities Dr. Magash Naidoo

Head of Circular Development

ICLEI

11:40 – 12:00 Designing under Circularity in the Arab Region: Challenges and Opportunities Eng. Dima Al Srouri

Director

Biospheric City Lab

 

 

12:00 – 12:20 Cement Sector- Decarbonization Roadmap: A Case Study Riad Bestani

Founder & CEO

ECOsquare

 

 

12:40 – 13:00 Supporting Local Governments with the Energy Transition Kanak Gokarn

Junior Officer, Sustainable Energy ICLEI

 

13:00 – 13:20 Energy Storage and Supply in the Arab Region: Enablers and Barriers Jessica Obeid

Founder and CEO

New Energy Consult

 

 

13:20 – 13:40 Landscape of Hydrogen in the Arab Region Alan Zhao

New Power Director – Africa & Middle East

Cummins

 

 

Time Title Speakers Link
Friday, 28th October
11:00 – 11:20 Artificial Intelligence and IoT Driving Sustainability Sameer Ghavri

Practice Head – OT

MCPM

 

11:20 – 11:40 Future of Blockchain as pathway towards Smart and Sustainable Built Environment Sam Lee

Dean of Software Institute Blockchain Lab

China Academy of Science (CAS)

 

12:00 – 12:20 Leading Innovation in Energy

 

Maryam Salman

Consultant

Qamar Energy

 

12:40 – 13:00 Sustainable Agri-Tech in the Arab Region

 

Eng. Mohammed Alkaff

CEO of MCPM MENA, MCPM Holding and UI Ventures

 

13:00 – 13:20 Digitalization of Grid: Unlocking Opportunities 

in the Arab Region

Avijit Sur

Technology Business Consultant Rebus Novus

 

13:20 – 13:40 Digital Solutions for the Environment in the Arab Region Bocar Alpha BA

CEO

SAMENA Telecommunications Council

 

13:40 – 14:00 Priorities to Accelerate Clean Hydrogen and Transition to a Green Economy Jeffrey Beyer

Managing Director

Zest Associates