NEW DELHI - Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC), said that the UAE has always pursued a balance between development and environmental protection.

Under the guidance of its leadership, led by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE is playing an active role in supporting the global efforts to reduce the effects of climate change at the regional and international levels, he added.

He made these statements while participating in the Ninth G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit P20), hosted and organised by the Indian parliament, in cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), on 13th-14th October 2023.

The event was attended by Om Birla, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and several officials and parliamentary speakers.

Ghobash pointed out that the UAE will host COP28, which will take place at Expo City Dubai in late November 2023 and will review the global efforts and actions to reach net-zero emissions and limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

The UAE will make COP28 a turning point for global climate action, in line with the vision of the country’s leadership, and plans to speed up the transition to a fair and clean energy sector, facilitating the financing of climate action, improving people’s well-being, and engaging everyone in the process, he added. " These goals are in line with the overall international efforts to achieve sustainable development," he added.

World peace and security, as well as social, economic, and political stability, depend on two key factors, which are tackling climate issues and investing in clean and renewable energy sources through a fair and responsible energy transition, and utilising advanced technologies to deal with the effects of climate change, Ghobash further said.

The transition to renewable energy sources requires all parliaments and regulatory bodies to work diligently with their national executive institutions to formulate and adopt long-term national resolutions based on sound and transparent legislative frameworks to regulate the national approach to all matters related to financing and investing in the renewable and clean energy sector, including regulating all relevant inputs, such as electricity, transportation, fuel markets, and others, he added.

They must also review existing policies and procedures related to achieving sustainable development, most notably addressing the measures taken by various countries to respond to natural disasters caused by climate change, as well as cooperate with regional and international parliamentary institutions to agree on renewable energy goals, means of financing, and ways of achieving international equity in sustainable development, including forging agreements to provide financial and technical assistance to the most vulnerable and impoverished nations, he further added.

As the UAE prepares to host COP28, the FNC will work with the IPU to hold a parliamentary meeting, which will aim to coordinate legislative actions that will help ensure a secure and sustainable future for all people without exception.