Riyadh and Manama: Sustainability Forum Middle East (SFME), today announced a collaboration with Deloitte to host a high-level roundtable on “Mobility Transformation and Pathways to Net Zero” in Riyadh on October 9, 2023. The second in SFME’s Decarbonisation Roundtable Series, the event will gather regional transportation and sustainability experts on the sidelines of MENA Climate Week being held by the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh from October 8-12, 2023 with the support of UN Climate Change, UN Environment Programme, UNDP and others.  

Transportation decarbonisation is one of the major systems-based tracks being highlighted during this year’s MENA Climate Week, which is one of four regional climate weeks being held in 2023 to build momentum ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai and the conclusion of the first Global Stocktake, designed to chart the way for realising the Paris Agreement's main objectives.

The roundtable will focus on the critical need to accelerate the transformation of MENA’s transportation systems and modes of mobility as part of regional efforts to achieve net-zero. Experts will look at the necessary actions and collaborations to lower emissions from the way people and goods get from point A to B while continuing to enhance connectively and support economic growth and development.  

The session will look at innovation in the MENA region including new technologies and processes, and alternative sources to power low carbon forms of transportation. This will include discussions on electric vehicles, developments in e-fuels and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), the introduction of hydrogen trains, and the building and reimagining of cities around carbon-neutral designs.

Joining the roundtable’s panel of transportation and sustainability experts will be: Abdulla Al Jubran, Executive Vice President, AcwaPower, Ali Rizvi, the Head of Program Management for Middle East, Lucid Motors, Karim El Jisr, Executive Director - Sustainability Performance and Accreditation, Red Sea Global, Mohamed Al Ghailani, Middle East, Türkiye & Africa Regional Lead Global Sustainability Policy and Partnerships, Boeing, Riham El Gizy, Chief Executive Officer, Regional Voluntary Carbon Markets Company and a representative from Aramco. The session will be moderated by Daniel Gribbin, the ESG Risk Advisory Director at Deloitte.

Commenting, Laila Danesh, Director of Sustainability Forum Middle East, said, “We’re delighted to be partnering with Deloitte during this important week for MENA climate action to look at solutions for more clean and energy-efficient forms of transportation, a sector that accounts for nearly one quarter of overall global carbon emissions. We look forward to welcoming a distinguished group of leaders to look holistically at where the region is today and the kinds of changes and partnership required between transportation ecosystems, technology providers, energy companies and financial players to drive and fund transformation towards net-zero.” 

Adding, Daniel Gribbin, Sustainability Leader at Deloitte Middle East, said, “At Deloitte, we are committed to drive sustainability across all industries, including the future of mobility. We are also always eager to collaborate with other stakeholders to deepen our understanding of today's challenges in the region and navigate toward a carbon-neutral future. We are happy to host this roundtable discussion as we accelerate the transition towards a Net Zero tomorrow.”

Sustainability Forum Middle East will launch its next annual edition on January 9, 2024 in the Kingdom of Bahrain under the patronage of the Minister of Oil and Environment, Special Envoy for Climate Affairs, Kingdom of Bahrain, H.E. Dr. Mohamed bin Mubarak bin Daina.

The Forum has been established as a dedicated platform for supporting regional decarbonisation initiatives and commitments with an emphasis on awareness building and education for the private sector, as well as the facilitation of engagement and collaboration between business and government to achieve regional net-zero targets.

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