 |
| |
H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Leaves Living Legacy Of A Sustainable And Net Zero UAE | |
| Staff Writer |
The loss of Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the second President of the UAE came as a blow to the Emiratis and the rest of the world, earlier this month. The State has announced forty days of mourning with the Ministry closed for three days and the flags at half-mast.
An era has ended and we here at T2NZ applaud and deeply appreciate the continued efforts of Sheikh Khalifa in building the UAE and enabling it to become one of the best countries in the Middle East and the world at large.
 |  |
No conversation on the late Premier is complete without a mention of his aggressive idea to push the UAE to pledge to the ‘net-zero’ circular economy, especially for a country whose major source of revenue is its oil bank. Yet here was someone who envisioned a UAE that could live and thrive without its jugular vein.
For Abu Dhabi which holds most of the Gulf state’s oil wealth, the move has not been easy and yet Shaikh Khalifa has approved proactive steps towards building an sustainable and circular economy. Apart from overseeing extensions of the Louvre, NYU and Sorbonne, he presided over efforts to move the OPEC country from income through petrodollars to investments in renewable energy research, including plans for a futuristic low-carbon desert city known as Masdar.
Since its inception in 1971, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) received special attention from the late Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who carried on the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed, in promoting the UAE globally as an international model for tolerance and benevolence.
When Shaikh Khalifa took over the ADFD's Board of Directors, he relentlessly pursued his goal of comprehensive development of the UAE. Primary attention was given to developmental and investment projects, which in turn played a direct role in advancing the economies of developing countries, as they funded and contributed to the development of 103 countries. During that time the financing and investment volume crossed AED 150 billion, which brought better access to health and educational services, infrastructure across roads, transportation, water networks, airport construction, housing, and other vital projects. Sheikh Khalifa also worked to enhance the overall quality of life of Emaratis and Expatriates alike.
Through Sheikh Khalifa’s persistence, the ADFD further launched the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX), to bestow a diversified and sustainable economy by rendering financing solutions and guarantees to importers of Emirati products and services, further amplifying the UAE's presence in the global trade map.
“With him, the UAE became prosperous, tolerant and open to the world. His legacy will live on,” Ursula von der Leyen, Chairperson of the European Commission, said in a Tweet.
The legacy of Sheikh Khalifa will remain unmatched for years to come. Sheikh Khalifa was aware that a country is bereft of nationhood without the support of its citizens and once famously said: “We shall spare no effort to realise the hopes and ambitions of our people, and we call upon everybody to work hard to develop our country.”
Unlike many other rulers, Shaikh Khalifa recognised the need to work in tandem with the western.
“We don't live on an isolated island so it is only natural that, in many instances, we adapt our aspirations, ambitions and undertakings to various changes at the regional and international levels,” said the late UAE Premier.
True to his word and in keeping with the UNSDGs, the UAE became one of the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change action in 2016. Under the stewardship of the late President, the country submitted its first Nationally Determined Contribution (“NDC”) to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”) in 2015, which included an increase of clean energy to 24 percent of the total energy mix by 2021, and other actions such as infrastructure development, energy and water efficiency, water management, food security, education, training and public awareness.
HH Shaikh Khalifa sought to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors. He thought of the private sector as a fundamental partner of the state, especially in its development plans and sought to improve the standard of living of the average citizen.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken conveyed his condolences on the death of Sheikh Khalifa, “We deeply valued his support in building the extraordinary partnership our countries enjoy today. We mourn his passing, honour his legacy, and remain committed to our steadfast friendship and cooperation with the United Arab Emirates.”
Shaikh Khalifa was aware that the people needed constant reminders of their duty to the environment and thereby made the protection of the environment a ‘national duty.’
“Protection of the environment and achievement of sustainable development in the UAE is a national duty; it has its own institutional structures, integrated legislature and advanced systems,” said he.
Converting what would best be termed as a voluntary responsibility to a national duty was a possibility only under the aegis of his visionary leadership.
To quote Zawya, “The spirit of giving that Sheikh Khalifa made a core trait of the UAE, also left its mark locally, when he amended the provisions of the law in 2013, to include the UAE in the list of countries to benefit from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development. This helped accelerate the UAE’s development drive.”
Under Shaikh Khalifa’s leadership Abu Dhabi was ranked as the safest city in the world to live for the sixth time. This shows the rounded development and the clarity of thought and vision to ensure that progress was not unilateral but multilateral under Shaikh Khalifa.
It is due to the keen interest in adopting the unconventional over the conventional methods that it was proved as late as January 2021 at the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum, that in a post-Covid world the highlight was that green investments brought about more employment and green jobs than conventional investments.
Shaikh Khalifa was invested in the ideas of innovation and was aware that progress stems from ideas that could easily metamorphose into sustainable goals. The need to build a strong knowledge economy apart from a sustainable one multiplied the chances of UAE’s success in the sustainable development sector.
Sustainable finances, green investments, green bonds could perhaps have been a mirage for those who did not realise the potential that the UAE could manifest. It was this belief, this conviction that sets the stage for 2050.
Shaikh Khalifa may now be a part of history but his legacy is a defining moment in the history of UAE. The emboldened goal-setting, risk management and the concerted efforts to build this circular net zero economy from scratch needed nerves of steel. Moving from a non-renewable energy source enabled the economy to hit the reset button to bringing green investments and sustainability to the fore, Shaikha Khalifa’s legacy is one to be admired, cherished and taught to the generations to come.
Efforts are underway to blend thes green investments with the basic tenets of Islamic finance to make it appealing to investors within the country too. Shaikh Khalifa amplified the need for impact investments and ensured that the focus was on growth and development. Futuristic goal-setting is perhaps one of the most challenging facets of a familial legacy of leadership and Shaikh Khalifa surpassed all expectations.
The late President leaves shoes too big to fill and yet the blueprint of a UAE that he believed in, one that fostered regional and international partnership is one that his successors must take forward with the same zeal and fervour. The firm outline of the structure of the goal and the path has made it tad bit easier for the successors of Shaikh Khalifa to now augment efforts and ensure that UAE continues as the epitome of generosity and tolerance.