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20 January 2021
1:00-2:45 PM (Gulf Standard Time)

Co-hosts:

  • H.E. Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister of State for Food & Water Security
  • H.E. Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN
  • H.E. Dr. Agnes Kalibata, Special Envoy for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit
  • H.E. Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Energy for All, Co-Chair of UN-Energy, and Co-Chair and High-level Champion for the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy
  • H.E. Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

Speakers include but are not limited to:

  • Bayer – Natasha Santos, SVP, Global Stakeholders Affairs ​
  • Brazil – H.E. Tereza Cristina, Minister of Agriculture
  • Cleaning Cooking Alliance – Dymphna van der Lans​, CEO
  • Estonia – H.E. Arvo Aller, Minister of Rural Affairs
  • Iceland – Gsudlaugur Thór Thórdarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development Cooperation
  • Majid Al Futtaim Group – Ibrahim Al Zubi, Chief Sustainability Officer
  • Nigeria – H.E. Sharon Ikeazor, Minister of State for Environment
  • Philippines – H.E. William Dar, Secretary of Agriculture​
  • ​Rockefeller Foundation – Roy Steiner, SVP, Food Initiative
  • S2G Ventures – Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director​
  • UN Environment Progamme (UNEP) – H.E. Inger Andersen, Executive Director
  • WWF – João Campari, Global Leader, Food Practice

Moderator:

  • H.E. Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, UAE Permanent Representative to IRENA

Background:

On 20 January, the United Nations (UN), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are convening the Joint Ministerial Meeting on the UN Food Systems Summit and the summit-level UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy, as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) and the IRENA Assembly. It is the first joint meeting on the two UN summits, intended to identify initiatives, targets, policies, and other concrete outcomes that simultaneously deliver food, energy, and climate benefits.

The two UN summits will be held in September 2021 in New York, two months before the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. Using a roundtable format, 15 ministers, 15 non-government executives, and 5 youth delegates will propose their potential outcomes for the summits and COP26 in front of an audience of UN, IRENA, and ADSW delegates.  ADSW is the world’s largest annual sustainability event, attracting around 45,000 delegates from over 170 countries.

By 2050, the world will need to feed about 10 billion people, while simultaneously achieving the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals – a high bar given that food systems already account for over 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 30% of energy consumption and are vulnerable to climate change. At the same time, the world must ensure universal modern energy access for the 800 million people currently without electricity and the 3 billion without clean cooking solutions, most of whom live in agriculture-based economies.

More information on the event is available here: https://abudhabisustainabilityweek.com/en/explore-adsw-2021/the-week/joint-ministerial-meeting—united-nations-and-irena

To access the link to the webinar, confirm your registration here: https://forms.gle/5XTjikp9rtEEFwmQ8