Delivered By: Asma Alhammadi, Third Secretary

Mr. Chair,

The United Arab Emirates remains committed to working with Member States and all relevant stakeholders to accelerate the translation of our SDG commitments into tangible outcomes.

In this broader effort, we recognize the interconnected nature of these goals and the importance of addressing critical challenges such as water resilience and climate change, which are essential to advancing sustainable development and building resilient communities.

As a country located in one of the world’s most water-scarce regions, the UAE recognizes the urgency of addressing water challenges and the importance of sustained international cooperation in advancing the UN agenda on water issues. In this spirit, we encourage all Member States to support the draft resolution presented by the UAE and Senegal to institutionalize a regular UN Water Conference. We also invite all Member States to participate at the highest level in the 2026 UN Water Conference, which will be co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal in Abu Dhabi from 8 to 10 December this year.

Even as we address water-centered concerns, we must not neglect our commitment to combatting climate change, which still presents the greatest long-term risk to sustainable development. The UAE Consensus, adopted at COP28, sets out concrete actions to close the gap towards achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement. We call for accelerated implementation of the UAE Consensus in full, including through the leadership of Türkiye and Australia at the upcoming COP31 in Antalya, building on the important work of Fiji, Tuvalu and the Pacific States at the recently concluded Pre-COP.

We also underline the importance of protecting biodiversity, restoring degraded land, and addressing sand and dust storms, and we commend Mongolia for hosting UNCCD COP17 and look forward to CBD COP17 in Armenia. We must also strengthen disaster preparedness and early warning systems, as the UAE sought to advance through its Chairmanship of the UNDRR Support Group.

In addressing these environmental challenges, we must embrace the solutions emerging from AI, while also ensuring this does not risk other development goals. The UAE recently published “Crosscurrents”, a report which provides cross-cutting recommendations on reducing the water and energy footprint of AI.  At the same time, it explores how AI can enhance water monitoring, efficiency, loss reduction, weather forecasting and operational planning.

Finally, the UAE recognizes that such climate-related challenges cannot be fixed by any one country alone. We must strengthen international partnerships through financing, capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and public-private cooperation – and the UAE is committed to playing its part in this regard.

Thank you.