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UAE Looking Forward to Effective Partnership on Climate Issues at COP28

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and a number of heads of state attend the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. (WAM)
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and a number of heads of state attend the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. (WAM)
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UAE Looking Forward to Effective Partnership on Climate Issues at COP28

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and a number of heads of state attend the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. (WAM)
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and a number of heads of state attend the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. (WAM)

The United Arab Emirates underscored its efforts for the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) to serve as an opportunity to forge effective partnerships, in order to achieve tangible and real progress on climate issues.

The UAE is holding the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), bringing together heads of state, policy-makers, industry leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and youth to discuss and engage on bold climate action and innovation to build a more sustainable future for future generations.

The UAE will host COP28 in November.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said his country was exerting intensive efforts to find feasible and pragmatic solutions to climate change issues.

He stressed that ADSW was a global platform that reflects the UAE’s commitment to convening the international community and ensuring collaboration in driving sustainable economic and social development.

Sheikh Mohamed added that the UAE strategic initiative to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 was a natural progression of the comprehensive approach, which aims to build a prosperous and sustainable future through commitment to protecting nature and preserving the environment.

He emphasized that the ADSW this year was an essential step towards the UAE hosting COP28.

He noted that his country’s selection to host the conference reflected the UAE’s continued efforts to promote practical climate action, sustainable economic development, and progress towards desired global goals.

Addressing ADSW, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stressed the depth of the bilateral relations between the UAE and his country.

He highlighted Azerbaijan’s ambition to strengthen its reliance on clean energy sources as an essential part of national development efforts, and to contribute to the global drive for a more environmentally friendly economy.

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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
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ECB's Lagarde Renews Integration Call as Trade War Looms

FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and Governor of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn arrive at the non-monetary policy meeting of the ECB's Governing Council in Inari, Finnish Lapland, Finland February 22, 2023. Lehtikuva/Tarmo Lehtosalo via REUTERS//File Photo

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde renewed her call for economic integration across Europe on Friday, arguing that intensifying global trade tensions and a growing technology gap with the United States create fresh urgency for action.
US President-elect Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs on most if not all imports and said Europe would pay a heavy price for having run a large trade surplus with the US for decades.
"The geopolitical environment has also become less favorable, with growing threats to free trade from all corners of the world," Lagarde said in a speech, without directly referring to Trump.
"The urgency to integrate our capital markets has risen."
While Europe has made some progress, EU members tend to water down most proposals to protect vested national interests to the detriment of the bloc as a whole, Reuters quoted Lagarde as saying.
But this is taking hundreds of billions if not trillions of euros out of the economy as households are holding 11.5 trillion euros in cash and deposits, and much of this is not making its way to the firms that need the funding.
"If EU households were to align their deposit-to-financial assets ratio with that of US households, a stock of up to 8 trillion euros could be redirected into long-term, market-based investments – or a flow of around 350 billion euros annually," Lagarde said.
When the cash actually enters the capital market, it often stays within national borders or leaves for the US in hope of better returns, Lagarde added.
Europe therefore needs to reduce the cost of investing in capital markets and must make the regulatory regime easier for cash to flow to places where it is needed the most.
A solution might be to create an EU-wide regulatory regime on top of the 27 national rules and certain issuers could then opt into this framework.
"To bypass the cumbersome process of regulatory harmonization, we could envisage a 28th regime for issuers of securities," Lagarde said. "They would benefit from a unified corporate and securities law, facilitating cross-border placement, holding and settlement."
Still, that would not solve the problem that few innovative companies set up shop in Europe, partly due to the lack of funding. So Europe must make it easier for investment to flow into venture capital and for banks to fund startups, she said.