The Sustainable Development Goals Forum anticipates future development paths in the next two decades

Abu Dhabi, January 20 / WAM / Officials, experts and business leaders from the UAE and the world discussed the future paths of sustainable development for the next two decades, within the Sustainable Development Goals Forum, organized by the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, within the activities of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

The Committee, in partnership with the CEO Sustainability Network, also held a roundtable meeting entitled Redefining Sustainability, which discussed ways to reimagine development beyond 2030 through topics that define the features of the next decade.

The forum, which was organized under the title “From 2030 to 2045: Achievement Today and Designing the Future,” aimed to share visions and ideas that support accelerating achievement in the Sustainable Development Goals file, design the future of development goals for the coming period, and discuss strengthening partnerships between various sectors and their role in achieving development goals.

His Excellency Abdullah Nasser Lootah, Assistant Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Competitiveness and Knowledge Exchange, Chairman of the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals, stressed that anticipating the future constitutes an essential pillar in the development system adopted by the leadership of the UAE, for its pivotal role in accelerating the achievement of sustainable development goals and designing the future of sustainability with the best results.

He explained that organizing the forum within the activities of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week reflects the integration of national efforts, and confirms the importance of this platform in bringing together stakeholders locally and globally to shape a sustainable future for future generations.

For his part, His Excellency Engineer Ahmed Mohammed Al Kaabi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Electricity, Water and Future Energy Sector at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, stressed in his speech during the forum, the UAE’s commitment to accelerating the pace of progress in achieving sustainable development goals, strengthening national and global partnerships, and charting development paths that support building a sustainable and comprehensive future capable of withstanding global challenges, from 2030 to 2045 and beyond.

For her part, His Excellency Dr. Sheikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, delivered a keynote speech about the UAE’s leadership in advancing sustainable development goals through national action and global participation, and how to translate integrated policies, innovation and global partnerships into tangible impact.

She touched on the topics of the environment and cities, and said that environmental resilience in cities is embodied by the integration of technology and nature into one harmonious system, and in Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026, Abu Dhabi is pioneering an integrated path linking marine ecosystems, real-time data, and environmental governance mechanisms, to transform sustainability from mere policies into a tangible, measurable and expandable impact.

In a session entitled “Flexible Systems/Real Results”, Dr. Nawal Al Hosani, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Datuk Haji Hasland, Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability in Sarawak, Malaysia, and Mohammed Al Shamsi, CEO of Climate Change and Sustainability at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). The speakers exchanged visions and ideas on the impact of integration between sectors in achieving influential results in the areas of sustainable development. They discussed the importance of integration in providing services to vital systems, and discussed the aspects of improvement required to achieve flexibility and results, and how it occurs. Digital tools and data platforms transform systems.

A session entitled “Enhancing Interconnectedness to Achieve Sustainability”, in which Badr Al Awadhi, Chief Commercial Officer of the Emirates Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Company, and Farouk Shad, Senior Vice President and Head of the Sustainability Business Department in the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions at Schneider Electric, participated, discussed what the transition to carbon neutrality requires in terms of integrated measures that are accomplished through interconnected systems.

The session touched on the role of integrated energy and mobility infrastructure in achieving the UAE’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, ways to transform the vision of sustainability into scalable infrastructure, strengthening partnerships between the government and private sectors, and reviewing emerging technology solutions such as smart grids, transferring energy from the vehicle to the grid, and storing batteries, to build smarter and more flexible systems.

The forum also witnessed a session entitled “Sustainable Platforms for Thriving Cities: Towards the Airports of the Future,” in which Liviana Sala, Marketing Director at JCDecaux, Giacomo Costantini, Senior Director of Operations and Quality at Avolta, Rene Mallia, Vice President of Marketing at Lagardère Travel Retail, and Sarah Al Abdullah, Senior Director of Commercial Sustainability at Dubai Airports, participated.

The session discussed the role of airports as ecosystems that support sustainable development, and the importance of integrated partnerships in providing innovative solutions across value chains, from responsible consumption and sustainable supply chains to green infrastructure and data-driven operations.

She stressed the importance of cooperation between the government and private sectors, and the role of commercial partnerships, data and technology in enhancing the environmental and social impact and implementing scalable models at airports.

In a concluding speech of the forum’s activities, Beranger-Buel Yousefi, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in the UAE, spoke about transforming visions into capabilities with a tangible and scalable impact, and the role of the United Nations in leading collective action through global platforms such as the High-Level Political Forum and the United Nations General Assembly, while formulating flexible development paths prepared for the future.

She stressed that sustainable progress is achieved by linking ambition with implementation, guiding decisions with data, and uniting governments, the private sector and society with a common goal.

In a related context, the National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, in partnership with the CEO Sustainability Network, organized a round table entitled “Redefining Sustainability,” which discussed visions and ideas for reimagining development beyond 2030 and the topics that will shape the next decade.

The meeting discussed reformulating the concept of sustainability as a driver of competitiveness, an enhancer of investor confidence, and a basis for building long-term value, while examining the roles of sustainability officials in strategic design, technology integration, and adopting performance-based sustainability.

The participants also discussed redefining sustainability through strategies, systems and partnerships, and discussed development priorities beyond 2030 from the perspective of the UAE, the Middle East and North Africa region and the world, in addition to the importance of strengthening coordination between government and private sectors, youth representatives and multilateral partners, developing an updated sustainability system in line with global frameworks and the UAE’s priorities, and reviewing the UAE’s contribution to the United Nations 2030 Plan for Sustainable Development.

It is noteworthy that Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026 was organized during the period from January 11 to 15, under the title “An Integrated Launch towards the Future.”

It is worth noting that the National Committee for Sustainable Development Goals works to follow up on the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, align the UAE’s priorities with the UN goals, and exchange experiences with partners locally and internationally, to expand the circle of active participants in implementing the United Nations agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals.

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