High-level summit to discuss UAE's environment challenges

The 'Life's Green' conference, organized by The UAE Ministry of Environment and Water, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and LG Electronics, will review global environmental challenges and best practices in combating ecological damage.

The summit, held under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment and Water, will be held at Dubai's Jumeirah Beach Hotel on October 18 and will bring together government agencies, international and regional private sector companies, environment experts and members of the media across the region.

Through a series of keynote speeches and workshops held on the sidelines, the summit's participants will also seek to find possible solutions to some of the most vexing environment problems such as global warming and determine how to implement the solutions.

Keynote addresses will also be delivered by Dr. Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, along with UNOPS Climate Change Manager Marcel Alers, UNOPS Carbon Methodology Expert Matt Spannagle and LG's Vice President Eco-Strategy Team Dr. Jong Min Shin.

Private sector companies from across the Middle East will also share their best practices and case studies in the implementation of green practices in their operations. The industry will be represented by Armen Vartanian (EcoVentures), and Philip Barnett (Hyatt Hotel Group), among others.

One of the summit's main speakers, Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, a senior environment researcher at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre, will focus on the UAE's successes and challenges in environment protection. Raouf, a lecturer on Environmental Accounting and Economics, as well as a consultant for the World Bank, and for various ministries in Egypt and Yemen, is a highly sought after speaker whose keen insights into climate change threats have won him the admiration of his peers around the world.

Another important speaker during the summit will be Darin Rovere, President of Sustainability Excellence Arabia. Rovere will dwell on corporate sustainability management and its implications for government, companies, and public, along with sharing his views on how sustainability could drive the business for companies in the region.