AFED to hold panel discussion on theme 'The Role of Arab Business in the Transition to Low-Carbon Economy'

Guest speakers are Dr. Rashed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water in the UAE, and Dr. Andrew Steer, President of the World Resources Institute (WRI). Panelists from AFED corporate members Kharafi National, Acwa Power and Aramex will present policies and action taken by their companies towards transitioning to green low carbon economy. The session will be moderated by Najib Saab, AFED Secretary General, who is heading AFED's delegation to COP18.

120 corporate leaders, who participated in the summit of environmental responsibility for the business sector, held by AFED in Abu Dhabi in 2007, had pledged to reduce the use of water and energy in their operations by 20 percent by the end of 2012, compared with 2002. They had also pledged to enter sustainability and environmental accounts in their annual reports. The session will be an opportunity to showcase some of what has been achieved during this period.

During the session, AFED will present main finding of in its latest report on the environmental footprint in Arab countries, which reviews the natural resources available and the demand for them, to determine the extent of the deficit in ecosystem levels of individual countries and the Arab region in general, and the means to meet this deficit.