Dubai Future Foundation Unveils 12 Transformative Climate Opportunities in Special COP28 Edition of 'The Global 50' Report
Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) released a special COP28 edition of the “Future Opportunities Report: The Global 50”, that identifies 12 opportunities that directly or indirectly relate to nature, with the potential to advance climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.
The 12 opportunities featured in the report include: A Walk on the Rewild Side, An Endless Water Cycle, Energy Without End, Ice Uncapped, International Space Stations – for the Sea, Make it 100, Mission Accomplished, Mobile Super ‘Scrubbers’, Rapid Response Regulators, The Ultimate Climate Calculator, Unstranded Assets, and Waterless Farms.
DFF’s CEO, His Excellency Khalfan Belhoul, stressed that governments, organisations, and individuals around the world need to unify efforts to combat climate challenges. “Outlining the opportunities around sustainability, environmental preservation, and climate sets the priorities and helps design plans that contribute to providing the best possible quality of life for future generations,” he said.
A Walk on the Rewild Side makes a case for phasing out land use for food production to accelerate biodiversity and ecosystem restoration – hence rewilding – while mitigating climate change risks.
An Endless Water Cycle notes recent advances in small-scale, decentralised water infrastructure, which merge compact water recycling systems with autonomous treatment, offering an alternative approach to solving global water issues.
Energy Without End presents the potential of having daily life transformed by a limitless supply of energy through nuclear fusion.
Ice Uncapped presents a multi-pronged effort to restore Arctic Sea ice, the Antarctic’s ice sheet and mountain glaciers around the world, to help cool the planet and oceans and prevent the further release of trapped methane into the atmosphere.
International Space Stations – for the Sea puts forward an independent supranational body enforcing the protection and restoration of ocean ecosystems in international waters, preserving aquatic ecosystems with associated economic benefits and aiding in innovation.
Make it 100 calls for a responsive centennial plan for the planet by creating a long-term global cooperation framework for restoring and preserving ecosystems and biodiversity.
Mission Accomplished highlights how technological breakthroughs and unprecedented global collaboration are key to bringing greenhouse gas emissions close to zero, restoring ecosystems and creating new ones.
Mobile Super Scrubbers asks what if we could absorb greenhouse gas emissions and particulate matter on demand anywhere in the world regardless of the technological capabilities available at hand, while being enabled by materials science, automation and advanced machine intelligence?
Rapid Response Regulators puts forward the idea of decentralised, forward-looking regulatory bodies responding with agility to the groups and issues that they govern.
The Ultimate Climate Calculator suggests going beyond the carbon footprint, and developing a digital climate catalogue that allows governments, businesses, and even individuals, to calculate their environmental impact in real time.
Unstranded Assets proposes that abandoned oil and gas facilities, both offshore and onshore, can be repurposed for carbon sequestration to reduce both carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere.
Waterless Farms highlights that advances in nanotechnology enable the delivery of micronutrients and pesticides through spray coatings that boost yields, safely protecting agriculture from pests and reducing the need for excessive watering.
Her Excellency Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, pointed out that COP28 marks the midpoint between the Paris Agreement and 2030. She added, “We need the world to commit to transformative actions to keep 1.5C within reach. More importantly, we need nature to be front and centre of our collective climate efforts. From forests and soil to mangroves and oceans, we have an immense opportunity to mobilize progress for people and the planet by conserving, protecting and restoring our natural ecosystems."
With this report, DFF aims to anticipate a series of trends and transformations to prompt a shift in how people think and behave. These opportunities will add value to the dialogues that will take place at COP28. DFF calls on innovators, futurists, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders to study these recommendations and unleash their imagination on more transformative ideas in the name of a better future for humanity and the planet.
