The Sharjah skyline. Emirates Waste to Energy Company, a joint venture between Bee’ah and Masdar, will develop the UAE’s first solar landfill project in Sharjah. Courtesy Asteco
The Sharjah skyline. Emirates Waste to Energy Company, a joint venture between Bee’ah and Masdar, will develop the UAE’s first solar landfill project in Sharjah. Courtesy Asteco
The Sharjah skyline. Emirates Waste to Energy Company, a joint venture between Bee’ah and Masdar, will develop the UAE’s first solar landfill project in Sharjah. Courtesy Asteco
Khaled Al Huraimel is group CEO and vice chairman of Beeah
September 14, 2021
On September 24, for the first time since 1981, the United Nations General Assembly will meet for a high-level dialogue on energy. The UAE will be represented there as one of the UN’s 25 Global Theme Champions.
At the meeting in New York, representatives of countries will discuss energy-related goals, the implementation of these goals and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. One of the topics that will be on the table is the need for countries to urgently switch to affordable and clean energy.
Through targeting net zero emissions and developing cleaner sources of energy, including nuclear energy, the UAE has shown a commitment to climate action and energy transition. An initiative launched in 2017, called the UAE's Energy Strategy 2050, aims to double the contribution of clean energy – to 50 per cent by 2050 – and reduce the carbon footprint of power generation by 70 per cent.
In the run up to the meeting in New York, Damilola Ogunbiyi, a UN representative, visited the UAE in July. While in the UAE, Ms Ogunbiyi, who is also co-chair of UN Energy, met with Bee’ah at a session held by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to learn about how public-private partnerships are contributing to every aspect of daily life – from waste and energy production to health, education and collaboration with others.
Such collaborations are going to be increasingly essential as companies around the world co-operate with one another to address climate problems. One example is our partnership with Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, to form the Emirates Waste to Energy Company. Our initial project together was to build the UAE’s first waste-to-energy plant.
Bee'ah Solar Farm. Photo: Bee'ah
US special envoy for climate change John Kerry receives a helicopter tour of Abu Dhabi's main solar park. Courtesy: Office of the UAE Special Envoy For Climate Change
Ms Ogunbiyi and other UN representatives visited Bee'ah's waste management complex in Sharjah to understand its significance. The facility will process more than 300,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste annually to produce around 30 megawatts of energy – enough to power 28,000 homes in Sharjah. Another positive affect will be its ability to offset almost 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
Since 1970, global carbon emissions have increased by about 90 per cent. The generation of energy is the largest contributor to climate change, accounting for 60 per cent of global emissions. It is vital that countries work to reduce these figures and switch to cleaner forms of energy. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases act like a blanket that prevents heat from radiating out from the planet. This exacerbates the problem of global warming. So, efforts in the UAE to lower carbon footprint are not just positive but necessary.
One of the rapidly growing forms of clean energy is solar power. The sunlight which the Earth's surface receives in just one and a half hours is enough to power the entire world's electricity consumption for a year. That is more than adequate reason to invest in it. There are other benefits too of tapping solar energy: as solar infrastructure is scaled up, other costs come down and efficiency increases. But for projects like solar farms, we need more investment. There are challenges to overcome, such as inadequate space or land requirements.
The idea behind the Sharjah project is to repurpose closed landfills. Solar panels will be fitted on top of the landfill site. The innovative aspect here is that the landfill will use existing space while at the same time generating clean energy – up to 120 megawatts.
The UAE's adoption of green hydrogen, fuel generated with clean energy, is another source of clean energy that could help bring net-zero emissions in the coming decades. The UAE has announced its aim to become a major hydrogen producer. And we are proud to be helping the country achieve that goal. Bee'ah has announced plans for the region’s first waste-to-hydrogen project, including a green hydrogen generation plant and a hydrogen vehicle fuelling station.
As Dr Abdullah Al Nuaimi, UAE's Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: "The private sector also has the potential to make a significant contribution towards our ultimate goal of reaching carbon neutrality.”
Our aim at Bee’ah is to ensure a sustainable, technology-driven future through creative and resourceful solutions, something that will highlighted at the UN meet. In striving for a clean-energy future, if the public and private sectors collaborate, there is no challenge that we cannot overcome.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Goalkeepers: Ahmed El Shennawy, Mohamed El Shennawy, Mohamed Abou-Gabal, Mahmoud Abdel Rehem "Genesh" Defenders: Ahmed Elmohamady, Ahmed Hegazi, Omar Gaber, Ali Gazal, Ayman Ahsraf, Mahmoud Hamdy, Baher Elmohamady, Ahmed Ayman Mansour, Mahmoud Alaa, Ahmed Abou-Elfotouh Midfielders: Walid Soliman, Abdallah El Said, Mohamed Elneny, Tarek Hamed, Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan, Amr Warda, Nabil Emad Forwards: Ahmed Ali, Mohamed Salah, Marwan Mohsen, Ahmed "Kouka" Hassan.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
