Ministers to discuss climate change, AI and the next industrial revolution

Climate change, space exploration, artificial intelligence and the fourth industrial revolution will be among topics discussed by 12 Emirati ministers attending this year’s forum in Davos.

On the first day, the Emirati delegation will lead a talk entitled Pioneering the Future of Governance in the Arab World. In it, they will examine the UAE’s path to an innovation-driven economy, and its possible implications for governance in the region.

Its speakers will be Sarah Al Amiri, the Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, Hessa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development, and the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Omar Al Olama, who was just 27 when appointed.

Mr Olama will later attend another talk, Agile Governance in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This will explore what tools can help leaders to respond quickly in an era where technology is transforming institutions for governance, while maintaining inclusivity and the trust of its people. This session delves into the practical, looking at artificial intelligence applications and the question of programming tolerance into machines.

The UAE hopes to generate 75 per cent of its energy from renewables by 2050 and climate change is a priority for Emirati ministers at Davos. Suhail Al Mazrouei, the Minister of Energy and Industry, will speak in the session The Great Energy Transformation. It asks how leaders can beat political obstacles to create a clean, affordable and secure future.

Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, will participate in a session exploring the aftermath of the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit the rise in the average global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial revolution levels. Currently, it is predicted that the UAE will have a 2°C to 3°C increase in temperatures by 2050.