COP28 unveils programme to help MENA SMEs action net-zero strategies

The COP28 Presidency, in partnership with SME Climate Hub and We Mean Business Coalition, has launched a dedicated programme to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), enabling them to implement net-zero strategies.

COP28 & SME Climate Hub for MENA was developed to raise the role of such companies and non-state actors in the climate process and has made the SME Climate Hub available in Arabic for the first time.

It will support businesses with under 500 employees to make a globally recognised climate commitment and be counted in the United Nations-backed Race to Zero campaign.

It will also provide access to free tools and resources for businesses to implement emissions reduction strategies across their business, report yearly on their progress, and achieve net zero by 2050 or before.

The programme is being run in partnership with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company – Masdar, with support from First Abu Dhabi Bank and the Abu Dhabi Chamber.

Adnan Amin, CEO, COP28, said, “SMEs comprise up to 90 per cent of all businesses in the Middle East and North Africa, hence they form a major part of the region’s economy and have an integral role to play in accelerating MENA’s transition to net zero.

Expanding the SME Climate Hub’s regionalisation in MENA will help us to deliver the most inclusive COP to date, support companies with their climate goals and ensure they are a vital part of our collective efforts to keep 1.5C within reach.”

Despite the growing startup landscape, SMEs in the MENA region, like their global counterparts, face challenges such as access to finance, the rising cost of doing business, overcoming systemic inequalities, scaling digitalisation, capacity and skill building, and access to resources and networks. These challenges are magnified when the transition to sustainability is factored in.

Mobilising SMEs through partnerships

María Mendiluce, CEO of We Mean Business Coalition, a founding partner of the SME Climate Hub, said, “Through this expansion, the SME Climate Hub will mobilise small and medium sized businesses to take climate action and help build more resilient companies and communities in the MENA region.”

Following COP28, Masdar, with the support of First Abu Dhabi Bank, will lead recruitment of firms to the SME Climate Hub for MENA to ensure continued support for regional firms.

Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi said the company was aiming to help as many companies in the region as possible in overcoming the challenges they face in their efforts to reduce emissions and achieve net-zero targets.

Hana Al Rostamani, group CEO of First Abu Dhabi Bank said, “Integrating businesses into the net zero transition is fundamental to achieving global climate goals, and SMEs must be part of this effort. The COP28 & SME Climate Hub platform allows us to bring SMEs into the center of climate action and provides them with opportunities for growth in a low-carbon future.”

Ahmed Khalifa Al Qubaisi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Chamber, said, “We are proud to support the launch of COP28 & SME Climate Hub for MENA. This programme represents a crucial step in efforts to enhance the success of SMEs while promoting sustainability and aligning with the UAE’s ambitious Green Agenda 2030 and Net Zero commitments.”

COp28 to begin in November 2023

COP28 will begin on November 30 in the UAE with a fortnight of negotiations, opening with commitments from global leaders, bringing forward solutions, and concluding with an agreed negotiated text that helps course-correct to keep 1.5°C within reach and enhance global resilience.

The event’s focus areas are fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030; transforming climate finance, setting the framework for a new deal on finance; and prioritising nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action.