Raelyn Chwee
Membership Engagement Manager, ISWA
EcoWaste in Abu Dhabi is an integral part of the World Future Energy Summit that brings together experts, innovators, policymakers and industry leaders to explore sustainable waste management practices. It was yet another successful event hosted by the Masdar and Tadweer Group, with ISWA privileged to be among the guests
During my visit this time, I focused on reconnecting with our members and community in the Middle East Region. I was happy to see many familiar faces during my visit including Tadweer, beeah group, CleanCo and JONO to name a few. I also had the opportunity to connect with new potential partners for ISWA during the EXPO.
Aside from that ISWA was also invited to join a special panel session on Learnings from COP28 – Navigating climate outcomes. The panel was represented by Melissa Tan, ISWA Regional Chapter representative and consisted of other panelists from Parna Impact Advisory and Roland Berger. The session highlighted the key takeaways from COP28 and focused on bridging the gap between outcomes and practical implementations.
Melissa also quoted “ISWA being the lead association in waste & resource sector, we see that the decisions in COP will serve as an important signal for the private sector, which we hope will lead to a virtuous cycle of greater investments and lower costs in the clean energy sector, which is necessary for the clean energy transition. In summary, countries are addressing the financing needs for transition to low-carbon economies through a range of strategies and mechanisms. Such as policy changes to implement subsidies, tax mandates to incentivise low-carbon investments, private sector engagement, where government facilitate private sector involvement in low-carbon investments through regulatory environments, risk-sharing mechanisms, and public-private partnerships”.
The session was an overall success and was well attended by visitors and exhibitors.
On my last day of the EXPO, I aimed to initiate a Middle East Chapter, uniting our National members from Saudi Arabia, Oman and soon the United Arab Emirates. There is immense potential for regional growth and as an engagement manager at ISWA, I am delighted to witness the willingness of our national members to collaborate and foster sectoral growth in this region.
Stay tuned to the ISWA site for further developments in the region and for the next edition of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi in 2025!
