Co-ordinating well-meaning but fragmented sustainability efforts and introducing stronger measuring systems are key to Bahrain’s economic and energy transition to a greener future, attendees at a high-level roundtable heard.
During the discussion centred on ‘MENA’s Economic Transition – Seizing Green Opportunities for Growth and Human Capital Development’ hosted by the Sustainability Forum Middle East, public and private stakeholders also highlighted the importance of increased data collection in measuring the kingdom-wide efforts towards low-carbon goals.
“One of the first tasks that our ministry undertook was to look at the data and we found that it did not, at the time, reflect the reality of where sustainable development stood so we have been busy collecting data and co-ordinating between different ministries to ensure we are working together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” Sustainable Development Ministry assistant under-secretary for Sustainable Development Dana Hamzah noted in her comments during the discussion.
“When it comes to the gaps now, we are looking at some of the missing indicators, for example, there has been no measurement of the expenditure on research and development in sustainable development since 2014.”
During the session, one of the attendees, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and former Health Minister Dr Nazar Al Baharna, highlighted that currently efforts to ‘go green’ remain fragmented, both locally and internationally.
To unite these efforts and provide funding for green initiatives, he announced plans to seek the establishment of a World Green Bank, hoping for the support of the United Nations and the African Development Bank, to co-ordinate green energy efforts regionally and globally.
He noted the need for an institution that can help developing countries balance progress that is contingent on energy consumption with climate-change mitigation commitments.
Bank ABC group chief executive Sael Al Waary also noted that certain European economies have already started to require extensive disclosures around environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, while Bahrain and other countries in the Gulf require relatively lower transparency on the subject.
He noted the importance of banks and financial institutions, not just in providing funding, but also education to help business restructure their operations to become more environmentally sustainable and economically efficient.
When asked by session moderator and Boston Consulting Group partner and director Pablo Avogadri if supporting ‘green initiatives’ requires banks to relax expectations around risk and returns, Mr Al Waary clarified that sustainability does not have to come at the cost of economic returns.
He did highlight the urgency of change, citing the example of Algeria that relies on oil as its main source of income and will need to diversify as its reserves deplete.
Another point of discussion was the required upskilling of human capital in Bahrain to be able to meet the needs of the future market in green energy.
Tamkeen business development associate director Amer Buhussain highlighted the Labour Fund’s programme to send Bahrainis on international placements for extended periods, to acquire skills that they may not be able to acquire locally, with a goal of knowledge transfer when the young nationals return.
He also highlighted the Labour Ministry’s initiative in collaboration with Tamkeen – Jobs Plus – launched last month, in which career counselling is being offered to local job-seekers who are looking to transition into any industry, including green energy and sustainability.
Mr Buhussain did clarify that at this time the Labour Fund was looking for specific partners within the renewable energy sector to provide opportunities and create development opportunities for young Bahrainis.
naman@gdnmedia.bh
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