According to UN data, more than 130 countries and over 800 from the world’s largest 2000 companies have made commitments to reach net zero by 2050. The target is ambitious and only a handful of countries have made a binding commitment to fulfill this goal. The term “net-zero,” while increasingly used to denote climate ambition, is still underdeveloped, vague, and limited – often incorporating energy and emissions alone. It is our belief that net zero should mean more than a logistical spreadsheet of emission inputs and outputs. Both the climate crisis and our response, our goals and targets, our measurements and thinking need to reflect the growing complexity of the challenges we face and the solutions we must design. This is why we are launching the eARThumanities: Reimagining Net-Zero project at NYU Abu Dhabi to propose a dynamic way of thinking about just and inclusive pathways for a net-zero world. 

Together with our partners at the Rachel Carson Center of LMU Munich, NYU’s Global Network University, NYUAD’s Global Asia and Geopolitics & Ecology of Himalayan Water and a host of other organizations and partners across the world, we will open-up the conversation on what net zero should mean for our world today and for our future. While discussing these issues on the global scale, the conversations will also focus on specific challenges and opportunities for transition to net zero in the Middle East.

Reimagining Net-Zero Conversations Series

The Reimagining Net-Zero initiative will host a series of conversations with researchers, experts, and thought leaders to explore the critical challenges that the transition to a to net-zero economy entails.  Each conversation will focus on one of nine topics and feature one expert from the NYU Global Network and one guest speaker.

Ecosystems and Nature-Based Solutions

Speakers:
Aashish Jha, Assistant Professor of Biology; Global Network Assistant Professor of Biology, NYU Abu Dhabi
Amna Al Mansoori, Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi

Built Environment and Hard-to-Abate Sectors

Speakers:
Danielle Spiegel-Feld, Adjunct Professor of Law, NYU Law
Carlos Amaya, Programs Development & Oversight Section Head, Department of Energy – Abu Dhabi

Education, Awareness and Behavioral Change

Speakers:
Goffredo Puccetti, Associate Professor of Practice of Visual Arts, NYU Abu Dhabi
Rose Armour, Head of Sustainability, American University of Sharjah

Supply Chains and Critical Minerals

Speakers:
Sophia Kalantzakos, Global Distinguished Professor, Environmental Studies and Public Policy, NYU Abu Dhabi
Vasileios Tsianos, Director of Corporate Development, Neo Performance Materials

Policy and Implementation

Speakers:
Aude Epstein, Visiting Assistant Professor of Legal Studies, NYU Abu Dhabi
HE Eng Issa Al Hashemi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Sustainable Communities Sector, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment