As Covid-19 upended the global economy, another quiet shift was also taking place. ESG (or environmental, social and governance) investing had been around long before the pandemic. In 2020 it hit the mainstream, driven by an avalanche of capital and a new green growth consensus among business leaders and policymakers. The boom shows no signs of abating. It is estimated that by 2025, more than a third of all assets under management will be tied to ESG metrics. Just a few short years ago, sustainability was a nice-to-have luxury for those who could afford it. Now, the green economy is the economy.
The ESG investment boom combined with an urgent post-pandemic economic recovery imperative presents a unique opportunity to reset national and business agendas. Forget digital transformation: in 2022 and beyond, sustainable transformation will drive a global surge in demand for green infrastructure that will reshape finance, shake up natural resources markets and redefine the technology sector. The choice is clear: get ahead and ride the wave of green industrialisation or be left behind.

Regulation, too, will drive a dramatic shift in how businesses think about sustainability. New rules will increasingly require companies to disclose their impact on the environment and the financial risks they face from climate change. Growing concern about the implications of biodiversity loss and the economic value of ecosystem services means that governments and businesses alike will increasingly return to thinking about the environment more broadly, rather than just focusing on carbon emissions.

Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) and World Green Economy Organization (WGEO) are organizing the 7th World Green Economy Summit (WGES) from the 6th - 7th October 2021.

The World Green Economy Summit, hosted at Expo 2020, aims to propel action to deliver a sustainable future. Convened in the lead-up to COP26, the summit will provide a platform to build consensus around the potential of technologies, policies and youth as engines of a green economy transformation. It will demonstrate how global priorities, such as meeting NetZero, protecting habitats and mobilising finance, can translate into national blueprints such as the Emirates Green Agenda 2030 and the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050.