{"id":187,"date":"2021-10-27T02:54:15","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T02:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fii-institute.org\/?post_type=press&p=187"},"modified":"2022-05-09T02:59:26","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T02:59:26","slug":"fii-5-day-2-circular-economy-esg-future-of-tourism-climate-change-green-initiatives-and-sustainable-food-security-dominate-discussion-agenda","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/fii-institute.org\/ar\/press\/fii-5-day-2-circular-economy-esg-future-of-tourism-climate-change-green-initiatives-and-sustainable-food-security-dominate-discussion-agenda\/","title":{"rendered":"FII 5 Day 2: Circular Economy, ESG, Future of Tourism, Climate Change, Green Initiatives and Sustainable Food Security Dominate Discussion Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, 27 October 2021<\/strong>: The second day of the 5th Anniversary Future Investment Initiative (FII), which kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday with world leaders, global CEOs, investors, and policymakers in attendance, saw another day of lively debate and discussions including the impact of climate change, investing in green initiatives, ESG and sustainable food security and their influence on humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, a global non-profit foundation with one agenda: Impact on Humanity, is hosting the 5th Anniversary of FII under the theme “Invest in Humanity”. Bringing together world leaders, experts, innovators, and media, the three-day conference will include interactive summits on Investing in Education; Investing in the Metaverse; and Investing in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day two discussions placed ESG, the impact of climate change, investing in green initiatives, and sustainable food security high on the agenda. Business and leisure travel for a sustainable world, looking to sustainable tourism, regenerative tourism, and redesigning tourism also discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INVESTING IN THE CIRCULAR CARBON ECONOMY \u2018Science in Action\u2019 sessions debated investing in the circular carbon economy and explored how the investment community, business, and government work together to achieve progress towards the G20 recommendations of last year. In 2020, under Saudi Arabia\u2019s presidency of the G20, the world\u2019s largest economies endorsed the concept of circular carbon economy \u2014 an integrated and inclusive approach to transitioning toward more comprehensive, resilient, sustainable, and climate friendly energy systems that support and enable sustainable development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, KSA, encouraged leaders to recognize energy strategies that will drive improved health on a global scale. He said: \u201cThere are three pillars any energy leader recognizes \u2013 energy security, economic prosperity & wellbeing of people and climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew Harris, Founding Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners, said collective efforts between governments, corporates and private capital to transition into a new age of energy. \u201cBut what in existing businesses today can be repurposed? There is infrastructure that can enable the circular carbon economy. Pipelines that carry oil and gas today \u2013 there is no reason why they can\u2019t carry hydrogen in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jennifer Holmgren, CEO, Lanzatech, noted: \u201cWe think about recycling carbon itself and we imagine a future where we can refine CO2 to make the products we need in our daily lives. For example, we have already fueled a flight from Orlando to Gatwick with sustainable aviation fuel made from recycled carbon ethanol.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Winters, Group CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, added: \u201cAll of these transitions cost money. But when we look at developing countries \u2013 accounting for major contributions to global emissions \u2013 we see a disconnect between the funding that exists and the ability to get that into the hands of people who can drive the projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018TOURISM IS TOO BIG TO FAIL\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable tourism development to help the sector recover from the devastating pandemic was front and center in many discussion areas and debates throughout the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking about regenerative tourism, John Pagano, Group CEO Red Sea Development Company and Amaala, said: \u201cWe serve nature best by not just protecting it but by enhancing it. That\u2019s what I mean when I talk about regenerative tourism. Regeneration goes further than sustainability. It\u2019s leaving the place better than when we arrived. It\u2019s what I\u2019m passionate about and I believe we\u2019re leading the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HH Princess Haifa Al Saud, Assistant Minister for Executive Affairs & Strategy, Ministry of Tourism, KSA, said there was a need to redefine the principles that govern tourism and create a roadmap that creates new opportunities for job creation, investment and innovation. \u201cAs a sector tourism is too big to fail but we need to focus on the environmental, social and economic sustainability of tourism as it lacks resilience,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julia Simpson, President & CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council, said now is the moment to leapfrog several generations of innovation and technology to embrace a new era of truly contactless, frictionless travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking about \u2018Business and Leisure Travel for A Sustainable World\u2019, Eng. Ahmad Arab, Deputy Minister for Strategy and Business Intelligence, Ministry of Tourism, KSA, said sustainability and training are two of the fundamentals of our tourism development strategy. \u201cWe are committed to simultaneously safeguarding our natural resources and investing in our people for a sustainable future on every level,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is why we have already trained 127,000 people across 14 sectors in the hospitality sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESG IN SPOTLIGHT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESG was in very much focus with many sessions addressing various facets of Environmental, Social, and Governance principles and models. The \u2018G\u2019 in ESG session on how better governance can create more sustainable business delved into questions such as whether the lessons from large corporations promoting the \u201cG\u201d in ESG, can be leveraged to develop better management among early stage companies, entrepreneurs, founders, and small business owners, and eventually lead to sustainability and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HH Princess Nouf bint Muhammed Al Saud, Chair of C20 and CEO King Khalid Foundation, said: \u201cWe cannot leave governance to the benevolence of shareholders, it has to be a top-down, bottom-up approach. NGOs need to be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rania Nashar, Head of Compliance and Governance, Public Investment Fund (PIF), said Saudi Arabia has the ambitious goal to ensure the contribution by SMEs to the economy grows to 35 percent from 20 percent. \u201cSMEs are a major contributor to the economy and to job creation and it is important to embrace them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Stephen Harper, Former Prime Minister, Canada, noted: \u201cIn my business we hear ESG all the time. But if you want to be effective at the \u201cS\u201d and the \u201cE\u201d you have to have the \u201cG\u201d, the governance that structures that. Everything flows downstream from governance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delegates also listened to wide-ranging conversations on climate change and its impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akim Daouda, CEO, Fonds Gabonais d’Investissements Strat\u00e9giques argued that: \u201cA lot of promises were made on climate change so far, but too little has been delivered. Massive capital is needed to achieve this and while the intent is there, but there remains is a trust issue in delivering real change. To succeed there must be strong collaboration across global institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noel Quinn, GCE, HSBC Holdings, noted: \u201cIf we have to overcome a public trust deficit, we have to bring definition to the statement of transitioning to net zero and deliver against that definition. We have to go beyond just a high-level phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking in a session about the impact of climate change on communities, Walid Al Saqqaf, CEO & Cofounder, Rebalance Earth, said we live in an interconnected world, a world where we cannot operate anymore in silos. \u201cA rich and thriving biodiversity can help to significantly capture carbon and is one of our best weapons to combat climate change,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018WEALTH OF NATIONS\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this session, that touched on new legal policies to supercharge FDI, The Hon. Dan Tehan, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment, Australia, said: \u201cWe are working to secure a strong and sustainable economic recovery, powered by the private sector and FDI. Getting investment flowing is one of the most powerful things we can do to secure our recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HE Khalid Al Mudaifer, Vice Minister, Mining Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, KSA, said that since Saudi Vision 2030 was approved, the Kingdom has made more than 400 changes and updates to its legal framework. \u201cThis has helped Q1 2021 record FDI of over $14 billion. It shows we\u2019re on the right track and we are delivering on the transformation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOOD SECURITY<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Mustapha El Bouhssini, Professor of Entomology and Program Lead, Biodiversity and Plant Sciences, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, said: \u201cWhen we look at innovations to help make food more sustainable it is clear that looking into alternative crops can hold the key for global food security.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Ahmed Amri, Honorary Head of Genetic Resources Unit, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, said: \u201cIt has become clear from our research how crop diversification can both protect public health and enhance the quality of the land while ensuring the sustainability of our resources.\u201d But Gregory Lu, CEO, Natufia, said: \u201cThe current global business models that are in place limit the ability we have to enhance quality and diversity of seeds, thus removing rich tasting and healthy products off our tables.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ENDS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About FII Institute<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FII Institute is a global nonprofit foundation with an investment arm and one agenda: Impact on Humanity. Committed to ESG principles, we foster the brightest minds and transform ideas into real- world solutions in five focus areas: AI and Robotics, Education, Healthcare and Sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are in the right place at the right time \u2013 when decision makers, investors and an engaged generation of youth come together in aspiration, energized and ready for change. We harness that energy into three pillars \u2013 THINK, XCHANGE, ACT \u2013 and invest in the innovations that make a difference globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join us to own, co-create and actualize a brighter, more sustainable future for humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fii-institute.org<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, 27 October 2021: The second day of the 5th Anniversary Future Investment Initiative (FII), which kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday with world leaders, global CEOs, investors, and policymakers in attendance, saw another day of lively debate and discussions including the impact of climate change, investing in green initiatives, ESG and sustainable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fii-institute.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fii-institute.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fii-institute.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fii-institute.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fii-institute.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fii-institute.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fii-institute.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}