Los Angeles & The United Arab Emirates: Using City Diplomacy to Curb Climate Change
Photo Courtesy of Wael Hneini
by kelsey suemnicht
“Collaborative research by the US and highly vulnerable, but well-resourced desert nations like the UAE could have a transformational impact.” -- The Aspen Institute
This fall, the Pacific Council will hold a series of virtual roundtable discussions with city leaders from Los Angeles in partnership with the U.A.E. Consulate in Los Angeles to discuss the ways in which global cities can lead the efforts to build resilience against climate change and disaster response.
Historically, cities are centers of intellectual curiosity and burgeoning technological advancements. As Sánchez and Pérez explain in Climate Change Begins at Home, “city-based public diplomacy is more effective than bilateral public diplomacy as global warming mitigation demands multilateralism: cities can easily scale up local innovations through benchmarking and connecting the local with the global.”
The numerous climate and sustainability crises of 2021 exemplify a clear local-to-global link
The numerous climate and sustainability crises of 2021 exemplify a clear local-to-global link that calls for strong relationships between major cities and leaders across diverse sectors of business, technology, academia, politics, culture, and communications. These forums will focus on three major questions:
As climate leaders race to keep global temperatures from rising, the central commitment of The Paris Agreement, what kinds of drastic measures should cities undertake to ensure we are able to avert the cataclysmic effects of climate change?
As the global population continues to grow, what can cities in both developed and developing countries do to meet the increasing needs of water and food in a way that is sustainable and equitable?
What novel approach did cities provide towards mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic? What lessons can be applied for future disaster/pandemic preparedness?
The UAE’s National Climate Change Plan (2017–2050) offers a template for climate mitigation nationwide, with a focus on sustainable cities. It outlines plans to control emissions, cultivate new technology, reduce flaring of natural gas, increase energy efficiency, embrace clean fossil fuels, and focus on sustainable transportation and renewable energy. With examples like UAE-based green facilities management company Farnek, which has joined forces with Munich-based ClimatePartner, an international solutions provider for corporate climate action, we can deduce some effective ideas for how our two regions can cooperate on achieving climate sustainability.
The task of these roundtable discussions is to explore what climate sustainability looks like for cities such Los Angeles and Dubai, particularly through frameworks such as climate justice, biodiversity, and sustainable development.
“Los Angeles has embarked on an ambitious effort to do what it can… building up local water supplies and curbing demand, increasing the tree canopy and building out cooler infrastructure to reduce its heat island, spurring the installation of solar power, and armoring its beaches and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,” as Scott Lucas explains in his article, Los Angeles is the face of climate change. “Progress has already been made: Emissions at the port have dropped by double digits, tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers have been installed, and improvements in public transit are coming.”
Sustainable development “meets the needs of the present without adversely affecting the conditions for future generations,” as defined in the Brundtland Report, released in 1987 by the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), and this is needed today in 2021 more than ever. The task of these roundtable discussions is to explore what climate sustainability looks like for global cities like Los Angeles and Dubai, particularly through frameworks such as climate justice, biodiversity, and sustainable development.
The Global Cities Fellowship Program, under the leadership of the Pacific Council on International Policy, advocates for city diplomacy in the public sphere, develops Los Angeles’ role as a leader on international issues, and forges strong ties between Angelenos and their counterparts in international cities. The Pacific Council seeks to inspire a culture of global engagement from our home city in Los Angeles, and applies a local-to-global lens on everything we do. We strive to help people who live and work in their local communities understand how their movements, choices, and local policies have global impact.
Recommended Reading from the Pacific Council:
Weaponizing the Climate Crisis by Dr. Ibrahim Al-Marashi
Regional Sustainability Efforts to Set a Global Stage by Maria Salinas
Keeping the Desert Green: Telecommunication & Water in Dubai by Brian Chase
Additional Resources:
To Feed the World, the US and the United Arab Emirates Should Partner on Climate Action by Dan Glickman
Los Angeles Is the Face of Climate Change by Scott Lucas
How to make the most of city diplomacy in the COVID-19 era by Anthony F. Pipa and Max Bouchet
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Kelsey Suemnicht is the inaugural Global Cities Fellow. Suemnicht is a public affairs professional who has worked as a contracted Digital Engagement Manager at the U.S. Department of State, Media Analyst at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and Editorial Researcher at Foreign Policy Magazine. She holds a Masters in Public Diplomacy from the University of Southern California.
Find out more about our Global Cities Fellowship Program here.
The views and opinions expressed in the pieces above are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Pacific Council.
