The UAE isn’t just playing in the renewable energy space—it’s rewriting the rules. It’s a country built on oil that’s now betting its future on the sun, the wind, and the power of innovation. And that’s a lesson for the world: transformation isn’t just possible, it’s profitable.

The ROI of a Future-Focused Mindset

Investing in renewable energy isn’t charity; it’s smart business. The UAE has poured billions into solar and nuclear energy—not to tick sustainability boxes, but because it sees what’s coming next.

In an era of increasing energy demand and climate concerns, renewable energy projects have emerged as strategic investments for governments and public utility companies.

The world is not on track to address climate change. As countries move toward developing stimulus packages to stem the economic impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19), it will be vitally important to build the foundation for a more resilient, sustainable and prosperous future. The objective of this report is to explore innovative financing approaches and case studies for enabling institutional investment in “climate-smart” infrastructure projects in emerging markets that can help close the climate investment gap. The first chapter of the report introduces key concepts related to the need for increased levels of climate-smart investment and the potential of refinance and securitization as a tool to facilitate further institutional investor involvement. The second chapter discusses the challenges and opportunities to close the climate investment gap, highlights the different roles of government, DFIs, and institutional investors, and the opportunity to use green bonds and green securitization and other methods to attract institutional capital. The third chapter reviews and provides a framework to examine the interconnected layers of investment barriers specific to institutional investment in climate-smart infrastructure.

To the ~100,000 people who could save our world.

Dear friends and colleagues. With the new year in full swing, I have a question for everyone who reads this.

But let me first raise awareness of the many environmental activists, heroes who fought for a better world, murdered last year. Thank you for fighting to make the world a better place. The world is lessened without you. You will be missed.

The question is: “What kind of a world would you choose to live in if you could?”

We (referring to humanity) are short on time to decide, and there are a select group of fewer than 100,000 people who may still be able to get us back on the right path. With a little courage. Either way, our collective actions and choices will decide our future. This post is really directed at these 100,000 folks, but I would appreciate a like and a forward from anyone who agrees with the message.

There are many possible pathways the world could take from here, as outlined by Gaya Herrington in her Update to Limits to Growth which utilized the incredibly prescient MIT Limits to Growth model. The MIT Limits to Growth model has fairly accurately predicted the path of humanity for decades. Herrington discusses several possible scenarios, from the Sustainable World scenario to the Business-as-Usual scenario.