Hasbani made her comments during the third day, on Wednesday, of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS2021) held currently in Dubai.

The world is using less than 100 million tonnes of hydrogen annually, but by 2030 this number need to be doubled and by 2050 it needs to reach 500 million tonnes in order to achieve net zero emissions, Hasbani said.

Hasbani said the challenges currently facing the hydrogen market include the high cost of technology.

“So, we need subsidies – a hydrogen project cannot happen without some form of government support,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Andrea Lovato the Executive Vice President and head of Renewable Development and Green Hydrogen at the Emirati ACWA Power said that there is a demand for green hydrogen but no production. 

“If we could produce green hydrogen tomorrow, there will be a queue outside. We need to do what we did with renewables, look at large volumes, reduce costs and do it in a region where there are the three important components: one is a combination of solar and wind, and we are blessed in that; second is to have the land; and the third is the low cost of finance,” she explained.

Sally Prickett, Vice President of Hydrogen Market Development at British Petroleum, expounded that all countries across the globe need to work together to coordinate on supply, distribution, storage and end-use applications to build the required infrastructure to create a hydrogen economy.

Touching upon the water scarcity issue, Prickett stressed that water is not an area that is getting enough attention from the industry sector players globally.

“As we move forward and work together to create the right solutions, water is going to become an issue that we all need to think about. Consistency and regulation on safety standards are key, so we can develop a framework of expectations,” she said.

In the same vein, Ivan Oseledets, the Director of the Center for Artificial Intelligence Technology SkolTech, said that adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Data can solve the task of estimating the carbon footprint and accelerate climate action and achieve sustainable development.

“There are several aspects that need to be monitored, such as car pollution and ocean pollution, and this can all be done by the collection of different technologies such as satellites and drones that can be combined with physical models,” he said.

“Physical models can sometimes be incorrect and this is where we need to incorporate AI to correct this. We need to collaborate with people who can construct these types of models. The goal is to apply AI techs to different sectors such as oil and gas, but we still have to wait for the results and invest in such research. There is huge work ahead, and it takes a huge amount of training to increase our models and to make AI greener,” he illustrated.

During the third day of the GMIS2021, the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity (MBR Initiative) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) announced the launch of the ‘Decade of Action Challenge’, to promote sustainable and inclusive urbanisation through innovative solutions, partnerships and transformative ideas. 
 
The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help entrepreneurs and start-ups develop impactful solutions to address the key challenges of urbanisation and advance equitable economic development in cities, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

 “While rapid urbanisation has transformed cities into engines of economic growth, they also present significant human development challenges, including pollution, poverty, income inequality and infrastructure development. Combating the challenges of urbanisation and generating opportunities for prosperity requires bold ideas, cross-border and cross sector partnerships,” said Executive Director of UN-Habitat Maimunah Mohd Sharif in a virtual speech.

Badr Al-Olama, Head of the GMIS2021 Organising Committee, said that digital innovation along with robust policymaking are essential to accelerate sustainable urbanisation and create new opportunities for shared prosperity.