COP28 in UAE: ‘Volunteers and their infectious energy struck me’

COP28 in UAE: ‘Volunteers and their infectious energy struck me’

And over 12 days, I was happy to be part of this journey.

Green energy, blue hydrogen, fossil fuel, phase out, phase down, net-zero, carbon neutral – there were plenty of terms to learn along the way at COP28, and I am sure many of them are here to stay.

As I look back I cannot but marvel at the people who worked behind the scenes to make the event a success.

There are three points that come to mind immediately.

Dubai is no stranger to big events. And having conducted Expo 2020, hosting one like COP28 should not have been very difficult. But it still takes a sizeable amount of planning and organisational skill to pull off an event like this.

This could be seen from Day 1 – in the parking zones, the buses that ferried visitors to the entrance, the buggies that transported people around, the spotless venues all around and the attention to detail – everything called for exceptional organisational skills that went into the smooth conduct of the event.

It is one thing to organise an event, it is another to reflect energy. At the conference, much was discussed about green energy, sustainable and renewable