Abdulla Balalaa says he’s trying to bring more political attention and investment to providing reliable water supplies globally. As the UAE’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, he will be in a position to do that in leading preparations for December’s U.N. Water Conference that will be hosted in Abu Dhabi.
In an interview with The Circuit, Balalaa said he is preparing to manage discussions on how to finance water infrastructure among governments, businesses, investors and development banks. Nations need to offer projects that investors can fund, supported by clear regulations and measures to reduce financial risk, he said.
Balalaa met with business leaders and financiers during the U.N. General Assembly in New York last month and also talked to philanthropic organizations. His next stop is Bangkok for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings, where he plans to seek partnerships and commitments ahead of the water conference.
Sitting down with The Circuit in his Abu Dhabi office, Balalaa discussed why water projects struggle to attract investment, how scarcity can fuel disputes between countries and how the UAE balances renewable energy investments with its oil and gas industry. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: What are the main objectives of the U.N. Water Conference?
One issue is that there is not enough political attention from leadership to water. It is an enabler for economic development and an existential element for human lives. So we want to compel leaders to split their attention. Another thing is that we’re firm believers in innovation and technology. We want to showcase solutions. And when I speak about stakeholders, I refer to governments, the private sector, businesses, but also financiers, multilateral development banks, and funds. We can come up with a true partnership that really bridge the gap and move the needle from where we are today.
Q: Why has water struggled to attract capital?
Let’s start with governments. They need to have the right regulatory frameworks in place. They need to come up with a pipeline of bankable projects. The second thing is the financiers. We need to understand that this is not the government’s responsibility to finance water projects only. The governments and the financiers should work together to make their part more catalytic and focus more on de-risking and capital leverage in order to attract capital.
Q: What was your main takeaway from the meetings at the U.N. General Assembly?
Water has always been held hostage to something, given the nature of it. It intersects with food and agriculture. It intersects with energy. So it’s always water and energy, or energy and water. What we worked on is to try to showcase how important water is as a main enabler for economic development and economic activities.
Q: What can governments do to reduce the risk of water scarcity becoming a source of tension?
We’re going to showcase technologies that can lower the consumption of water in agriculture, but at the same time, without jeopardizing production. Also, there are great examples of how countries can work together whenever they have a shared resource, creating commissions, introducing the concept of benefit sharing and economic development for both, or maybe more than two countries.
Q: How does the UAE reconcile its renewable energy investments with continued oil and gas production?
Our investments today, our portfolio in renewables exceeds 70 gigawatts in over 47 countries, spanning six continents. We diversified our energy. We have nuclear, we have renewables, we have the conventional way of generating power. We have a plan to reach net zero by 2050, and this plan has milestones. But also, worth mentioning here, in oil and gas we’re introducing technologies, like carbon capture technologies. It’s something that’s embedded in our operations.
Q: What will you focus on at the World Bank and IMF meetings in Bangkok?
We’re there to meet the finance ministers, to meet presidents of multilateral development banks, to see how we can work together and partner with them in multiple sectors. Obviously, at the top of this list is water, but also renewable energy and other energy projects, and food security.
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