LONDON: Maturation of Gulf states鈥� economies presents further opportunities to deepen the relationship between the region and the UK, the new Lord Mayor of the City of London told Arab News before departing for COP28 in the UAE.

Just a few weeks into the role and Michael Mainelli was on hand, like his predecessor, to witness yet another British Cabinet reshuffle.

But with the return to frontline politics of former Prime Minister David Cameron, Mainelli is optimistic that this will further strengthen ties with 抖阴短视频, one of several Gulf states to have announced participation in a 拢30 billion ($37.9 billion) investment pledge into the UK.

鈥淲hen it comes to that investment it鈥檚 enormously welcome, but what I think is great is it shows how Saudi and other Gulf states have really matured their economies,鈥� Mainelli said.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e gotten a better understanding of what they want to achieve with their sovereign wealth funds beyond just investments and returns, and that includes knowledge transfer. That鈥檚 really exciting as it offers two-way transference between us and them,鈥� he added.

鈥淲ith Cameron鈥檚 appointment (as foreign secretary), you get undoubted foreign policy expertise, including in the Gulf, which I think will prove a good move and help deepen connections with 抖阴短视频.鈥�

Pushing the idea of London as a 鈥渉ub of connectivity鈥� appears central in Mainelli鈥檚 year-long tenure, which he said he is serving under the theme 鈥淐onnect to Prosper.鈥�

Asked where the Gulf figures in this, he replied: 鈥淭he Lord Mayor typically spends 100 days traveling each year. Of this, three weeks will be in North America, three in Asia, after which a smattering of other countries.

鈥淎nd then, interestingly, the Lord Mayor will typically spend two weeks of travel around the Gulf each year. This shows you just how important it is as a destination, being right up there with Asia and North America.鈥�

COP28 in Dubai has been designed with a strict focus on carbon, which plays into Mainelli鈥檚 鈥減ersonal ambition.鈥�

While he would be 鈥済oing in with an open mind,鈥� he said he would also use the event to revive interest in the notion of voluntary carbon markets, which first emerged during COP3 in Kyoto in 1997.

鈥淚 believe there鈥檚 a lot more work to be done when it comes to carbon markets 鈥� but we do need to get these to work,鈥� he added.

鈥淭he initial idea was to have emission trading permits and businesses paid to remove carbon from the atmosphere 鈥� typically this would involve planting trees or seagrass 鈥� with the idea being we reduce our environmental impact by taking it out of the atmosphere.

鈥淏ut it became subject to a lot of issues, ranging from the difficulty of measuring to ensuring the carbon was sequestered properly, and frankly also issues of fraud and corruption.鈥�

Despite the initial difficulties, Mainelli remains convinced that it is a feasible and practical solution to reducing carbon levels in the atmosphere.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just the market hasn鈥檛 been fully formed and the basis upon which prices are set not properly calculated,鈥� he said.

Of particular concern is what he described as the 鈥渇inal bit,鈥� adding: 鈥淟et鈥檚 say I pay you to for a ton of carbon offset a year over a 25-year period, which you agree to facilitate through the planting of a forest.

鈥淣ow let鈥檚 say having planted that forest, a hurricane hits and uproots the trees, or there鈥檚 an avalanche, perhaps there鈥檚 a parasite, and the trees are destroyed, maybe the soil doesn鈥檛 allow them to grow, or maybe at the end of the 25 years you simply chop the forest down.

鈥淲ere any of these to happen, then nothing really has been achieved. All that has happened is you鈥檝e deferred 25 years of emissions.鈥�

For Mainelli, the solution to the issue and restitution of carbon markets as a tool in the route to net zero resides in the 鈥渁ppropriate use of insurance,鈥� which he said would put a financial impetus behind the idea and 鈥渄rive clearer, harder standards.鈥�

Of particular pertinence, he noted, would be the fact that insurers would not insure carbon capture sites without having conducted 鈥渟ufficient due diligence.鈥�

Insurers 鈥渨ould crawl all over whoever was planning to set up one of these carbon capture sites, and they鈥檇 want to know what trees were being used, where seeds were sourced,鈥� he said.

鈥淭hey鈥檇 survey the ground, they鈥檇 ask why it was located at the base of a mountain. They鈥檇 do all this, and not only would they insure the site, they鈥檇 be building knowledge.鈥�

This, said Mainelli, would be pivotal as that increased understanding would serve to improve the means and methods of carbon capture deployed in these carbon markets, leading to standardization.

It is 鈥渇airly evident鈥� that the Gulf is determined to find workable solutions to address the climate crisis, he added.

鈥淚 spent a week earlier this year in Abu Dhabi, and also spent a week last year in Saudi, really trying to understand the situation on the ground there, and I was extremely impressed at the commitment to net zero in both nations and in other areas,鈥� he said.

Pointing to the 25 substantial hydrogen projects in place in the UAE and the 40 抖阴短视频 has in the pipeline, Mainelli said there is an opening for closer ties with the City of London.

While development of hydrogen production would always be of interest, he said there is also reason to considering the creation of a sufficient transport mechanism for getting this hydrogen out into the world. This, he added, offers 鈥済reat potential for collaboration.鈥�