Omani youth capable of driving green change: EU Ambassador

MUSCAT, OCT 21

Oman’s youth is a catalyst for green entrepreneurship, said EU Ambassador Christophe Farnaud during his keynote speech at the second edition of the Oman Climate Dialogue in Muscat.

Addressing participants virtually from Riyadh, Farnaud said young innovators have the creativity and environmental awareness to turn climate challenges into viable business opportunities.

“This year, we are moving from green jobs to green entrepreneurship”, he said. “We are exploring how young people can create green jobs, how they can turn their ideas into concrete solutions and how they can build businesses that are not only profitable but also sustainable and socially responsible”.

Farnaud noted that the long-held perception that profitability and sustainability cannot coexist is outdated. “For too long, people considered that green and profit were not compatible, which is a mistake”, he said. “What you are going to show is precisely that the two can go together”.

The initiative, organised by the Environmental Society of Oman (ESO) in collaboration with Muscat University, builds on the first edition of the dialogue, which gathered students, experts and entrepreneurs to explore opportunities in the green transition.

“The European Union firmly believes in this approach”, Farnaud said. “By creating circular business models, turning waste into resources and developing technologies that reduce emissions and preserve biodiversity, young innovators can become powerful drivers of the green transition”.

He added that many successful environmental initiatives begin within universities and incubators — settings that connect students, researchers and entrepreneurs. “When young people are empowered, supported and connected to networks of knowledge, they can be the most powerful drivers of the green transition”, he said.

Farnaud described the workshop as a starting point for new partnerships, reinforcing the EU’s support for sustainable and inclusive growth. “It is a renewed commitment to the future — a future where economic growth goes hand in hand with environmental protection, where young innovators lead the transition towards a sustainable Oman; and where the European Union and Oman continue to work together in partnership, friendship and mutual respect”, he said.