I would like to welcome all of you in this announcement of launching the first UAE State of Green Economy Report. We are very proud of publishing this unique report as the world’s first of its kind in publicly reporting the status of progress towards a Green Economy at country level.

The UAE’s successful economic development means that the country has faced environmental challenges arisen from the record pace of growth in population, energy and water demand, and urban areas. However, with the objective set out under the UAE Vision 2021 to become among the best countries in the world, the UAE has decided to steer its course of progress towards a Green Economy and to achieve green objectives and economic growth simultaneously. In January 2012, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the UAE Green Growth Strategy as a long-term national initiative under the slogan “A Green Economy for Sustainable Development”. Under this strategy, the UAE is seeking to become a global hub and a successful model of the new economy through the enhancement of the country’s competitiveness and the sustainability of its development, thus preserving its environment for future generations.

In support of the Green Growth Strategy, a wide range of greening efforts from both the public and private sector are burgeoning in the areas of renewable energy, resource efficiency, waste reduction, green buildings, sustainable transport, and so on. The ministry is currently finalising, together with the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the implementation plan of the Strategy to be adopted by the Cabinet. In the coming years, the plan will support the better coordination of national and local policies and encourage industry and citizens to adopt more eco-innovative solutions and eco-friendly behaviour.

As part of the Strategy implementation, the ministry decided to compile the State of Green Economy Report on a regular basis, with an objective to help the country take the right course and make solid advances towards a Green Economy through monitoring and reporting its progress. The report provides the public with a clear overview of the government’s plan for greening the economy, diverse public and private efforts and their achievements, as well as an international benchmarking of the country’s current standing based on objective performance indicators. As the first edition, the report also includes background information to help the reader to grasp the UAE’s national context and prospect for a Green Economy transition. Each chapter’s content is as follows:  

Chapter 1: The UAE Approach towards an Inclusive Green Economy explains the rationale, focuses and potential benefits of greening the economy.

Chapter 2: Sectoral Initiatives towards a Green Economy provides highlights of ongoing public and private-sector efforts to enable Green Economy in the country’s nine key sectors.

Chapter 3: Measuring the Transformation towards a Green Economy reports the UAE’s performance measured according to the 30 UAE Green Economy Indicators.

Chapter 4: Future Outlook: The UAE Green Agenda outlines the governance and programmatic structure for implementing the Green Growth Strategy.

Chapter 5: Inclusive Green Economy from a Global Perspective is contributed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It introduces UN and leading countries’ approaches to Green Economy and mobilising green finance.

And before presenting our short film about the first UAE State of Green Economy Report, I would like to highlight that the UAE has been playing an important global role in promoting the concept and advancing practices, particularly through the establishment of the UN Partnership on Action on Green Economy (PAGE) and hosting a regional office of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in Masdar City.

Lastly, I would like to express deep gratitude to all contributors to this report from federal ministries, emirate-level entities, industry and civil society, looking forward to further engagement in transforming our National Economy towards low carbon Green Economy in order to consolidate and drive UAE’s lead in the Environment Sector.

Thank you very much.