The UAE Ministry of Environment and Water has announced that human health and the environment are among its top priorities. In order to improve and maintain local air quality, it aims to reduce air pollution by reducing the proportion of suspended particulate matter (SPM). This falls under the list of initiatives and projects adopted for the implementation and enforcement through coordination with concerned local authorities.
The Ministry has recently signed an agreement with seven government agencies to launch the UAE air quality network to improve air quality and reduce emissions from various stationary sources, including factories and power plants. In addition, it is conducting studies and special surveys on air quality in collaboration with and guidance of several local institutions based in Abu Dhabi and international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and other think tanks.
Engineer Fahad Mohammad Hareb, Director of the Ministry of Environment and Water’s Air Quality Department stated that the UAE did not exceed the ratio of 2.5 microns for the Middle East compared with the minimum permitted globally, which is equivalent to 3.3 microns according to the annual survey conducted by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He said that the country has a low mortality rate from air pollution which is in accordance with the regional strategy for health and the environment prepared by the WHO. This reflects the considerable efforts made by the UAE to improve its air quality as one of the important components to enhance the quality of life, as highlighted in UAE Vision 2021. The UAE aims to build a sustainable environment to ensure a high quality of life for its people and gives tremendous importance to improve air quality by achieving the air quality index by the year 2021.
The efforts made to preserve air quality and to reduce contamination at both federal and local levels over the past years rates have evolved considerably. Promotion in physical and human capacity in the field of monitoring and control has also been made through a wide network of stations monitoring air quality scattered all over the country. Currently, there are 46 stations in addition to a set of falling dust measuring stations at sites quarries, cement factories and quarries activities. Moreover, the UAE focuses on implementing legislative frameworks to reduce emissions of pollutants in order to improve air quality and ensure a high standard of life in a sustainable environment.
Hareb said that the Ministry undertakes all efforts to transform the national economy into a low-carbon green economy by promoting environmental sustainability. This is done through the launch of a wide range of initiatives aimed at reducing the concentrations of contaminants in line with the National Strategy for Green Development. In this regard, it is promoting wider use of public transport, use of green fuel such as unleaded and low sulfur diesel, use of natural gas as an alternative fuel, and the use of renewable energy such as solar and nuclear power for peaceful purposes in order to generate electricity.
In line with the criteria of Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award, the government also promotes Green Building Standards with use of green applications in government buildings. This includes the use of district cooling technology to ensure reduction of approximately 75 per cent of consumption in electric power in addition to raising the efficiency of air conditioners to improve work and system performance. Hareb further emphasized that the Ministry is committed to conduct a periodic review of the measures taken as part of the global standards adopted by the World Wide Fund for Nature.