Dr Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, has said that the UAE’s policies under the vision of His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President on the diversification of sources of income and energy, deployment of innovation, technology and advanced practices and consideration of the environmental impact in development plans have had far-reaching impact on the adoption of a green economy. The UAE, he asserted, is right on track towards transforming its national economy into a green economy, which falls in line with the UAE Green Development Strategy launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, under the theme Green Economy for Sustainable Development.
In a statement on the occasion of the UAE’s celebration of the 17th Environment Day under the slogan ‘Green Economy: Innovation and Sustainability,’ the Minister said: “This is an important national event wherein we recall the remarkable achievements of the late founding father, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whose far-sighted vision, firm commitment and relentless efforts towards the sustainability of natural resources earned the UAE a prominent place regionally and internationally. Adoption of the green economy is yet another important step towards the UAE Vision 2021.”
The UAE has paid careful attention to the economic development, as it is one of the three foundations of sustainable development, as well as the significance of avoiding traditional economic models--developing the national economy to become a model of knowledge and innovation. We should activate new strategic sectors in order to insure building long-term competitive advantages. It is important for us to achieve a balanced growth through a packet of sustainable energy sources, which would place the UAE in a vital position in the race for renewable and alternative energy. The slogan of this event reflects the significance of the contribution of green economy in realizing UAE Vision 2021 on the economic, social and ecologic level. While innovation has a vital value and a shared element with the four points of UAE Vision 2021, "sustainability" is the essence and purpose of this vision.
With regard to the readiness of UAE economy to transform into green economy, Bin Fahad said “It is usually uneasy to transform from the traditional economy, which is based on the intensive and irrational exploitation of resources, into a green economy that appreciates the value of these resources and seeks to achieve their sustainability.” H.E. reassured that the UAE economy has the necessary ingredients to make this transition easier than other countries as the economy is modern and flexible, and has accepted the new economic tendencies and models. It mostly depends on knowledge and innovation, and on deploying the latest technologies and applying best practices. In addition, he shared that the UAE owns a developed legal and organizational infrastructure to make this transition a lot smoother.
With regard to the implemented steps to apply the UAE Green Growth Strategy, Dr. Bin Fahad noted that the directive committee, responsible for supervising the implementation of this strategy, which comprises representatives for the ministry, Department of Energy and Climate Changes at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Office, and the Green Growth World Institute, has started last year to prepare a road map and a work plan to execute the strategy. It will be implemented through organizing interactive workshops and bilateral meetings and discussions with intended authorities and economic parties, with the participation of all intended authorities in the governmental and private sectors.
Based on the conclusions of the workshops, meetings and analytic studies of the economic, social and ecologic situation, and similar practices of chosen countries, the committee defined the economic sectors with highest priority to transform into the green economy. The sectors include, oil and gas sector, water and electricity, industry, construction, waste, and lands and agriculture. The committee also identified five strategic priorities that conform to the main routes of UAE Green Growth Strategy, which are: (1) a knowledgeable and competitive economy, (2) social development and quality of life, (3) sustainable environment and value of natural resources, (4) clean energy and climate changes, and (5) green life and the optimum use of resources. The committee determined the main directives and suggested programs to execute each priority, relying on a group of pioneering strategies and initiatives adopted by the UAE in the recent year, headed by renewable and alternative energy, enhancement of efficient use of resources, cleaner production, green architecture, sustainable transportation, ecological footprint, green applications, etc.
Dr. Bin Fahad concluded his statement by assuring that the success of economy is not limited only to deploying modern technologies and changing production patterns, but a portion of this success relies on patterns of consumption. Bin Fahad invited community members to control and sustain the consumption of resources by applying consumption control policies and attending to green products.