Green Government

UAE signs environmental pledge

By Alice Kok | 11 November 2008

An environmental pledge for preservation and sustainability titled ‘Green Life Protocol’ was signed by UAE Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW), United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), International Association for Human Values (IAHV) and global digital leader LG Electronics after a one-day conference dedicated to green initiatives.

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Under the patronage of Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad UAE Minister of Environment and Water, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and LG Electronics, the conference was held to review global environmental challenges and best practices in combating ecological damage.

“The models we have to predict climate change still contains some flaws and there is a high level of uncertainty. There is more data for Europe and the US but for here it is trickier,” says Marcel Alers Principal Technical Advisor for the United Nations Development Programme.

Alers added that UNDP would look into having a permanent representative in the UAE to source clean development mechanism projects to urge developing countries to invest in the UAE, bringing vital clean energy technologies to the region.

Fahad said that cement factories would be investigated and monitored to reduce their impact on the environment. This comes after some heavy intervention and closures of quarries in recent months by the ministry.

In terms of air pollution, the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi and the MOEW would be collaborating to connect air quality monitoring devices to gather readings.

The partnership with LG Electronics is a step towards more public-private partnerships.

The conference assessed the challenges facing all industries in maintaining a green environment. Experts, representing government, environment and private sector companies, put the focus on environment issues including green building guidelines, corporate sustainability management. Also shown were successful case studies in environment management undertaken by international and global companies.