When the UAE ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, it was classed as a ‘non-annex I’ country; basically, a developing nation. It was thus under no obligation to curb its pollution, despite being one of the highest producers of carbon emissions per capita in the world. However, this recent year has seen the UAE adopt a series of green policies. It was a surprise for many, dividing opinion as to whether this was simply a PR stunt from the world’s fifth biggest oil supplier, or a genuine attempt to make a difference. But is it realistic to say that the UAE can become green?
According to the recent WWF Living Planet Report 2008, the UAE accounts for around one per cent of the world’s overall ecological footprint, the estimated impact of nations upon the planet’s resources. The report makes grim reading all-round. It says that the world’s population is exceeding its capacity to regenerate by about 30 per cent (the UAE more so). Given that the nation has a share of just 0.056 per cent (United Nations Statistics Division, ’06) of the world’s land mass and a population of just 4.1 million (Ministry of Economy, Dec ’05), you might just consider sheepishly turning down the A/C in your SUV.
It’s not the first time this has been said, but in 2006, when the WWF last wagged its green finger in our direction, scepticism was well placed. Locally researched figures were simply not available and a lot of guesswork was involved. The government was encouraged to put the matter straight, and the Al Basama Al Beeiya Initiative, a government-funded body working across the Emirates, was set up to find a ‘reasonable estimate’ of the UAE’s energy and natural resource consumption. But how do we interpret this? ‘There is a common misconception,’ claims Razan Al Mubarak, managing director of the Emirates Wildlife Society. ‘Some see the report as an indicator of water or air quality. It is not. It just shows the natural resources you are consuming.’ But tellingly, 80 per cent of the figure is accounted for by fossil fuels. The UAE’s carbon footprint (as of 2005) was the key factor verified by the Initiative.
As well as assessing manufacturing, transportation, water desalinisation and household emissions, they took 600 commonly traded products and looked at how much energy was expended on making them. The resulting figure is measured in global hectares (gha), the global average of forest per hectare required to absorb the expended level of CO2. Needless to say, we didn’t fare well. But the reasons the UAE wields a per capita footprint of 9.5gha (the globally sustainable amount is 2.1gha) are ‘relative’, says Ms Mubarak. ‘We are rapidly consuming high amounts of natural resources. We are enjoying high economic growth and in doing so consuming a lot of natural resources to make that happen. In addition to that, the UAE’s climate makes leading a certain lifestyle more energy intensive. For example, maintaining water consumption will require tremendous amounts of energy.’ Imagine all that rendered as exhaust fumes, from generators, lorries, boats, factories and desalinisation plants.
Habiba Al Marashi of the Emirates Environmental Group also points to the UAE’s status as a developing country. ‘Almost 80 per cent of [our] waste comes from the construction industry,’ she claims, and she rightly argues that it is unfair to compare the UAE with, say, the United States: ‘You can just imagine the enormity of the resources shared by 330 million people to arrive at their per capita footprint.’
There are also geographical issues. An inhospitable climate leads to massive water desalination and a reliance on personal transport and traded goods, all of which contribute massively to our carbon count. What’s more, pressure on every one of these factors is only set to increase (even the temperature, if global warming predictions prove accurate). By 2030, the government predicts the UAE’s population will have ballooned, rising from 930,000 (2007) to 3.1 million in the city of Abu Dhabi. It sounds terminal. So is it something the UAE can do anything about?
Leading the revolution has been Abu Dhabi’s US$22billion Masdar initiative, launched by the state-owned Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company. Amongst its major projects are the proposed carbon capture and storage network, which from 2010 will take CO2 produced at a fertiliser facility in Bahrain and recycle it in the production of urea and methanol, reducing CO2 production by 100,000 tonnes per year. A similar project across the UAE is being assessed.
But by far the most eye-catching project is the US$4 billion zero-carbon Masdar City, a 6sq km walled city with space for 1,500 businesses, 50,000 residents and its own environmental research centre which is due to open in 2009. Myriad photovoltaic cells reduce power usage from the 800MW of an average city to just 200MW, and the recycling of treated grey water for irrigation allows the city to use only 8,000cu m, rather than equivalent 20,000cu m of desalinated water of the average city of its size. This is very much a glimpse into the future; although cynics would say that its prohibitive cost hardly makes it a practical global solution.
The bigger issue is what is being done with the UAE as it is. At the heart of this are the new building codes to be introduced to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 2009. According to Paul Winfindale, associate director of Hyder Consulting, ‘it is estimated that buildings contribute approximately 40 per cent of global carbon emissions, with the UAE coming second highest in per capita emissions’. To put this into perspective, earlier this year, facilities management company Farnek Avireal published a report which found that five-star hotels in Dubai produced 6,500 tonnes of CO2 annually, compared with 3,000 tonnes at their European equivalents.
As part of the Urban Planning Council, Abu Dhabi’s Estidama project aims to make a dent in this. It rates buildings to a five pearl standard, measuring factors like pollution, waste management, water and energy use. One pearl is the minimum, whereby buildings are powered by at least 10 per cent renewable resources. This figure is set to become mandatory in the future, with further guidelines set to address those buildings already in place, although that will be trickier. In January, guidelines for Dubai’s green building policies will also be finalised, but we’re already seeing eco-minded developments such as Dubai’s Waterfront and Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island projects taking shape.
The other hotly debated issue has been transport. The Ministry of Planning and Economy released a report in June which stated that in Abu Dhabi, in 2007, over 600 vehicles were registered every day. As of next year, exhaust emission standards will come under severe scrutiny, with vehicle emission levels to be reduced to 500 hydrocarbon emission parts per million (to be lowered to 300ppm by 2010), and limits on carbon monoxide emissions (set to be reduced from 4.5 to 2.5 per cent by 2010) to form a part of vehicle registration. It is no surprise that for the zero-carbon Masdar City to achieve its target, it simply bans cars altogether in favour of an electric rail system, although surely people will have to drive there.
And whilst Dubai’s monorail opens in 2009, it won’t be until 2015 that the capital sees its new tramline introduced, and 2020 before the metro link is completed. Ideas like hybrid engines for taxis, solar panels for parking meters and photovoltaic windows and roofs for buildings are all being explored by the UAE government, as is Nuclear power, to the chagrin of all environmentalists. But short of stopping all imports, reducing the population, banning cars, tearing down all the buildings and starting again, can the UAE reduce its carbon footprint?
Ms Mubarak believes that people can play a greater role. ‘I think there is a lot more that individuals can do to lead a sustainable lifestyle. There are everyday things we can do in our own homes. The private sector also need to look at their supply chain, or even the process of providing services. Lots of options are there to either green these types of processes or curb natural resource consumption.’
Fiachra O’ Cleirigh, function manager of Hyder Consulting has been heavily involved with the Estidama project in Abu Dhabi and is equally realistic. ‘Given the projected growth in the UAE, a reduction in emissions presents a significant challenge. However, with a combination of investment in the right technology, suitable incentives and appropriate regulations, the UAE can significantly reduce its per capita carbon emissions. But this needs to be coupled with a major educational and awareness programme for industry, developers and the public to understand the less tangible benefits of carbon management.’
Too much money has been spent for allegations of a green PR stunt to hold water; the UAE is sincere in its desire to change its ways. But in the past 50 years the population of the UAE has grown from 81,000 to 4.6 million. The climate and land cannot naturally sustain such a population, and the UAE’s green initiatives, many of which have only just been introduced, will not take effect for a number of years. We are in the early stages of a change, and before we will see any serious results in the reduction of carbon emissions, you can expect a lot more reports like those of the WWF. Arguably the technology doesn’t even exist yet to make a real difference, which is where projects like Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Future Energy Prize come in; monies awarded by the government to companies making strides in green technology. But this is again something for the future; for the time being, we can say that the UAE is definitely going in the right direction.
Counting the cost
1
The position held by the UAE, according to the WWF Living Planet Report, as the nation with the largest ecological footprint in the world (beating America and China).
4.5
The number of planets, according to the report, needed to sustain the earth’s population if every country had the same ecological footprint as the UAE.
80
The percentage of the UAE’s ecological footprint made up by fossil fuels used for power and transport.
550
The estimated gallons of water used per head, per day in Abu Dhabi.
600
The amount of vehicles registered every day in Abu Dhabi in 2007.
