Forward thinking

Fast tracking measures aimed towards environment conservation is the need of the hour, acknowledging that need, it’s remarkable that the UAE has already put in place various green projects (“UAE succeeds in taking measures to address environmental issues,” Oct.21, Gulf Today).

It is very heartening to know that the UAE has so many initiatives in the pipeline. I wish to congratulate the leadership of this country for doing so. Climate change is taking a huge toll on us and so the earlier we address it, the better off we will be.

Recently a UN report highlighted that between 1998 and 2017 climate-related and geophysical disasters killed 1.3 million people and left a further 4.4 billion injured, homeless, displaced or in need of emergency assistance. The chilling part is that 91% of all disasters were caused by floods, storms, droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather events.

That is a huge loss of life but equally alarming is the economic loss. In the same period disaster-hit countries reported direct economic losses valued at $2,908 billion, of which climate-related disasters caused $2,245 billion or 77% of the total.

What this all means is that it is wise to invest in technologies and projects that reduce carbon emissions. In that respect, what UAE is doing is notable. Your reports states that it recently launched the world’s biggest solar photovoltaic plant of 1,177MW Noor Abu Dhabi at Sweihan in Abu Dhabi, besides the ongoing work on the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which will be the largest single-site solar park in the world, having a capacity of producing 5,000 megawatts by 2030.

It’s time other nations also keep up to their environmental obligations.

Sayed Hussain
By email