There is no denying the fact that UAE has the highest rate of vulnerability to the impacts of climate change in the world, leading to warmer weather, higher sea levels, droughts and more storms. The climate change affects not only human health, livestock, natural habitat  but also infrastructure and development of the country.

 The UAE has nearly 1,300 kilometres of coastline. Approximately 85 per cent of the population and over 90 per cent of the infrastructure of the UAE is located within several meters of sea level in low-lying coastal areas as per the report by Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi. The UAE connects the Tropic of Cancer. The climate generally is hot and arid. Humidity is  over 90 percent in summer and autumn. Inland is far less humid although the temperature is higher; sometimes, exceeding 50 degrees Celsius before midday in July.

The Stockholm report found that the UAE could lose up to 6 percent of its populated and developed coastline by the end of the century because of rising sea levels.

 Coastal zone reclamation projects are proliferating all over the region in the UAE, endangering  coastal ecosystems. Coastal communities have started witnessing changes in storm frequency, intensity and movement. As the oceans warm, rising sea-surface temperature will lead to thermal expansion and changes in mean sea level. Change in sea-surface temperatures could mean intensified coral bleaching, which affects species' reproduction and migration.

In 1996 and 1998, the UAE faced two catastrophic coral bleaching and mortality events associated with seawater temperature anomalies. The UAE suffers high pollution, mostly from cars, with an 80 tonne per capita emission of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Air conditioners, desalination plants and power stations run on carbon-based fuel. The compound is highly toxic to humans.

 As a supplier of fossil fuels, UAE has an important role in finding solutions to cutting carbon emissions. The country is all set to fight against the climate change as it recognizes its global responsibility it is committed to. Most recently, the UAE’s commitment to climate change was demonstrated by the fact that the UAE was one of the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement in September 2016. 

In November 2016, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and Ministry of Education have jointly launched the ‘Our Generation’ initiative. It involves developing a school curriculum that raises awareness of students and encourages them to take measures to reduce their carbon footprint. The curriculum is built on the successful modules of ‘Sustainable School Initiative’ and ‘Sustainable Campus Initiative’ initiated by Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.

 UAE is adapting to clean energy options and transforming its national economy into a low-carbon green economy. Green architecture and sustainable construction is another milestone target of UAE.

 Last but not the least UAE is working consistently on the development of carbon capture and sequestration technologies in order to minimize the ecological footprint.

Credits- Government.ae, Gulf News