BIg steps for smaller footprintby Arushi Madan | 18-06-2013 13:18 |
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As one of the first countries to adopt a strategy to reduce its ecological footprint , the UAE is in the midst of several initiatives aimed at tackling some of the biggest environmental issues facing the country. Proud to share with you all that according to a 2010 report by the WWF , the UAE was rated number one in the world for having the biggest ecological footprint. The ecological footprint is a measure of a country's sustainability that compares the use of natural resources per person per capita , which is expressed by a unit of bio-productive land called the 'global hectare (gha)'. Following this announcement ,a committee of scientists and experts was set up to study in detail the methods of energy consumption in the country and determine how they can be improved. This made the UAE the 3rd country to develop the 'Ecological Footprint Initiative' after Switzerland and Japan. Since then the footprint per person in the UAE has gone down from 9.5 gha in 2010 to 8.4 gha in 2012 according to Minister of Environment and Water at a conference yesterday-as per report published in Gulf News. UAE's 2030 plan involves reducing carbon emission city-wide by 40%. |
