Efforts to control Abu Dhabi?s high rate of per capita carbon and water footprints

I was reading this news about efforts by UAE's capital Abu Dhabi to reduce carbon and water footprints. I came to know of some below interesting facts:

1.      Abu Dhabi has high carbon and water footprint

2.      Like Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide or other carbon compounds released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organisation, or community , Water Footprint  is the amount of fresh water used in the production or supply of the goods and services used by a particular person, group or community.

3.      Abu Dhabi does have a high per capita footprint and there are a number of reasons for this. Abu Dhabi?s is an emerging economy with a high pace of infrastructure developmental activities that are energy-intensive. Abu Dhabi also relies on desalination, an energy-intensive process, to produce fresh water, and as a hot country indoor spaces require cooling for most of the year. Cooling an indoor space is more energy- intensive than heating an equivalent space, and in Abu Dhabi cooling accounts for around 50 per cent of the electricity consumption of the residential sector. These factors, combined with the high standard of living in Abu Dhabi, result in a high footprint.

4.      Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) is  addressing this issue through both the supply and demand sides. Currently,  UAE  relies 100 per cent on fossil fuels to generate electricity and produce water. The Government has set a target to diversify the energy mix and by 2020 aim to have 30 per cent of electricity generated by low carbon and renewable energy sources such as solar and nuclear. Feasibility studies are being carried out on technologies for waste to energy and large scale solar desalination. There is progress in this direction .Shams 1, the largest concentrated solar power plant (CSP) in operation in the world, was inaugurated this year in the emirate. The 100-megawatt, grid connected power plant will generate clean energy to power 20,000 homes in the UAE. Work has already started on the nuclear power plants and phase one is planned to be operational in 2017.

5.      It is interesting to know how interconnected different aspects of the environment are, and how environmental issues need to be addressed as an integral part of economic growth and development. We also need to keep everything in balance so when we address one environmental problem we don?t inadvertently cause another one. If we take water as an example, natural fresh water is a scarce resource, so to provide us with a potable source of fresh water UAE desalinates sea water. However, desalination is an energy-intensive process and makes a significant contribution to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, and emissions of other air pollutants. Moreover, a by-product of the process is brine which is generated in large volumes and discharged back into the sea, impacting marine water quality. So  we can all help ONLY by using water as efficiently as possible.

6.      One area of specific concern is Abu Dhabi?s marine water  quality which is under pressure from population growth and rapid economic development. This growth is leading to increased commercial shipping, dredging to deepen existing channels and create new channels, and effluent discharges from construction projects and industrial facilities with excess contaminants into marine waters. EAD is operating a robust marine water quality monitoring programme to detect, measure, and track marine pollutants which could threaten the marine ecosystem, and we are designing a comprehensive public health marine water quality monitoring programme to protect the public from health risks due to any bacterial contamination of recreational beach waters.

7.      To tackle the plastic menace : EAD had designed and led major campaigns to curb the consumption of plastic bags in the emirate. In 2009, the Federal Government launched an initiative called ?UAE free from plastic bags.? The federal policy has been implemented in Abu Dhabi, which ensures that only biodegradable plastic bags are produced in the emirate. The awareness campaigns involving major supermarket chains informed the public about the risks caused by the plastic bags. However, this does not mean the problem has been solved. Biodegradable bags take time to disintegrate and can be eaten by camels and marine life, such as turtles, before they disappear. And they leave residue before degradation. We must all take personal responsibility to reduce the number of disposable plastic bags we use by switching to reusable bags and by taking care to dispose of any plastics we use in a responsible way.

8.      About conserving depleting fish stocks in the sea : Our wild fish stocks have been depleted over the past 40 years due to over-fishing. Stocks of certain species such as hamour are now down to 13 per cent of 1970 levels.EAD has implemented a wide variety of measures including restrictions on fishing licences, gear regulations and the establishment of Marine Protected Areas with ?no-take? zones where fishing is completely banned. A regulatory framework is developed to ensure the fishing industry develops in a sustainable manner.

9.      Aquaculture is seen as a viable means of fish production for Abu Dhabi. EAD is developing a policy, standards and regulatory framework to promote aquiculture as a way to alleviate pressure on wild fish stocks and provide alternative employment and investment opportunities for fishermen, but in a way that protects the environment.