UAE Emissions Policy Brief, Essay Example

Issue

According to a recent report (Todorova, 2013), the United Arab Emirates released 200 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in the year 2013. Based on the International Energy Statistics (2013), the greenhouse gas emission of the United Arab Emirates has been increasing gradually between 2008 and 2012. In the Persian Gulf region, the country has the highest emission. Rapid economic and industrial development, as well as rising consumption of goods has increased the energy expenditure of the country, which in turn resulted in a high CO2 emission. When looking at the per capita CO2 emissions, the country still has the highest statistics in the region, closely followed by Quatar (44.413 tonnes per person and 44.063 tonnes per person). Further, according to the Ministry of Energy United Arab Emirates (2006), the impact of global warming could be more visible in the Gulf region than the rest of the world, resulting on 1-2 ºC rise in average temperatures between 2030 and 2050. Despite the low population, the increased infrastructural development activity in the rapidly developing country of the United Arab Emirates calls for policies that support green initiatives, long term investment in sustainability, and the implementation of greener technologies. The author of the current study is looking to review current and possible future government initiatives and programs that could successfully reduce the greenhouse gas emission of the UAE.

Background

 Smeets and Bayar (2012) states that the rapid economic growth of the United Arab Emirates brought forward a problem of pollution and increased energy consumption. It is well known that the higher the country’s residents’  living standards are the greater the per capita energy consumption will be. The authors (Smeets and Bayar, 2012, p. 7) also state that “the United Arab Emirates have the highest ecological footprint per capita in the world”. The two main focus areas that should be tackled by government policies and initiatives, according to the study, are environmental protection and water management. The country of the United Arab Emirates has an industry-based economy, with a high energy intensity. The population’s energy consumption has also risen, due to the higher living standards achieved in the past few decades. The urgency of government and industry intervention is concluded by Smeets and Bayar (2012, p. 7) as: “several countries (and individual Emirates) in the Gulf face energy shortages, primarily due to abundant gas consumption”. It is likely that the problem is going to escalate even further, as the population and economy are both predicted to grow rapidly in the next decades. Renewable energy policies should be created, and the mindset of citizens should be changed through country-wide programs, focusing on the message: the abundance of low cost energy and water is only temporary, and sustainability projects could protect both the economy and the population from the consequences of shortages.

The population of the United Arab Emirates grew from 300.000 in 1971 to 4 million in 2004 (Ministry of Energy United Arab Emirates, 2006, p. 10). Currently, the CO2 emission profile of the country is as follows: 95 percent of the emissions come from energy consumption, 4 percent from industrial processes, and 3 percent from waste management. This means that the main source of CO2 is the energy consumption and production of the country, therefore, it is important to focus on creating sustainable, greener sources of energy. The question is that in a country with an economy largely reliant on natural resources and energy sources, how can green initiatives be successfully promoted.

Analysis

According to Smeets and Bayar (2012), the main challenge of the United Arab Emirates is to maintain sustainable economic growth. Ensuring that natural resources and assets are protected and used in a responsible way should be in the focus of government policies. The authors outline several policy scenarios that might be used by the government to tackle climate change and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. One of the approaches could be taxing consumption, and – based on the prediction of the authors (Smeets and Bayar, 2012, p. 22) -. this could reduce households’ energy intensity by up to 20 percent. The next approach listed is the liberalization of utility markets in the UAE, which would result in the disappearance of fixed price tariffs, and create a demand-supply market without government intervention. The outcomes of this intervention are not clearly predictable, though. Finally, energy-intensity improvements’ encouragement by the government could result in lower CO2 emissions. The authors also created three various stimulation to assess the impact of each scenario (Smeets and Bayar, 2012).

Taxation was found to have only a small impact on overall energy consumption. However, the authors also found that “even modest behavioral changes among consumers can have major impacts on their carbon footprint” (Smeets and Bayar, 2012, p. 30), therefore, the government should focus on education of the public and discourses focusing on sustainable living and consumption.

Recently, the government of the United Arab Emirates has created long term plans and initiatives in order to tackle the problem of high CO2 and greenhouse gas emission per capita and move towards sustainable industries and consumption patterns. According to a recent report by The National (The National UAE, 2014), during the Abu Dhabi sustainability Week, more than 30.000 experts and policymakers discussed different solutions. In collaboration with the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), the participants focused on increasing the share of renewable energy in the world. While the conference was international, many of the region’s politicians and industry experts attended to get insights for forming policies and initiatives that would have a positive impact on the energy sustainability of the United Arab Emirates. Following the 2014 event, in January, 2015, the Ministry of Energy released the greenhouse gas inventory of the United Arab Emirates (Ministry of Energy United Arab Emirates, 2015). Interestingly, the ministry confirmed that the oil and gas sector of the country only accounted for 15 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions, while the largest polluters were found to be the electricity and water generation industry (33 percent), followed by the transport sector (22 percent).

The ZeroCO2.no project (n.d.)  created by the United Arab Emirates highlights some of the government initiatives focusing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. First, the country overview states that the energy policy of the country is initiated and approved by the Supreme Petroleum Council, and it has several economic strategies that are designed to promote sustainable growth.

According to the Footprint Network (2010), one of the most significant and most effective government initiatives in the United Arab Emirates was the Al Basma Al Beeiyah Initiative (Ecological Footprint Initiative). The mission statement of the national initiatives highlighted some main areas of focus, such as creating nation-specific research, and creating awareness, while building capacities to tackle the challenges related to global warming and high CO2 emissions per capita.

The results of the initiative confirmed that the collaborative approach that involves public and private sector companies, researchers, and the residents of the country is effective. The footprint, however, revealed that the main contributors towards CO2 emission in the country are businesses and households, therefore mapping the ecology of the country. The findings have set forward directions for policymakers: focusing on increasing awareness among business owners and the public about the impact of greenhouse gases on the environment. Testing three different scenarios, the researchers involved in the initiative found that scenario one could reduce CO2 emissions by almost 40 percent by 2030. The scenario involved – among other interventions – creating building and energy standards, building nuclear power plants, and increasing the renewable energy capacity of the country by 15 percent.

Recommendation

As it has been revealed above, the main contributors towards the UAE’s high greenhouse gas emission are local businesses and households. Therefore, in order to support policies and initiatives, it is crucial that the government involves not only policymakers and international organizations, but the country’s population, as well. Public awareness programs could result in a change of the population’s attitude towards energy consumption, behavioral and consumption pattern modification. The main challenge related to reducing CO2 consumption in the UAE is that the country is abundant in fossil fuel, therefore, individuals, businesses, and energy companies are not motivated to move towards renewable energy sources. The main steps to be taken towards reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions are listed below:

1. Increasing awareness among business owners and households about the importance of the issue
2. Creating policies that motivate businesses and households to reduce energy consumption
3. Support green developments in industries
4. Reward sustainable investments in the construction and energy production industries.

References

International Energy Statistics. (2012) Per Capita Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Consumption of Energy (Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide per Person). Retrieved from http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=90&pid=45&aid=8&cid=r5,CG8,&syid=2008&eyid=2012&unit=MMTCD

Ministry of Energy United Arab Emirates. (2006) The United Arab Emirates Initial National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Retrieved from http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/arenc1.pdf

Ministry of Energy United Arab Emirates. Ministry of Energy released UAE Greenhouse Gas inventory during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2015). Retrieved from https://www.moenr.gov.ae

Smeets, B., & Bayar, A. (2012). The Sustainability of Economic Growth in Abu Dhabi–a Dynamic CGE Approach.

The Footprint Network. (2010) UAE Ecological Footprint Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.footprintnetwork.org/images/uploads/UAE_LPR_supplement_EN.pdf

The National UAE. (2014) Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will bring together 30,000 experts   and decision-makers. The National UAE. January 17, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/abu-dhabi-sustainability-week-will-bring-together-30-000-experts-and-decision-makers

Todorova, V. (2015) UAE released 200m tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2013. The National UAE. January 21, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/uae-released-200m-tonnes-of-greenhouse-gases-in-2013

ZeroCO2,NO. (n.d.) United Arab Emirates Energy & Climate Change – Policy And Progress. Retrieved from http://www.zeroco2.no/projects/countries/united-arab-emirates