Environmental Issues and Carbon Footprints in UAE - Essay Example

I. Introduction Climate change resulting from human intrusion The climate of the Earth has changed many times during its whole history, with suchsignificant climatic events as ice ages to long warm periods. History accounts attribute natural factors like volcanic eruptions, changes in the orbit of the earth, as well as the amount of energy released from the sun for the earth’s climate changes. However, at the beginning of the 18th century, human activities in relation to the Industrial Revolution have also brought changes in the composition of the atmosphere, thus the scientists’ conclusion that human activities are influencing the earth’s climate in a tremendous manner (United States Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2009). According to the American Meteorological Society (AMS, 2007), the direct human impact on the climate change is through the enhanced concentration of trace gases such as carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, and water vapor which, collectively, are known as the greenhouse gases. With the enhanced amounts of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere, the infrared radiation emitted by the earth and its atmosphere is blocked by the thickening blanket of greenhouse gases, resulting to increased warmth in the earth’s temperature in its attempt to equalize the incoming and outgoing flows of energy. AMS (2007) further reports that Carbon dioxide (CO₂) accounts for about half of the human-induced greenhouse gas contribution to global warming since the latter part of 1800s. CO₂ concentration has been increasing mainly from fossil fuel burning and partly from clearing of vegetation. Significant part (50%) of the increased CO₂ emissions remains in the atmosphere, while the rest of the earth absorbs continually the remaining 50%. Interestingly alarming is that the atmospheric CO₂ concentration has been increasing at a much faster rate than any other observed in the past several thousand years’ geological record. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF, 2009) reports that around 97 percent of the CO₂ emitted by the western industrialized nations is mainly coming from burning coal, oil and gas energy. The western industrialized nations spew into the atmosphere approximately 25 billion metric tons of CO₂ each year, which is enough to cause temperature build-up that seriously disrupts the world climate’s natural balance. Carbon footprints: measuring humanity’s environmental impact As the scientific community continues to understand, monitor and discover things about the environmental changes happening around the globe, it also tries to translate scientific discoveries into concepts and ideas that are relevant to the different sectors of the societies around the world so that everybody can already take part in the efforts to save the planet before it is all too late. One of these concepts is the Carbon Footprint. Walser (2008) defines carbon footprint as the measure of the amount of greenhouse gases, in units of carbon dioxide that are produced as direct result of human activities. Measured for an individual or an organization, carbon footprint is typically expressed in tons of CO₂ -equivalent per year. For instance, the average North American person generates more or less 20 tons of CO₂- eq every year, while the global average carbon footprint is around 4 tons of CO₂ - eq per year. Further, carbon footprint is comprised of two parts: the primary and the secondary footprints, wherein the former is the measure of the direct emissions of CO₂ from the burning of fossil fuels which include domestic energy consumption as well as transportation such as cars and planes; the latter is the measure of the indirect CO₂ emissions from a whole lifecycle of products used, especially those associated with their manufacturing and eventual use. Simply put, the greater the consumption, the more emissions.    The Global Footprint Network (2009) states that as human pressure on natural resources increase tremendously, the cities, states and countries with the least carbon-intensive and most resource-efficient economies will flourish, while the ones requiring cheap and excessively plentiful access to ecological services will inevitably become extremely vulnerable and eventually lose out. It is thus logical for any city, state or country wishing to continue being competitive to act promptly and boldly.  II. Carbon Footprints in UAE UAE: a nation of large carbon footprint The United Arab Emirates (UAE), based on 2005 statistics which came out on WWF Living Planet 2008 Report, is the world’s topmost nation to have the highest carbon footprints, with UAE residents consuming more natural resources than anybody else in the world, even more than those from the United States and Kuwait (Landais, 2008). The same report states that the UAE has a 9.5 global hectares per capita footprint, with an overall demand of less than half of one per cent on global resources, but with only 2.1 global hectares available per person. Four years after said statistics were gathered, the UAE is still on top, being the fifth highest per capita consumer of energy worldwide, and is seven times the global average, and has one of the highest per capita ecological footprint among nations of the world; over 80 per cent of said footprint is related to CO₂ emissions which are largely due to the country’s fossil fuel-based energy consumption (Khaleej Times Online, 2009). The said news article further reports that there is a great potential risk within the UAE that its energy demand might outstrip its energy supply, with further risks of global temperatures rising alongside the rising CO₂ emissions. All these have led scientists to predict that UAE will soon be facing hotter summers, abnormally rising sea levels, coastal erosion, loss of biodiversity, dwindling freshwater, extremely strong storms and eventually severe economic impacts. UAE is one of the world’s top oil exporters (Arabian Business online, 2009), and as such, has a significantly high demand on natural resources, with eighty per cent from fossil fuels for power and transport (Landais, 2008). In an article, Schwartz (2009) describes UAE as having the largest per capita carbon footprint of any country in the world, containing artificial islands, operating a ski dome in the middle of the desert, as well as operating very soon the very first air-conditioned beach. Schwartz emphasizes on the country’s heavy reliance on a cheap supply of oil to keep itself growing. The WWF Living Planet Report 2008 states that UAE imposes high demand on nature through food production, fiber consumption, absorption of the waste from the energy it uses and the provision of space for its infrastructure. The country’s ecological footprint (EF) is a high 9.9 global ha/person, while its biocapacity is low at only 1.0 global ha/person, making the ecological overshoot a high 8.9 global ha/person. Obviously, UAE is unable to support its own domestic consumption with its own supply of nature; therefore it needs to import ecological services from other places in the world. Adding a great chunk to the UAE’s high EF is its huge energy footprint1 of 7.5 global ha/person, comprising of all the energy consumed by the country including for air conditioning, lighting, transportation, desalination, sewage treatment, and even the energy used in the manufacture and use of imported products. UAE’s initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint The following are only some of UAE’s carbon footprint reduction initiatives: 1. Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) Initiative of 2007 UAE has started its Green initiatives in 2007, with the realization that the harsh desert climate of the Gulf region demands for high energy consumption to cool down and to pump water, which have led to serious environmental damages that need to be counteracted upon to minimize if not reverse environmental damages. Mishra (2008) reports about the Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) Initiative of 2007 as the UAE’s national initiative to take a serious look at and understand the country’s ecological footprint, with the four core partners: the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW); the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI); the Emirates Wildlife Society — World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF); and, the Global Footprint Network (GFN) which is an international non-profit organization promoting the adoption of ecological footprint as a sustainability metric worldwide. According to the EWS-WWF Managing Director Razan Al Mubarak, the initiative is so designed that at the end of its current phase, recommendations will be made to cover all components of the country’s ecological footprint, through which the prime movers look forward to building an effective data feedback process which will help integrate environmental sustainability in all major economic and developmental policy decisions (Mishra, 2008). 2. Brighter Light, Lighter Bills The “Brighter Light, Lighter Bills” inspirational campaign, which kicked off only recently at Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall, is a part of the new outreach program by Heroes of the UAE to tackle the country’s escalating problems on ecological footprint, climate change and the increasing energy demand. As reported on Khaleej Times online (10 August 2009), there were up to 40,000 energy-saving light bulbs handed out in Abu Dhabi as part of the kick-off activity, which basically sends out the message for people to use energy-saving bulbs called the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFL) as a means of energy conservation and environmental protection from the deadly carbon dioxide emissions. Organized by the Emirates Wildlife Society in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF), the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD), and the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority (ADWEA), the said initiative is expected to promote sustainable living among local residents through very simple tasks of opting for energy-saving light bulbs as their own initiative to reduce their own household carbon footprints. 3. Establishment of the Masdar City Abu Dhabi government has taken a big step towards the institutionalization of the principles of sustainable living through the establishment of the Masdar City, which is the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, and is estimated to increase Abu Dhabi’s GDP by two per cent as well as save about $2 billion worth of oil in the next twenty-five years (Mishra, 2008). According to Masdar Property Development Director Khalid Awad, the aim for the highest quality of life with the lowest carbon footprint tied to environmental responsibility is possible, and that Masdar will showcase sustainability measures being powered fully by renewable energy. As such, Masdar City will be a world destination for renewable energy businesses like green construction, water management, renewable transport services, and other such related businesses. In addition, the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology will be opened, as a collaborative initiative with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This academic center will specialize in renewable energy and sustainability disciplines. Masdar’s own website describes the initiative as a trailblazing move by the first major hydrocarbon – producing economy which is Abu Dhabi. The Masdar Initiative, the website explains, is driven by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, is a global cooperative platform designed to accommodate the open engagement in the quest for solutions to the most pressing issues that mankind faces today: energy security, climate change, as well as the development of expertise in sustainability. III. Global Solutions: Carbon Footprint Reduction Scientists and environmental activists have been beating the drums on the urgency of the need to do something about the increasing amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the earth’s atmosphere, by reducing humanity’s carbon footprints on individual, organizational or national or regional levels. Several creative ways have been introduced to help and encourage individuals, organizations and countries do their own share of helping save the earth, and many have adopted green lifestyles and advocacy initiatives worldwide. There has been increasing popularity of individual green lifestyle not only of celebrities but of ordinary folks as well, which can only indicate continually increasing awareness about the environmental issues worldwide. One popular model of carbon footprint reduction is cited below, alongside the very important efforts of coming up with internationally-binding policies that have helped the scattered environmental preservation efforts gain grounds all over the world: a. Carbon Offsets. These are actually a form of trade, wherein individuals (mostly celebrities) and businesses buy carbon offsets in order to reduce their carbon footprints as a way of building up their Green Image. Businesses include carbon offsetting as a major part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which plays a huge role in their corporate imaging. More and more individuals and business organizations have become aware of their own contributions to global warming, thus the increasing popularity of carbon tradeoffs as the immediate way to get involved in carbon reduction. There have been a number of carbon offset companies where interested individuals and groups to have their total GHG produced calculated into monetary terms, the amount of which they pay the offset companies to fund ongoing green projects, either of their own choice or not, depends on how the offset company operates. For example, an individual’s yearly electricity GHG emission can be computed on GHG price per ton, which becomes the equivalent offset price. When an individual or organization buys an offset, they fund projects that reduce GHG emissions, like forest restoration, power plants or factories updating, or increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and transportation. It is a way for individuals and organizations to voluntarily get involved and do their share by paying to reduce the global GHG total in lieu of actually making radical reductions of their own. As mentioned, carbon tradeoff has been the way most celebrities and business entities have chosen to go green, primarily for imaging purposes, which works both ways – building up their own images of being environmentally conscious, as well as drumbeating the carbon reduction campaign worldwide. For instance, the FIFA, for the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament in Germany, played up a lot about employing renewable energy sources, collecting rainwater, encouraging bicycling and even bought offsets to fund energy projects. Likewise, the 2006 Olympics held in Torino, Italy as well as the Super Bowl XLI, also bought offsets as a way of being green or carbon neutral (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2009). b. International Policies on Climate Change The problem on climate change is the most pressing concern of humanity, and unless it is faced on a worldwide scale, it will continue to worsen until everything just becomes too late. This has been the environmentalists’ and scientists’ warnings to world leaders, which, through the years, has been eventually heeded by most, especially by those large carbon emitting nations like the United States (US) and China. Through the Framework Convention on Climate Change, consisting of 192 countries, world leaders have come up with standards and agreements to which each country commits in order to stabilize the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The Convention’s Kyoto Protocol will be ending in 2012, thus the need for another round of framework-setting and agreements among the member countries for a continued collective effort to mitigate the harsh effects of the already damaged environment. Although political issues have marred the Convention, it is still worth noting that the collective concern for the environmental preservation has prevailed and thus the collective efforts have continued and will continue as the main backbone of all scattered efforts at carbon reduction, among other efforts to preserve the environment. IV. Conclusion The battle to reverse the situation on the alarming damage of the environment is the most difficult that the humankind has faced, but is not impossible to win over. By the way things are going; it is evident that the whole world is doing its own share to win the battle. The active involvement of top carbon contributors like the United States, China and the oil-producing Arab nations like the UAE is enough indication that there is still hope for the planet, as long as everybody stays as vigilant and active to do his or her own share. There is not one solution, not even the grand Masdar City of UAE, but all efforts towards preserving the environment is part of the whole solution. Everybody, therefore, must do his or her own share. References Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News Editor Monday, February 14 - 2005 at 13:30 UAE local time (GMT+4), Facing up to our ecological footprint, Monday, February 14 - 2005 at 13:30, retrieved from Ameinfo.com, http://www.ameinfo.com/53883.html, November 1, 2009. "Al Gores Inconvenient Truth?-A $30,000 Utility Bill." ABC News. Aug. 15, 2007. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/GlobalWarming/story?id=2906888 Brighter Light, Lighter Bills 10 August 2009, Khaleej Times Online, retrieved 1 November 2009, http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=§ion=theuae&xfile=data/theuae/2009/August/theuae_August177.xml Climate Change, An Information Statement of the American Meteorological Society, (Adopted by AMS Council on 1 February 2007) Bull. Amer. Met. 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Gabriola Island, BC and Philadelphia, PA: New Society Publishers. ISBN: 086571312X WWF, 2008, Living Planet Report 2008, retrieved 1 November 2009, http://assets.panda.org/downloads/living_planet_report_2008.pdf Read More