Comprehensive Report on UAE Sustainability Projects and Initiatives

This report examines projects implemented and planned in the UAE to enhance the country's sustainability, with a focus on improving energy production and usage efficiency. It addresses the challenges of sustainability, highlighting the UAE's commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The report explores initiatives in smart cities, building efficiency, and water management, emphasizing the role of technology and innovative designs. It also discusses the UAE's strategic priorities, including energy efficiency, renewable energy adoption, and the promotion of research and development. The analysis includes an overview of the UAE's vision for a sustainable future, ethical considerations, and the impact of policies and laws. The report provides insights into the UAE's progress and future plans for achieving its sustainability goals, including the UAE Vision 2021 and the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, along with the initiatives like the Dubai Expo 2020, and the Estidama Pearl Rating System.

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: GEN1040 SUMMER 2019
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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
The challenge of sustainability....................................................................................................................4
Projects implemented in the UAE to improve the Country’s Sustainability.................................................6
Smart Cities.............................................................................................................................................6
Building efficiency....................................................................................................................................8
Use of water..........................................................................................................................................10
Strategic priorities.....................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................13
References.................................................................................................................................................14

Introduction
Combined efforts are required in protection of the planet earth from the negative implications of
global warming to ascertain a sustainable future. The UAE contributes significantly to attainment
of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for vision 2030. The UAE has been at the
frontline when it comes to implementation of green strategies that are in support of sustainability
going by the visionary leadership attributed to the president. In as much as UAE bears one of the
greatest oil reserves all over the word, the government attachment significance importance to
diversification of the sources of energy through an increase in the share of clean as well as
renewable energy (Abu-Hijleh et al., 2017). This is in support of the vision which acknowledges
the significance of renewable energy when it comes to balancing the environment and
development. The UAE has made significant achievements depending on local as well as federal
strategies alongside initiatives among them the UAE Vision 2021, UAE Energy Strategy 2050
alongside the UAE Centennial 2071 that sets a 50% target for clean energy in the cumulative
energy mix by the end of 2050 alongside others.
Energy efficiency is one of the fastest growing challenges in the United States Emirates as a
result of the growth in population, high rates of consumption as well as economic activity which
are in the long run unsustainable. The potential solutions to the energy efficiency challenge
which can be presented at the pavilion may be grouped and focused into three main areas of
energy efficiency including smart cities for instance the use of technology in carrying out urban
planning
 Building efficiency which could include using innovative new construction materials,
technologies as well as designs in optimization of the use of energy in various buildings

 Water desalination with the use of a combination of hard as well as soft measures in
lowering the demand of water and attendant energy needed for desalination
 Enhancing the production via more sustainable resources
In as much as numerous UAE’s constituent emirates have launched initiatives already in such
areas, extent of challenge needs an approach that is more integrated which connects all elements
into a coherent strategy that is energy efficient. The strategy should be inclusive of a customized
regulatory framework, information initiative as well as communication to convince the residents,
builders alongside other stakeholders in reduction of the consumption of energy and components
of research and development to ensure UAE is majoring on the emerging technology in boosting
efficiency (AlFaris, Abu-Hijleh and Abdul-Ameer, 2016).
The challenge of sustainability
The use of energy in United Arabs Emirates has expanded at an annual average rate of 4 per cent
in the last six years with anticipations that it will go higher to 5 per cent by close by 2020.
Overall the consumption has increased by more than twice in the last decade at a rate which will
be a challenge to offer for over a lengthened period of time.
One significantly direct measure to the crippled growth of consumption of energy revolves
around energy efficient strategy. This strategy may result in a substantial reduction in the
consumption of energy and may be implemented quite fast and at a significantly reduced
expense. Reduction of the overall consumption of energy provides a number of benefits. It would
protect the energy reserves of UAE; lower the energy bills for the end-users, aid in management
of utilities and their infrastructure constraints alongside reduction of the possible burdens of
subsidies on the government of UAE (Asif, 2016).

Numerous governments in other places have already starting coming up with policies which
enhance as well as in other cases give power to measures of energy efficiency. Such initiatives
evoke more sustainable building design, appliances of low consumption, and hybrid vehicles
alongside more sources of renewable energy. Such policies are still at the imagination phase and
governments will be expected to measures as soon as possible in case the intentions of meeting
the challenge of energy sustainable still hold.
The challenges associated by such three aspects of efficiency of energy may not be countered in
isolation. Numerous common elements bring the three together and are representative of more
basic priorities for UAE government. Such usual elements need those policymakers:
 Promotion of R & D initiatives to enhance the adoption of emerging technologies
 Launching of targeted communication alongside marketing campaigns which alter the
consumption habits for energy among citizens
 Development and implementation of a strategy for integrated energy efficiency for
country
 Establishing regulatory system which address the demands as well as marketing
challenges (Friess and Rakhshan, 2017)
Suppose such issues are handled by UAE and the lessons learned applied from programs of best-
practice energy efficiency in other geographical locations, the country will be able to enhance its
positions with regard to energy sustainability to a great extent.

Projects implemented in UAE to improve the Country’s Sustainability
Smart Cities
The UAE tend to be one of most urbanized nations on planet, with 85% of its populace living in
town territories in 2014. The urban populace is estimate to keep developing and is anticipated to
be at 91 percent of UAE populace by 2050, as per the United Nations. The UAE accordingly
should be incorporated framework arranging as an essential to any town all-inclusive strategy.
Maybe the most ideal strategy for doing this, that exploits digitization also Big Data that urban
populaces produce, is through proposed smart city approach. In spite of fact that term smart city
doesn't have a formal definition, it normally involves incorporated framework arranging that
applies advanced innovations to convey better administrations and, basically for United Arab
Emirates, decrease consumption of energy.
The move to savvy urban communities is still in its beginning times, and general connection
between improved urban buildings and absolute sustainability impact of such activities presently
can't seem to be estimated (Jamil, Ahmad and Jeon, 2016). The progress to keen urban
communities involves defeating the dormancy that stems from instilled propensities, regardless
of whether as far as urban arranging or dwellers' practices. It likewise requires advancement and
implementation of sound government strategies that will manage mind boggling changes which
shrewd urban communities incite. In any case, there is a wide agreement that shrewd urban
communities will improve energy efficiency.
By embracing an increasingly exhaustive methodology, savvy urban regions allow city planners
as well as supervisors to improve productivity at the convergence of distinctive framework areas,
for example, power, water, transport, broadcast communications, cooling, and waste. The

quantity of keen urban areas is expected to significantly increase globally by 2025 in view of
such focal points.
One bit of leeway of more astute urban electrical networks is that they screen utilization after
some time, hence may empower more proficient utilization propensities which lead to
noteworthy declines in utilization. For example, power request in Abu Dhabi has been
developing by in excess of 10% a year that surpasses emirate's exceptional yearly populace
development rate of 9%. Accordingly, Abu Dhabi government has conveyed a progressed
metering framework which offers a wide scope of functionalities as well as rates to urge clients
to decrease utilization or move it to off-crest hours (Kiani, 2017).
Correspondingly, Dubai currently has a few interrelated projects set up to significantly diminish
power utilization, including shrewd metering, request side administration to urge energy clients
to devour more effectively, and conveyed age (which includes creating energy on location to
decrease transmission misfortunes). From 2009 via 2014, such strategies have spared more than
1,100 gigawatt-long periods of power as well as 5.4 billion gallons of water alongside reduced
emissions of carbon dioxide by more than 536,000 tons (Krarti and Dubey, 2018). Another
significant part of keen urban areas is transportation, a territory where innovation has progressed
significantly. The United Arab Emirates is empowering utilization of electric vehicles and
building essential framework to help them. The nation as of now has set up sixteen power
charging stations for electric vehicles, and it hopes to have greater than 100 prior to close of
2015.
Be that as it may, electric vehicles are just a little piece of arrangement. To meet transportation
needs of inexorably urban populace, the UAE still has to handle more extensive difficulties, for
example, improving the eco-friendliness and discharges of imported autos, convincing

inhabitants that they should not have to possess a vehicle, and decreasing the reliance on modest
fuel. With that in mind, mindfulness battles ought to be a piece of a keen city activity what's
more, speak to a gentler methods for affecting residents' practices. The UAE has just started
distributing spending plans for such battles. For instance, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy has
propelled Emirates Energy Grant, which provides money related prizes for creative work in
activities of all measures crosswise over both general population and private parts (Lin, Afshari
and Azar, 2018). The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) have likewise propelled
client mindfulness crusades which have in addition to other things, induced occupants as well as
organizations to set their climate control systems to hotter settings. Considering everything,
DEWA's activity has spared in excess of 600 million AED since 2009.
Building efficiency
Building efficiency — regularly alluded to as "green" or "sustainable" development — alludes to
structures which are designed and constructed with improved energy productivity as main plan
limitation. The idea points to lower natural effect of structures and to improve the prosperity of
their tenants. The United Arab Emirates currently has a scope of building efficiency measures set
up. For example, in Abu Dhabi, program called Steadman (Arabic word for maintainability)
controls structure, development as well as working of buildings via staged endorsements.
Estidama additionally uses an appraisal scale called "Pearl Rating System," that measures
sustainability execution of manors, buildings as well as networks. In
Dubai, administration has given a lot of green structure guidelines furthermore, determinations
that spread arranging, utilization of assets, materials, furthermore, wastes. Prominently,
guidelines are expected to improve sustainability execution of buildings all through provided

they may remember cycles, from plan via development, activity, and extreme tear-down
(Rakhshan and Friess, 2017).
Government specialists all through the UAE will even now need to create increasingly detailed
guidelines as well as buildings that direct energy effectiveness in structures, especially during
development. Such guidelines can utilize a scope of switches: authorizing contractual workers
dependent on energy execution; ordering obtainment techniques that factor altogether life-cycle
cost, as opposed to simply beginning development; and requiring advance demonstrating and
reenactment to anticipate energy utilization impression before development, as a major aspect of
obtainment procedure (an instrument known as structure data demonstrating).
Likewise, region cooling holds noteworthy potential to expand energy proficiency of United
Arab Emirates urban areas. At present, cooling of buildings speaks to around 70% of pinnacle
power load in GCC. Locale cooling is system based structure whose utilizations concentrated
foundation to give cooling to various buildings without a moment's delay. Such a framework is
undeniably more proficient than present way to deal with air molding since it pools interest for
cooler air. Expanding utilization of locale cooling would lessen weight of cooling load on
generally speaking energy utilization. In the United Arab Emirates, different administrative
specialists are investigating approaches to command as well as manage locale cooling, and
innovation ought to be considered for any new urban arranging idea (Razali et al., 2018).
What are likewise required are upgraded correspondence and data battles that influence land
organizations to improve energy effectiveness of their activities without guideline. For instance,
such battles can feature the effectiveness advantages of new advances, plans, and materials, just
as analyze building execution among comparative structures and grant energy execution
testaments that incorporate motivators for developers. At last, legislature should empower

utilization of imaginative structure advancements, materials alongside frameworks. Propelled
concrete blends, divider protection, glass coating besides coatings that are adjusted to district's
necessities would generously improve effectiveness of structures. Such substances are currently
utilized in different markets as they come with advantages in building efficiency when they are
set up.
The United Arab Emirates government ought to assure such materials are taken into
consideration — or then again needed— during building as well as development of new
activities. Upon completion of the project, tasks may even now create increases as a result
expanded energy proficiency, through apparatuses, for example, propelled constructing
computerization, coordinated applications as well as observing alongside detailing, which
increment energy mindfulness among inhabitants and office directors and definitely diminish
utilization.
Use of water
Water utilization in the United Arab Emirates is around 740m3 for every capita per annum (m3
pcpa), or around 50% higher than 500 m3 pcpa world normal. Moreover, energy needed to
desalinate seawater speaks to around 30% of nation's complete power utilization, fundamentally
because of significant issues in the manner in which the UAE gets crisp water. The extraordinary
greater part of United Arab Emirates’ water is created as a result of warm energy plants, through
joined water-and-power framework (Razali et al., 2018). The issue is that such two assets have
extraordinary request cycles. Power has huge tops popular, while water request is generally level.
Because of such various cycles, the framework can't be improved for either asset.
Also, the UAE has significant limitations in terms of recovering also, recycling water. Reusing
would decrease the dependence of the nation on desalinated water. Be that as it may, there is

lacking framework for reusing, and spillages lead to assist misfortunes. One coming change that
will relieve this issue is the arranged presentation of atomic energy as a conspicuous wellspring
of intensity in dependence. Atomic power will break association among water as well as
electrical framework, making chances to utilize progressively proficient desalination
innovations, for instance reverse osmosis.
To deal with such market difficulties, policymakers must build up an incorporated methodology
for overseeing power and water age and circulation. Some portion of such methodology ought to
be determination of treatment of water advancements that are more going by future creation
prerequisites and may diminish framework wasteful aspects.
In addition, the government may make guidelines which address request through both hard as
well as delicate strategies. Hard intercessions would, for example, lessen water demand through
increased water taxes — that brings market forces as well as the economic elasticity of water
requirements for various customers to bear. Yet another hard strategy could be allowing efficient
practices including advanced irrigation as well as material use for landscaping which ensures
maximization of reclamation of water alongside minimization of unnecessary pressure on water
infrastructure.
Softer regulatory measures may be among them awareness campaigns alongside other strategies
aimed at persuading the dwellers to voluntarily change their patterns of water usage.
Specifically, the campaigns should aim at the younger dwellers alongside the workforce who
tend to have significant influence and ability to run changes in behavior in their corresponding
surroundings including companies, schools as well as universities. The workability of such
awareness was illustrated in Dubai in 2012 when information as well as communication was
successful in lowering the general demand of water for the next year.

Strategic priorities
In as much as each of the areas is associated with unique features, the authorities within UAE
may produce more progress towards efficiency of energy through concentrating on four major
strategic priorities
 Create and execute a coordinated energy productivity technique
 As noted over, a few emirates have just propelled person measures to improve their
presentation. Be that as it may, the UAE needs an all-encompassing methodology that
joins singular divisions and their individual worth chains around a solitary arrangement
of objectives and targets.
 Build up an administrative structure that tends to request/showcase challenges
When the methodology is set up, the UAE needs to guarantee that guidelines give the
authorization system to intercede in the distinctive energy areas — through the two punishments
and motivating forces — so as to change practices and augment benefits.
Dispatch correspondence and data battles to show the advantages of energy effectiveness — and
the results of an inability to act
One of most significant parts of maintainability is getting support from all partners, specifically
purchasers. The open needs to see how it advantages and how it tends to be occupied with
accomplishing sustainability.
Distinguish and advance locale explicit R&D and innovation
Directed R&D and innovation can make an imaginative biological system that can help meet
energy proficiency objectives while additionally boosting the generally speaking economy.