Analysis of UNFCCC Implications on UAE Environmental Regulations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its implications on the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The introduction establishes the background of climate change, emphasizing the need for international cooperation and the objectives of the UNFCCC, including the UAE's participation. The significance of the study is highlighted, focusing on the UAE's vulnerability to climate change impacts and the importance of mitigation strategies. The literature review examines existing policies, international agreements, and their effects on regulations, specifically focusing on the UNFCCC, its implementation, and its impact on various countries. The analysis section focuses on the UAE's specific actions, policies, and strategies in response to the UNFCCC, including emission reduction efforts, technological investments, and participation in international initiatives. The report concludes with a discussion of challenges, recommendations for future action, and the importance of financial facilitation to achieve the UNFCCC's objectives, underscoring the need for collaboration and policy formulation to mitigate adverse environmental effects and ensure sustainable development in the UAE. The report is available on Desklib, a platform providing past papers and solved assignments.

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UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND ITS
IMPLICATIONS ON UAE’S REGULATIONS
Introduction
In its basic definition, climatic change refers to the rise in average temperature of the earth due to
long-term effects of human activities. Evidences pointing to climate change include but not
limited to increased incidences of flooding, rise in sea level and breaking of icebergs. All these
have an effect of changing weather patterns throughout the world leading to unpredictable
devastating weather phenomena.
According to Pacoma (2019), all nations have their own set of environmental laws and
regulations to curb climatic change, there is need to develop certain common agreements
applying to all nations regarding global warming. The common objective of these agreements is
to ensure that there is concerted effort by all nations to reduce the effects of global warming and
implement the agreed policies within their respective jurisdiction. Over time, a list of
international agreements and treaties have been put in place to mitigate the environmental
impacts caused by climatic change. Some of them include:
 Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that contains the Kyoto Protocol
and the Paris Agreement.
 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) of Geneva
 Aarhus Convention on Access to information
 The Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation
Like any other nation, United Arab Emirates has shown a lot of commitments in the protection
and management of biodiversity that face a threat of extinction from the effects of global
warming (Robert, 2014). UAE is geared towards eco-tourism and has created natural reserves
that in the long-run would improve the natural environment as well as protecting the country.
This was clearly demonstrated when they took part in the COP 22 United Nations Climate
Change Conference held in Morocco in 2016.

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Significance of the study
The knowledge on climatic change enables us to effectively mitigate the impacts caused as a
result of global warming. This study will be of great importance in the context of UAE, since the
region is grappling with issues of rapid population growth, higher depletion rates of natural
resources and large consumptions of energy.
The report released by the Ministry of Climate Change & Environment (2017) shows that the
continued and widespread effects of climatic changes in UAE have led to significant increases of
atmospheric temperatures causing long-term effects of water scarcity. The adverse effects of
climatic change are already witnessed in some parts of the region through encroachment of
aridity and desertification, making the region even more vulnerable to other effects of global
warming like food scarcity and malnutrition as well as other health issues especially in children
and the elderly.
In light of the above problems, it is fair that adequate measures be put in place in terms of
policies and international agreements so as to prevent further detrimental effects of global
warming, which has become a matter of interest for every nation in trying to preserve their
environment in order to meet the already set Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Literature Review
Over the recent years, the UNFCC climate change conference has elicited a range of reactions
from both scientists and environmental activists especially on the topic of loss and damage to the
ecosystem. Consequently, various approaches have been proposed to counteract the undesirable
effects of climate change, as explained by Gunster (2010) in his work. This section of the paper
therefore presents the methods of approach used in the implementation of the existing policies
and international agreements, their impacts on the existing regulations as well as their success
rates with specific focus on the UNFCCC.
The UNFCC report (2012) reveals that the extent of loss and damage to biodiversity due to
climatic stressors like extreme weather conditions and long-term shift of weather patterns pose
significant setbacks to socioeconomic development of countries worldwide. According to the
Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (2007), the areas most likely to be affected by the
impacts of climatic change are already experiencing shifts in socio-environmental factors.

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This necessitates the need to embrace approaches that will lessen such impacts when they
eventually begin to manifest. Some of the anticipated losses and damages include loss of human
life, damage to property, economic and non-economic losses.
According to Boycoff (2010), disaster risk reduction is an effective approach used before the
actual impacts of the extreme climatic events occur. These risk reduction approaches include
wise management of land resources by implementing policies on the protection of forest reserves
and other available natural resources that could be easily depleted in the event of extreme
climatic changes.
Measures taken for non-structural risk reduction normally focus on planning and behavioral
changes. They increase the level of awareness in preparation for the imminent impacts of
climatic change and include contingency planning, disaster risk reduction plan, early warning
systems, forecasting, adequate land-use planning and public awareness. On the other hand,
structural measures of risk reduction give due consideration to infrastructural development to
lessen the impacts of climate change. They include engineering interventions, retrofitting for
reinforcement and improving building codes and standards as well as regulations around such
codes; a concept illustrated by Dotson et al. (2012).
Other approaches include risk retention, risk transfer and managing the environments to reduce
the impacts of climatic variability. All these approaches have had effects on the existing
legislations of the member countries, as they are being incorporated and implemented for a
common objective.
The UAE Green Agenda 2015-2030 was launched with the objective of making the region a
global hub and exemplary model of sustainable development, a strategy that would significantly
reduce the anticipated impacts of global warming in the region.
Analysis
Corbett (2014) postulated that the topic of climate change has been given great attention in the
UAE and consequently, significant efforts have been exerted to publicize the issue and address
its impacts on various fields and sectors. The UAE has embraced important environmental
policies and regulations in order to combat the impacts of climate change.

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The main concern of UAE for global climate change was reflected by the expansion of the role
of the Ministry of Environment and water to manage the environmental aspects related to local
and international climate change issues.
Those efforts were consolidated in 2016, by the establishment of the newly named “Ministry of
Climate Change and Environment” to foster UAE’s endeavors to address the issue of climate
change.
The UNFCCC report released in 2018 shows that there has been a robust response by the UAE to
climate change by putting in place policies to foresee and regulate emissions, reduction of the
flaring of natural gas and increasing energy efficiency. As a concerned region, the government
has taken a number of initiatives including the vision 2021 for a sustainable environment and
infrastructure, and the National Climate Change Plan of the UAE 2017-2050 as a blueprint to
mitigate climatic change impacts.
Under the umbrella of Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM), the UAE was engaged in the
implementation of 14 projects in an attempt to reduce the levels of emission of Greenhouse
Gases (GHGs), which was done successfully resulting into approximated total reduction of
million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This was followed by UAE being ratified
by the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change in 2015, a milestone
that has never been achieved by any nation in the oil-producing region (Aizebeokhai, 2010).
According to the UNFCCC, the UAE is a non-Annex 1 country therefore it has no obligations to
minimize its carbon emissions, but is acting in good faith to reduce its emissions and
implementing policies to track and control the emissions of GHGs into the atmosphere.
In order to make these commitments a reality, the UAE has invested in technologies to counter
the critical effects caused by climate change, this has seen pilot Agricultural projects on
cultivation without soils being undertaken successfully by the Ministry of Climate Change and
Environment. The technology is valuable in moderating the internal climatic parameters like
humidity, temperature and ventilation to enable crops grow in a suitable medium other than soils
(Philipp, 2017).
Similarly, the UAE has played an active role in the protection of ozone the layer, that came into
effect on the Vienna Convention.

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The objectives included phasing-out substances that ruin the ozone layer, sharing eco-friendly
technologies and raising of awareness to the public on the importance of preserving the ozone
layer.
Results and conclusions
Climate change is one of the key issues at the global levels, given its economic, social and
environmental consequences. It already has its implications on where people can live, cultivate
land and build cities as well as functionality of ecosystems. The climate change phenomena and
its effects are not just confined to the shift or variations in weather conditions. The rising of sea
levels that can lead to disastrous flooding, more frequent wildfire and heat waves. Increasing in
the intensity of tropical storms, in addition to threatening food production as a result of weather
change, are all observed effects of climate change at the global scale that will continue to occur if
drastic actions are not taken.
The tremendous efforts put in place by the UAE have proven vital in the mitigation of the
impacts caused by climate change since through their intervention, there has been approximated
reduction of millions of tonnes of Carbon dioxide emissions (Metag, 2016). The technological
inventions on the management of land and cultivation methods are exceptionally effective in the
reduction of risks associated with climatic changes. They have also expanded the role of low-
carbon technologies in the economy as well as massive investments on the renewable sources of
energy, that would create energy efficiency. Similarly, it has an effect on the reduction of carbon
footprint due to overall reduction of the carbon emission.
However, there has been a number of challenges facing UAE in their attempt to mitigate the
impacts of climate change as explained in a report released by UNFCCC in 2012. Further, the
report indicates losses of wildlife habitat through encroachment of aridity and desertification,
limited land for the purpose of cultivation and other agricultural activities, and very low
precipitation levels. Also, when putting in place structural risk reduction approaches like
construction of reservoirs and other facilities, there is less land left for other purposes and in
some cases the widespread urbanization encroaches into the ecosystem of other animal species
making them vulnerable to extinction (Boycoff, 2010).

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Moving forward, it is therefore important for UAE to take an active role in the mitigation of
environmental effects caused by climatic change, through proper policy formulation and
collaboration with other party members. This will help the region mitigate the adverse effects
ranging from food scarcity, water shortage and extinction of rare species as a result of global
warming. It is also essential to put schemes in place for financial facilitation in order to achieve
the stated objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its
Implications on UAE’s Regulations as indicated by Pacoma (2019).
Recommendations
 Developing countries are already suffering from the effects of climate change. There is
urgent need for the nations to come up with effective National Adaptation Programs.
Since there are low financial capabilities of these nations, the UNFCCC should
incorporate mechanisms to foster adaptation plans through financial aid and sharing of
knowledge.
 The implementation of action plans should be strengthened by policies on environmental
regulations. This will help the full implementation of the action plan strategies by
engaging in initiatives and programs that will facilitate the achievement of the major
objectives (Gunster, 2010). A review of existing policies on the environmental
management would be recommended.
 It is recommended that there should be a collaboration among the various government
agencies to facilitate the reduction of the impacts of climatic change. A multiple approach
solution would require concerted efforts of all the key players in government, therefore
the UAE should involve all stakeholders and cross-sectoral agencies together towards
achieving the main objective.
 There is need for the UAE to raise more awareness by engaging in campaign programs
that would enlighten the public on the importance of environmental protection. Dotson et
al. (2012) argues that this would help in the fight of stress factors like higher
temperatures, unpredictable storms and depletion of ozone layers, hence resulting to
preparedness of the public in the wake of events concerning global warming.

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 Since time is of essence, there is need to have specific timeframes under which certain
objectives are to be achieved, this would see party nations putting more efforts to enforce
the international agreements swiftly in a bit to meet the stringent required timelines.
Similarly, it will see formulation of various policies related to environmental
preservations to act as a foundation of achieving the main objectives, a concept discussed
by Metag (2016). Furthermore, the timelines will result into evaluation of the progress of
the implemented policies resulting into regular updates of the achievements that have
been obtained.
 The use of renewable energy is recommended as it does not cause emission of GHGs.
Sources of renewable energy are considered clean and are renewable, unlike the non-
renewable sources which cause environmental pollution. These clean sources include
wind energy and solar energy. Governments are therefore urged to increase investments
towards green sources of energy.
 Since investment in technological developments in clean energy requires funding, there is
need of member states to extend financial supports to developing countries which have
shown interest in reducing emission of FGHGs. This will facilitate implementation of
policies that have been put in place to ensure that the impacts of climate change are
mitigated. According to Corbett (2014), technological advancements are just ideas
without adequate funding and may never be achieved without proper financial planning.
References

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