Taha Hasib (Abu Dhabi)
Sustainability applications are not limited to the environmental dimension only, but there are other dimensions that make it an investment opportunity that guarantees profit, while at the same time preserving resources, preserving nature, and guaranteeing the right of future generations to a better future. Sustainability also takes into account livelihoods and strives to improve the quality of life, and this is what the wise leadership has always done in its pioneering development process in the region. Within this framework, the “Emirates Experts” program comes as a pioneering initiative, launched on January 8, 2019 from the Founding Zayed Foundation, to prepare a diverse base of national advisory cadres that contribute to advancing development in various sectors in the country.
The program was launched under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, to be a platform for specialized experts in the UAE who wish to play a pioneering role in the transformation of future growth sectors, in line with the national priorities of the Emirates.
The third edition of the program focused on three strategic axes, including economic growth, social development, sustainability and infrastructure. The program is concerned with sustainability, and taking advantage of the country’s hosting of “COP 28” with the aim of contributing to supporting the strategic vision of the United Arab Emirates in various sectors, by preparing distinguished Emirati talents and qualifying them in the main social and economic fields. The “Emirates Experts Program” also focuses on creative thinking and interactive experiences. Between mentors and participants, through dialogues and various experimental activities.
The “Emirates Experts Program” comes to promote transformation in growth sectors that keep pace with the future. Graduates of the third edition of the Emirates Experts Program are leading 7 pioneering projects to accelerate the UAE’s efforts in the field of sustainable development and confronting climate change, all of which are efforts that would contribute to addressing carbon emissions, enhancing food security and protecting the natural environment, providing additional job opportunities, and enhancing the expansion of companies in the clean energy and environmental sectors. .
The third edition of the program was launched in November 2022 and continued until June 2023, with the participation of fifteen young people, representing 15 major sectors in the UAE’s Centenary Strategy, for an eight-month training course of academic learning experiences, intensive work experiences, and teaching, under the guidance and guidance of influential expert leaders in their sectors. The program was designed in partnership with a number of prestigious and well-known academic institutions in the world, and the program works to empower participants by sharpening strategic mindsets and capabilities and refining the leadership skills necessary for them to contribute to advancing development in their sectors and achieving the nation’s progress and prosperity on the economic, social and technical levels. Among the most important models in this edition of the “Emirates Experts Programme” are:
Carbon footprint and electronic waste
The Abdullah Al Rumaithi Project, integrated with the Environmental Centenary 2071 in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, establishes the Emirati environmental identity, aiming to find a specific measurement rate for the environmental footprint of individuals at the state level. The project seeks to provide high-value data that enables decision-makers in their efforts to reduce emissions and improve environmental quality. .
The Azza Al Raisi Project, in the field of electronic waste management, helps the United Arab Emirates reduce the carbon footprint resulting from electronic waste. This project aims to increase the recycling of electronic waste, reduce the resulting environmental repercussions, and potentially achieve revenues amounting to about 2 billion dirhams annually.
E-waste is one of the fastest growing sources of waste in the world, with 53.6 million tons produced globally in 2019. This waste can be recycled to generate potential revenues of $57 billion.
Promoting sustainable agriculture
In the field of sustainable agriculture, Nour Al Muhairi is working on a project that connects consumers interested in environmentally friendly products with sustainable local farms in the United Arab Emirates, promoting sustainable agriculture, food security, healthy products, and environmental preservation.
The country’s National Food Security Strategy aims to make the UAE the best in the world in the global food security index by 2051. The COP28 Conference of the Parties devotes a day to “Food, Agriculture and Water,” which constitutes a great opportunity for the United Arab Emirates to showcase the progress it has achieved in this field.
Innovative energy solutions
In the energy field, Omar Al-Bariki’s project includes a cloud platform that seamlessly integrates the capabilities of small distributed energy resources, such as solar rooftops in industrial, commercial and development projects, and batteries. This innovative platform aims to enhance clean energy production in the UAE, reduce carbon emissions, meet future electricity requirements, and reduce costs and fees on industrial consumers.
As for the Ali Al-Shammari project, which is in line with the comprehensive national hydrogen strategy announced by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, it aims to strengthen the UAE’s position as a leading force in hydrogen production globally.
In the same context, the Saud Al-Nouri project aims to advance the COP28 presidential action agenda to double the amount of hydrogen globally, and to provide the necessary funding to achieve this ambitious goal. The project contributes to achieving the aspirations of the COP28 conference, which is to benefit from all applicable technologies and sources to help achieve a fair, realistic and practical energy transition.
Protecting biodiversity
In the field of biodiversity protection, the Maitha Al Hameli Project uses artificial intelligence to study marine mammals. With the aim of enhancing the efficiency of this type of study, and supporting the UAE’s understanding of the effects of climate change on marine life and mitigating its impact on these organisms.
Individual initiatives
In addition to the “Emirates Experts Program”, there are some individual initiatives launched by young people in new sectors that are consistent with the country’s aspirations for sustainable development through environmentally friendly projects, and within the framework of climate investment that stimulates innovation, which the country has succeeded in establishing through government initiatives and integrated policies.
Recycling batteries
Haya Al-Ghoussein is a political science graduate with an interest in environmental and climate policy. With insight into global governance, Haya Al-Ghoussein supports sustainability and business development, by providing advisory services. Haya led a waste recycling initiative, and her consulting focuses on carefully assessing the environmental, economic and social impact of organizations. By measuring data such as reducing carbon emissions and waste production, Haya works to enable companies to take strides towards a more sustainable future.
Haya founded a consulting company that provides the necessary guidance for institutions to comply with sustainability standards, through systematic practical steps that ensure compliance with the highest standards. The company provided consultations for a factory that is the only one specialized in recycling lead-acid batteries in the United Arab Emirates, with certification and approval from Dubai Municipality, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in the United Arab Emirates, and the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai. It is in line with the Dubai Integrated Waste Management Strategy 2021-2041, which demonstrates commitment to international sustainability standards. The company takes the necessary steps to ensure compliance with these international standards, and to avoid the environmental and health risks associated with illegal battery recycling practices.
The company aims to provide consultations to reduce waste generation to a minimum, to ensure compliance not only with government regulations in the United Arab Emirates, but also to move forward to ensure more environmental safety standards. In addition, the company has launched an initiative through which the factory can purchase batteries. Consumables are priced at the same price as current selling prices, provide free green certification for the plant, and act as a legal and sustainable channel for battery disposal in the corporate sector. Through the advisory role provided by the company, it is possible to verify the institutions’ compliance with the Basel Convention, which the country signed on March 22, 1989, which relates to controlling the transportation and disposal of hazardous waste for a greener and more sustainable future.
Investment in palm trees
“It is a privilege for my team to discover a local, sustainable solution to a global problem, which works for a Dubai-based company that makes disposable tableware, which is made up of natural materials, including palm tree leaves,” says Lamis Al Hashemi. The idea began during Expo 2020, and through a simple workshop we succeeded in launching our product during the World Expo in Dubai two years ago.
Lamees Al Hashemi added: Every step of our seven-year journey was full of goals and perseverance. We have always aspired to use local resources, manufacture locally, and create Emirati innovations that will raise awareness of sustainable initiatives and encourage others to do the same.
Sustainable lifestyle
Al Hashemi said: We are very grateful that the UAE government always reinforces our values aimed at establishing a sustainable and responsible lifestyle, within a vision that defines the choices we make every day in order to protect resources and preserve nature for future generations. In this company, we devote our efforts to confronting the challenges facing our environment, especially confronting the threat of the negative effects of single-use plastics.
She added: By discovering the value of date palm biological waste, we found a way to recycle discarded date palm leaves and use them to manufacture organically degradable tableware. We also strive to offer our customers choice and alternative to single-use plastics, so that they are empowered to play their part in leading a more sustainable lifestyle. Lamees Al Hashemi stressed that she is a proud Emirati citizen of the pioneering efforts we see across the UAE as she aspires to lead the region towards a more sustainable mindset in all sectors, and hosting the long-awaited twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) is a testament to our commitment to achieving this. Sustainable goal.
Electronic waste
With a youth initiative, Muhammad Al-Hammadi, Muhammad Al-Karbi, and Ibrahim Saeed launched a project to recycle electronic waste. After graduating in 2020, they relied on an idea that started from a university graduation project that focused on the growing problem of electronic waste and finding sustainable solutions to this problem, so the project owners turned the idea into a LLC. M to be the first Emirati company of its kind specialized in this field.
Electronic waste constitutes 80% of the hazardous and toxic waste that is disposed of in landfills, and electronic waste is the highest growing type of waste in the world, as the amount of waste that will be produced in 2030 is equivalent to the weight of 148 buildings the size of the Burj Khalifa, and the company founded by engineers is trying The three are reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfills, promoting the concept of sustainability, and making use of the raw materials that come out of electronics, and this is what launches a path to a circular economy based on protecting resources.
Stimulating private investments
Bill Frist, a heart-lung transplant surgeon, former US Senate Majority Leader, and President of the World Council of the Nature Conservancy, concluded in an April 2023 Forbes article that the Inflation Control Act of 2022 made clear how politics could… The public can benefit from private investments in environmental work. This law strengthened confidence in and prioritized clean energy investments, thus accelerating the transition to electric vehicles, which significantly reduces the risks to many companies in decarbonizing and reducing emissions. Already, the inflation control law has generated nearly $110 billion in domestic clean energy projects, $86 billion in private investment, 51 new or expanded solar panel plants, 10 new battery-making plants, and more than 100,000 energy jobs. Clean.
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