Shorouk Awad (Dubai)
The UAE’s participation in the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change “COP27”, which the sisterly Republic of Egypt holds the current presidency of in Sharm El-Sheikh from 6 to 18 November, comes under the slogan “Together towards implementation to achieve fair and ambitious results”, the important role that The UAE is doing at the regional and international levels in the environmental field, which constitutes a model based on transforming all challenges into growth opportunities in light of a system of standards that preserve the environment and integrate work for climate in its various sectors such as air quality, so that the UAE has become today one of the main players in environmental field.
Despite what a new World Bank report indicated ahead of the “COP27” events, air pollution levels in major cities in the Middle East and North Africa are among the highest in the world, with urban residents breathing on average more than 10 times the level of pollutants in the air. Which is considered safe by the World Health Organization at the same time.. the UAE rectified this issue early on considering air pollution and climate change as two sides of the same coin, as they are dealt with separately, and then addressed together, which qualifies it to form a leading model for countries in the region To protect the future of humanity from those dangers.
With the extensive participation of more than 100 heads of state, heads of government, ministers, heads of international bodies, civil society organizations and youth, in the “COP 27” events, to find urgent rescue solutions to meet the challenges of the effects of climate change, the UAE’s pioneering efforts converge through its initiatives, projects and strategy, which it launches periodically in This connection with global trends to work seriously to confront them, in an important step to protect the environment of the region and the world from climate change and air pollution together.
With what air pollution represents as one of the important problems facing the future of humanity and threatening the public health of humans and the environment alike, air pollution, according to the World Bank report, causes about 270,000 deaths annually (more than the deaths caused by traffic accidents, diabetes, malaria, tuberculosis, virus and disease). AIDS and acute hepatitis combined), and the average population of the region will be ill for at least 60 days during their lives due to exposure to high levels of air pollution, the UAE has made great efforts to ensure that the level of air quality is raised.
early realization
The UAE realized early on the role of air quality in promoting healthy and sustainable life in general for its residents, and therefore it placed air quality among its main priorities and gave it a key performance indicator within the National Agenda for Vision 2021 and the UAE Centennial goals, which focus heavily on quality of life and a sustainable economy. The country also looks forward through a specific vision The Air Quality Dossier aims to “enhance the contribution of air quality to a safe and healthy environment to improve the quality of life” on its soil.
accelerated renaissance
With the acceleration of the renaissance of the UAE in a short period of time and the increasing population and economic growth, and the resulting pressures and forces affecting air quality, which is one of the areas of the environmental sector, but it worked to reduce it and address its negative effects and projections as quickly as possible, based on the realization The importance of keeping air quality considerations as a main focus and pillar of development, as the state has worked within its efforts to issue and launch several initiatives aimed at raising and monitoring air quality, such as direct and actual measurement of the air quality ratio in 2014, and the use of artificial intelligence such as satellites to monitor air quality air during 2016, developing “algorithms and models” to predict air and dust quality in 2017, monitoring the compliance of various industrial activities with national standards, relying on renewable energy to generate electricity and many more.
national platform
The UAE has launched the National Air Quality Platform, which represents a unified reference to the state of air quality on a daily basis in the various emirates of the country, which helps in a better understanding of the effects on air quality and contribute to preserving the health of the population and the environment, in addition to adopting a unified mechanism for reporting data from all monitoring stations. With the aim of calculating the air quality index and the particulate matter concentration index, the platform also provides the necessary information that enables community members to avoid areas with high levels of pollution, especially groups suffering from health problems, or the elderly and children, in addition to benefiting from this information by multiple sectors. Including the health and academic sectors.
quality indicator
The state, through the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, based on its responsibility for the environment and climate change file, launched the UAE air quality index within its smart application, in order to display the air quality in the country, and monitor its quality in real time via satellite, which allows the use of innovative and modern technologies in live monitoring operations. In addition to displaying forecasts for air quality status for a period of up to three consecutive days, algorithms were developed to predict air quality and particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns.
The indicator explains to community members what the local air quality means to their health, in terms of the level of purity, or the level of pollution, and the health effects of each level. The calculation of the air quality index is based on measurements of 5 major pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, ground ozone, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter.
The ministry also launched the national project to inventory air pollutants emissions at the state level, with the aim of updating inventories of air pollutants emissions and inventorying emissions of air pollutants from influential sectors, including energy, transportation, building and construction, agriculture, waste and livestock.
Vision 2021
As air quality represents a major issue for the country, the National Agenda of the UAE Vision 2021 aimed to raise the air quality rate to 90% by 2021. Accordingly, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment worked with its partners in the public and private sectors to develop national efforts in various ways, focused on one Pollution sources by employing the latest systems and technologies and applying best practices, including setting and developing national air pollution standards and monitoring compliance with them, shifting towards a green economy, increasing the use of clean energies in various fields, sustaining the transport sector, developing an air quality monitoring network and relying on technologies and solutions Smart in monitoring the types of pollutants.
Air Quality Agenda
As part of the country’s efforts regarding air quality, it has launched, through the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the “National Agenda for Air Quality 2031” during the current year, as a general framework to lead and coordinate the efforts of federal and local government agencies, and private sector institutions in monitoring and managing air quality effectively, and mitigating pollution, to ensure Enhancing air quality and contributing to a safe and healthy environment and improving the quality of life, in line with the goals of the UAE Centennial 2071.
The agenda identified 4 strategic directions that must be dealt with to ensure the achievement of the state’s directions regarding air quality, which include reducing outdoor air pollution levels and exposure, improving indoor air quality levels and reducing risks to human health, reducing exposure levels to surrounding odors, reducing noise levels and maintaining them within the limits. allowed.
The National Air Quality Agenda is based on 3 strategic pillars, namely monitoring, mitigation, and management, and it includes 4 main axes. The first is concerned with outdoor air quality. The work directions identified in the agenda include 8 major work programs and 29 projects in a group of sectors, including transportation, energy, electricity generation, construction and waste. The second is indoor air quality, which includes 3 main work programs and 6 projects that focus on standards for building materials and materials used in housework and maintenance, and the third axis ambient odors, which includes 4 work programs and 10 projects distributed over the waste management sector, waste water and the industrial sector in general, and the fourth axis is concerned with noise. The ocean includes 5 work programs and 16 projects in the transport, building and construction sectors and the industrial sector.
The agenda’s initiatives contribute to reducing emissions of air pollutants, achieving many benefits, including reducing air pollution and climate change, reducing emissions of some substances known to cause global warming such as black carbon and methane, and reducing respiratory diseases.
environmental policy
Air quality constitutes the third axis of the eight axes of the general environmental policy in the country, which is based on a set of objectives, including raising the contribution of clean energy in the energy mix in the country to 50% by 2050, and improving air quality to reach 100% according to national borders by 2040. And many others, in addition to the main directions of improving the quality of ambient and indoor air and reducing ambient noise and odors, pointing out that the Ministry is working on studying the alignment of existing federal and local initiatives, programs and plans with the objectives of the axis.
In addition to cooperating with the academic sector in the field of studies and research to study the environmental, economic and social impacts of all environmental trends and to set interim plans and targets.
Execution Mechanism
Given the nature of air quality and its impact on several sectors and the difference of partners in each area of the agenda, national teams were formed to manage each area separately, and the roles and responsibilities of the initiatives were defined in the implementation plan, which depends on the successful completion of activities through the cooperation and commitment of the concerned authorities to implement The Agenda, while the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment acts as the lead and monitors the Agenda, to submit a report on the progress of the action plan to the Emirates Council for Environmental and Municipal Action.
station network
The level of air quality at the national level is monitored and monitored at the national level in the UAE, through a network of ground monitoring stations distributed throughout the country, and the total number of these stations reached 56 stations in 2021, after it was 39 stations in 2017, and these stations are affiliated to the competent authorities in each emirate, including The Abu Dhabi Environment Agency, Dubai Municipality, Environment and Natural Reserves Authority, Ajman Municipality and Planning Department and Fujairah Municipality, in addition to stations affiliated with the National Center of Meteorology.
The working mechanism of the monitoring stations is based primarily on monitoring the variables in carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, suspended particles (dust), wind speed and direction. , air temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and many more.
Reduction in pollutants
The UAE witnessed a significant decrease in the annual average concentration of ground ozone pollution in the country’s residential sites, according to data from air quality monitoring stations for the period between (2017-2021), to reach in 2021 (59 µg/m3), after it was (69 µg/m3). g/m³) in 2017, with the average decrease over the past year reaching 15%, which is an indication of the effectiveness of the UAE’s policies in managing and monitoring air quality effectively, and mitigating pollution to protect humans and ecosystems, according to the latest data of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
The data also showed that the country recorded a significant decrease in the annual averages of inhalable particles (10 microns in diameter) in 2021 from most residential areas in which particulate concentration was measured by about 10% from the averages in 2017, reaching the average in 2021 (113 microns in diameter) g/m³) compared to 2017 (126 μg/m³).
The data also indicated a continuous decline in the annual average concentration of sulfur dioxide in most of the residential areas of the country during the previous five years. (7 µg/m3) and in 2017 (10 µg/m3).
The data pointed out that the annual average concentration of nitrogen dioxide in residential sites decreased during the past five years, to reach about 22% in 2021 from 2017, where the average reached in 2021 (29 µg/m³) and in 2017 (38 µg/m3). /meter³).
national efforts
The improvement of air quality in the country was an inevitable result of the national efforts that exist in many influential sectors such as energy, infrastructure, transport, building and construction, waste, industry and municipalities. Waste strategy, circular economy strategy and many others, in addition to the recent updates adopted by the competent authorities regarding some specifications related to types of fuels, vehicles, devices and others, which also contributed to increasing efficiency, improving air quality and reducing emissions.
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