Sustainable Production & Consumption Framework

As for promoting responsible consumption and production to meet SDG 12, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MoCCaE) has been conducting several public awareness campaigns to encourage more sustainable production and consumption patterns across the country. Moreover, the MoCCaE has developed the UAE National Sustainable Consumption and Production Plan Framework, which is a part of the implementation of the UAE's Green Agenda 2030.

Objectives

The framework aims to:

• Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources by supporting the transition to a circular economy
• Support private sector to shift to cleaner production methods and use cleaner production techniques in industries
• Promote sustainable production and consumption patterns that reduce environmental stress and meet basic needs.

Priorities

The framework focuses on a number of sectors of high priority on the basis of the current situation of each of the following production and manufacturing sectors:

Energy

The UAE succeeded in reducing its ecological footprint from 11.68 hectares per person in 2006 to 7.75 hectares per person in 2014.

Strategies and initiatives for green growth

The concept of sustainable consumption and production is underlined by the UAE’s Green Growth Strategy also called the Green Economy initiative which was launched under the slogan: A green economy for sustainable development and the UAE Green Agenda 2015-2030.

Highlights of the UAE Green Agenda 2015-2030:

Sourced from: UAE Green Economy Report – Second Edition 2016

The UAE launched many initiatives to promote sustainable energy resources. These include:

• applying the slab tariff under which consumers’ utility charges will depend on their usage and the cost of fuel supplied to the power plant; this is currently being applied by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.
• establishing the Conservation department at Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority for raising customer awareness on energy conservation and how to reduce consumption of water and power

• establishing a new department for energy conservation and energy efficiency

• introducing the energy efficiency standardisation and labelling by Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA)
• banning the import of inefficient incandescent light bulbs (bulbs with tungsten filament) by ESMA (link from Gulf News)
• implementing the green and sustainable building standards (PDF) by Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Executive Council and Dubai Government  
• implementing the Emirates Energy Star programme by Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Etisalat and Pacific Controls
• introducing Estidama and the Pearl Building Rating system by Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council
• participating in Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (Wetex)
• abiding by demand side management strategies by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy
• launching Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 and Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050
• deregulating the fuel prices by Ministry of Energy to support the national economy, lower fuel consumption, protect the environment and preserve national resources.

Waste to energy

The UAE launched many waste to energy (WtE) projects to use the waste matter into something useful and also to establish one more stable source of energy. Read about waste to energy.

Processing electronic waste (eWaste)

In 2007, the UAE-based telecom company Etisalat Corporation ran a campaign called EnviroFone where disposed eWaste was collected and recycled. The campaign collected 200,000 mobile phones and 52 tonnes of eWaste.

Check eWaste recycling centres in the UAE (Gulf News).

Read more about: 

• treatment of wastewater in the Infrastructure file
• waste management in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah in the Environment and energy file. 

Marine life

In 1999, the UAE passed Federal Law No. 23 concerning the Exploitation, Protection and Development of the Living Aquatic Resources (PDF). Under this law, the person wishing to fish and his boat and gears must be licensed.

Ministry of Climate Change and Environment launched the UAE Sustainable Fisheries programme (Gulf News) to ensure sustainable fishing. This programme will be implemented from 2016 to 2018 during which fisheries would be monitored and new legislations will be implemented.

In addition, the ministry issued Ministerial Decree No. 471 for 2016 to regulate surface fishing using beach seines. The resolution reflects the ministry's aim to regulate professional fishing to preserve, develop and ensure the sustainability of fish stocks and enhance food security by protecting fish stocks from depletion. The decree standardised the specifications of the seines that should be used during the hunt. It also specified the open season for surface fishing to be from 1 October to 30 June of the following year, to avoid depletion of fish.

Useful links:

• Environment laws and legislations - Ministry of Climate Change & Environment

Food

Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment told Gulf News that food wastage costs the UAE economy around AED 13 billion annually. Food that ends up in landfill emits methane which is more potent than carbon dioxide and adds to global warming.

The UAE works towards eliminating food wastage through:

• The food bank initiative

  In 2017, the UAE launched a food bank. It is a non-profit charitable organisation. It distributes food to those in need by collecting and distributing fresh food from hotels, restaurants and supermarkets.

   

• The I’mperfect initiative

In 2015, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment together with Blue Planet Green People launched a national campaign titled the I’mperfect initiative to reduce food waste by encouraging food businesses to buy and the public to consume fruits and vegetables that look imperfect or odd, but taste the usual.

Read more about sustainable consumption in energy sector in the environment and energy page.

Water

Desalination plants

Due to lack of freshwater sources, it is important for the UAE to identify a sustainable desalination solution to meet long-term water needs. Many desalination plants were established to meet this end which include:

• Abu Dhabi's Shuweihat S2 power and water plant - It has a production capacity of 1510 MW of electricity and 100 Million Imperial Gallons (MIGD) of water per day.

• Dubai's Jebel Ali M Power Station - It is the largest power and desalination plant in the UAE, with six gas turbines capable of producing 2060 MW and 140 MIGD of water.

• The Fujairah F2 Plant - It is a greenfield power generation and seawater desalination plant with 2850 MW of power capacity and 230 MIGD of water.

For further readings, refer to the UAE Yearbook 2013.

Water in agriculture

To save water consumption in agriculture, the UAE installed modern irrigation systems replacing the flood irrigation method (sprinkler, drip and fountain irrigation systems) which wastes large amounts of water. The use of modern irrigation systems rose to 91 per cent in 2011 from 32 per cent in 1999.

The UAE is also using soilless agricultural technology in several projects to increase the efficiency of water, fertilisers and soil.

Read more about the sustainable development goal 'Responsible consumption and production'.

Check the following links for further readings on responsible consumption and production in the UAE:

• UAE State of Green Economy Report 2014 (PDF)
• UAE ecological footprint has dropped - The National
• 15 new recycling stations set for Dubai - Gulf News
• Dubai Municipality launches waste collection, recycling drive - Khaleej Times