Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Chairs Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi Board of Directors Meeting and Praises its Achievements During the Year of Sustainability

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) praised the great support and attention that His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, continually offers to the Agency. His Highness stated that this significant level of support helped EAD achieve prominent results during the Year of Sustainability in addressing important environmental issues locally and globally, and assisted the Agency in implementing its strategic initiatives and projects as it works towards achieving its vision, mission and goals of preserving the environment and ensuring the sustainability of its natural resources and biological diversity, ensuring a healthy environment for all.

During the meeting, His Highness also praised the important role EAD played in the UAE’s hosting of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) at Expo Dubai towards the end of last year. He noted the Agency’s successful participation in many important initiatives in the field of natural habitat preservation and environmental protection through its participation in more than 170 events. He added the Agency’s focus on implementing a range of projects and programmes reinforces its commitment to working to confront the repercussions of climate change and its implementation of Abu Dhabi Climate Change Strategy, and achieving the goals of the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative. In addition to building local and global partnerships during the conference – with six cooperation frameworks agreed at COP28 – the Agency also signed 18 memoranda of understanding during the past year in the field of environmental protection and scientific research that will comprehensively address environmental challenges.

12th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC2024) to Emphasise the Impact of Environmental Education in Abu Dhabi

As a progression of the pivotal discussions from COP28, the World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC2024), featuring the participation of IUCN, was launched last Monday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC). This congress takes a place until 2^nd of February focus on the power of education in confronting the Triple Planetary Crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. This transformative gathering aims to address global environmental challenges through education and will serve as a hub for inspiration and actionable strategies with an array of influential speakers, including educators, NGOs and academia.

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and Zayed University Collaborate to Develop Green House Gas Emission Factors for Abu Dhabi

In line with the Abu Dhabi Climate Change Strategy and as part of the Abu Dhabi Environmental Research Network (ADERN), the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and Zayed University have announced a research collaboration to develop Green House Gas (GHG) emission factors for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Announced during COP28, the partnership will see both entities work to identify the emission factors needed to accurately calculate Abu Dhabi’s GHG inventory. The research will help develop sector-specific emission factors through the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data, and help develop local emission factors for sectors where no data currently exists. The research will review existing studies conducted in the region, reports, and databases on global and regional GHG emissions to gain a comprehensive understanding of completeness and applicability of emission factors appropriate to the specifics of Abu Dhabi.

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi Signs a Memorandum of Understanding with PureHealth

Following the recent conclusion of COP28, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), the region’s largest environmental regulator, and PureHealth, the largest healthcare platform in the Middle East, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct specialised studies and research programmes to explore the effect of environmental impacts on public health. The MoU mandates the cooperation of both entities on the preparation of environmental studies that explore the interconnection with public health in Abu Dhabi, and aim to address critical environmental challenges and their implications on community well-being. Working groups will be formed to identify specific collaboration areas based on EAD’s focus areas and priorities, ensuring that the research efforts support government policies and objectives of ensuring a healthy environment for all. Both organisations will also share data and research expertise as well as capacity building initiatives through training programmes and knowledge exchange.