Environmental threats have been at the top of most wealthy countries agenda for some time now, yet progress has been slow and many global voices are accelerating their plea for international organizations to speed up efforts to reverse global warming in order to prevent further natural disasters.
The U.A.E. was among a select few countries that recognized the necessity of ‘going green’ over the last decade. For true change to happen, all aspects of life must adopt green methods, which in the UAE’s case resulted in million dollar green investments throughout the country. For some however, the idea of going green is a mere socially responsive action on behalf of the company, but many believe it’s the way forward not just for benefiting the environment but also for those who take the leap and invest heavily in green technologies and practices.
A decade ago, many banks and investors didn’t believe in funding green projects in the region, partly because the level of awareness in environmental issues was not there, and therefore initiatives or ideas weren’t seen as profitable, but nowadays, particularly in the U.A.E. companies are facing continuous pressure to reduce their carbon emissions driven by the new rules and regulations enforced by the government, and the growing demand from customers for sustainable products is greater than ever.
Different investments needed
The Arab Forum for Environment and Development, recently announced figures from a report due to be made public by October, the Green Economy report looked at ways to turn the whole region into a green society. The report says it will take around $20bn in investments to convert the existing buildings in Arab countries into green buildings, and it estimates returns of $100 billion in just 10 years.
The published report will include the expected benefits of transitioning Arab economies into Green friendly environments through eight sectors: Energy, water, agriculture, industry, cities and buildings, transport, tourism and waste management.
The published report will include the expected benefits of transitioning Arab economies into Green friendly environments through eight sectors: Energy, water, agriculture, industry, cities and buildings, transport, tourism and waste management.
The “going green” trend is in full swing as the new alternative investment in the UAE and remains a global investment opportunity for other countries, according to Petko Draganov, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Speaking during the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) in Dubai this year, Draganov said that global climate change requires a massive financial and technological response and needs around $440bn in investments until 2015, and for 2030, the estimates for investments needed to reach this target range are even higher, up to $1.2 trillion.
“In 2009 low carbon investment amounted to about $90bn, most of which is primarily found in alternative or renewable energy, recycling activities and environmental technology manufacturing,” he added.
For the UAE alone, Abdullah Al Saleh, the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Trade said during the AIM that the country needed $20bn for green investments in the next seven years.
Energy as a safety net
The diversity of investments in the UAE was an important shield for the country against the global recession, while the real estate sector was badly affected by the recession, other sectors such as SME’s remained consistent. And now, depending on oil as the only source of cash is no longer an option in the country as the government support the renewable energy projects and researches to gain its place among other developed countries in this field, and in 2011 there was an international recognition of the UAE’s efforts in renewable energy field by making Abu Dhabi the permanent home to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Besides IRENA, there are other initiatives and events the UAE is dedicated to have in support of its objectives of sustainability and its responsibility towards the environment, like (CEM) the Clean Energy Ministerial meeting, the C3E forum, part of Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) initiative, the Renewable Energy Forum, and many others.
The UAE also is planning to provide 25% of its power requirements through nuclear energy, a project expected to be online by 2020 in Abu Dhabi, and Masdar city-world’s first zero waste and carbon neutral city is also expected to be completed between 2020 and 2025.
UN report
According to a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report called Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication, investing only 2 % of global GDP, roughly US$1.3tn, into different green investments will lead to a green and sustainable economy in the near future, while on the other hand much of the world capital was used in the wrong investments like the real estate, and very little money was invested in sustainable agriculture, ecosystem, renewable energy, energy efficiency, public transportation and other green projects.
According to a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report called Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication, investing only 2 % of global GDP, roughly US$1.3tn, into different green investments will lead to a green and sustainable economy in the near future, while on the other hand much of the world capital was used in the wrong investments like the real estate, and very little money was invested in sustainable agriculture, ecosystem, renewable energy, energy efficiency, public transportation and other green projects.
The report also focused on the importance of agriculture as a key sector in a green economy, and according to the report current farming practices use more than 70 % of global freshwater resources and contribute to more than 13 % of greenhouse gases.
The UNEP calculates that green agriculture investments ranging from $100bn to $300bn from 2010 to 2050 would increase global yields for major crops, representing an improvement of 10 % over current investment strategies, while the report stated that the construction sector is responsible for more than a third of global resource consumption including 12% of the freshwater, and the climate footprint of the building sector is projected to almost double to the equivalent of almost 15.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030.