Environmental Education - The Business Year

Spreading awareness of environmental issues, as well solutions, is key to protecting the environment.

Dr. Nasser Saidi

Chairman, Clean Energy Business Council

Through AGEDI’s Climate Change program, AGEDI has developed many partnerships across the region. At a local level, our main partners include AGEDI, the Abu Dhabi Municipality, the Urban Planning Council, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company, and Masdar. At a national level, we work closely with the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Energy, the Emirates Wildlife Society, as well as the Global Green Growth Institute. At a regional level, our partners include the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for West Asia (UNEP-ROWA), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia, the Regional Organization for the Protection of the Marine Environment, and the Arabian Gulf University. Plans for 2017 include building a partnership with the Statistic Center of Abu Dhabi (SCAD) in order to make our projects more relevant to the local context as well as include a broader perspective around socio-economic data and sustainable development.

Saeed Al Mehairbi

General Manager, Tadweer

Climate change is a legacy issue, and our choices will determine and either constrain or widen the options for future generations. Climate change is a non-linear system and is highly dynamic, which is why we need to plan ahead on a global basis and at the level of countries, communities, businesses, and households. The young, current generations are the main stakeholders and will have the crucial, determining role to play; despite President Trump, addressing climate change goes beyond short-term tactics and politics. It is shocking that, despite all the scientific evidence, there is still climate change denial. Raising awareness of climate change among young people is critical to move forward, and we need to make sure it is on the agenda of all politicians and governments. In this context, the UAE is ahead of the curve, having appointed a Minister of Climate Change. Every country should have such a climate change minister because the issues and choices are all encompassing.

Ahmed Abdulmuttaleb Baharoon

Acting Director, Ahmed Abdulmuttaleb Baharoon

Tadweer’s public awareness team has been working hard to educate the public about how to segregate waste. They have been visiting door-to-door and setting up awareness centers in residential areas to cultivate a sustainable waste culture. The team has been educating school children, and the students at public schools have responded well and adopted an excellent recycling culture. The public awareness team has also been conducting events at shopping malls to educate people about how they can avoid food wastage and do more recycling. Tadweer is an authority for waste management in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. We regularly interact and conduct benchmarking studies with other Emirates within UAE as well as other authorities in different countries. Bee’ah from Sharjah is one of our contracted service providers for waste collection. Abu Dhabi has demonstrated one of the best construction and demolition waste recycling facilities in the country, which is acknowledged by Ministry of Climate Change and Environment as well.