Poland wastes at least 8.9 million tonnes of food every year. Credit: Claudia Ciobanu / IPS

By Rabiya Shabeeh
ABU DHABI, Jun 9 2017 (IPS)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is working on taking strides forward on climate change mitigation that are reflected by the establishment of the federal ministry of climate change, it’s commitment to develop a national climate change plan, and its ratification to the Paris Agreement in 2015, which pledged not to just keep warming ‘well below 2C’, but also to ‘pursue efforts’ to limit warming to 1.5C by 2018.

Several researches including one carried out by Daniel Mitchell and others at Oxford University states the difference between 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees will be marginal in annual average temperatures but would have a significant impact on reducing the probability of destructive weather events like floods, droughts, and heat waves.

Even without the additional threat posed by climate change, the price spikes of the global food crisis of 2008 exposed interlinked vulnerabilities associated with agricultural productivity and international food trade markets.

Those researches show that with an increase of greater than 1.5 in global temperatures, current challenges of soil destruction, inadequate water supply, and stagnant mono-cultured crop yields will be further exacerbated and are likely to lead to reduced crop productivity in food-exporting countries and increase food insecurity around the world.

The UAE has one of the highest rates of food waste in the world with an estimated 3.27 million tons of food, worth almost $4 billion, going into landfills every year, says a new report by the Emirates Environmental Group.

Food loss and waste accounts for about 4.4 giga-tonnes of GHG emissions per year, making it the world’s third largest emitter – surpassed only by China and the United States- according to figures recently released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The UAE is a country that is heavily dependent on food imports – 87 per cent of the UAE’s food supply is imported and dependent on international trade flow, according to a report released earlier this year.

The report, “UAE Climate Change: Risks and Resilience”, released in March by the Emirates Wildlife Society and World Wildlife Fund, shows that under the adverse impacts of climate change, recurrent retail food prices in the UAE will spike and/or result in the need for substantial food subsidies in the long term.

“Households throughout the seven emirates that have annual incomes at the lower end of the national range could find themselves in a position where they would be subject to spending a growing share of limited household budgets for food,” states the report.

As part of its climate change plan, the government is now encouraging efforts, both at macro and micro levels, to tackle the issue of food waste – with aims set to recycle food by 75 per cent in the next four years.

Food security occurred as the third most resonant topic at the 2017 World Government Summit held earlier this year in Dubai, where thousands of government leaders and international policy experts gathered to discuss global policies to harness innovation and technology.

Experts at the summit pointed out that governments alone are not up to the task of preventing global food shortages and combating climate change and that policy makers, the private sector, and individuals, each within their scope, must come together to work on combatting food waste.

“We need to work together to find creative ways to address food waste through the implementation of innovative technology, through awareness, and through changes in individual behaviors,” said Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE minister of climate change and the environment, at the summit.

One such initiative, the recently launched UAE Food Bank, has started facilitating the redistribution of excess food from hotels to low income households, via hubs housed in repurposed containers in partnership with local charities.

On average, the global hospitality industry wastes at least a quarter of all of the food they purchase, according to the UK based Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP).

Over 30 hotels in the UAE have now incorporated a program that Winnow Solutions, an analytical tool that helps chefs reduce food waste by measuring how much leftover food is being thrown out daily and then analyzing the data to provide information on wastage patterns that can then help reduce waste.

One of the first hotels to have adapted to the technology, Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre Hotel & Residences, reportedly reduced its food waste by almost 70 per cent in a few months, leading to annual savings of $20,000.

Hina Kamal, a food research analyst at Al Ain University, believes that the reduction in the knowledge gap on the issue amongst consumers will create a major stride in combatting the issue and lessening unnecessary strains on, both, their wallets and the environment.

“Did you know, for example, that you don’t have to store eggs in the fridge in the UAE climate? Or that stacking vegetables one on top of another results in fungus faster? People don’t normally know these things and this needs to change,” said Kamal.

Many environmental activists and bloggers are now working on campaign, #zerowasteuae, to share their personal experiences of working on achieving a zero-waste lifestyle, as well as to build awareness and encourage others to follow suit.

The post Inside UAE’s Quest to Reducing Food Waste appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Photovoltaic panels. Credit: IPS

By Rabiya Shabeeh
ABU DHABI, UAE, Jun 2 2017 (IPS)

A report by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) states that supplying the world with 95 per cent renewable sources by 2050 will not only reduce 80 per cent of GHG emissions from the energy sector but also save four trillion euros annually.

Plans to boost clean energy and reduce dependence on natural gas in generating power are at the core of UAE’s new energy policy for the next three decades, resulting in savings worth Dh700 billion (approximately 170 billion euros).

The UAE Energy Plan 2050, announced earlier this year, aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 70 per cent, increase clean energy use by 50 per cent, and improve energy efficiency by 40 per cent by the middle of the century.

“In the UAE, renewable energy is a principle pillar in our National Vision 2021 and Green Growth Strategy, and we have recently witnessed the launch of the world’s largest independent solar power station in the capital Abu Dhabi,” stated Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, minister of climate change and environment in a statement following the announcement of the plan. “Through this, we aim to bolster the country’s leading position as a global hub for the latest economic, environmental and technological practices,”

The UAE ratified the Paris Agreement in December 2015 which pledged not to just keep warming “well below two degrees Celsius”, but also to “pursue efforts” to limit warming to 1.5 degrees C by 2018 and has been making efforts to combatting climate change including efforts in increasing the share of renewable and nuclear energy in its total energy mix.

“If we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change we must limit global temperature rise to well below the 1.5°C threshold agreed to in Paris. To achieve that we must significantly scale up the roll out of renewable energy,” commented Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, head of WWF International’s Climate and Energy Practice, at the World Future Energy Summit, held in Abu Dhabi just after the announcement of the UAE Energy Plan 2050.

Last year, Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific analysis that measures government climate action, stated that UAE’s NDC required more clarity, particularly in terms of its renewable energy target.

UAE’s recently established 2050 policy targets for the source of energy for local consumption have been set at 44 per cent from renewable energy, 38 per cent from gas, 12 per cent from clean fossil and 6 per cent from nuclear energy. The integration of renewable, nuclear and clean fossil energy will be funded with investment of Dh600 billion over the next 33 years, equating to an annual spend of more than Dh17 billion.

Besides aiming to accelerate the move to efficient energy consumption and ensuring stable sources are maintained to diversify energy sources, a significant part of the strategy will focus on research, development, innovation, and creativity in the supply of sustainable energy.

Investments in graduate education for sustainable energy development have already begun- such as with the establishing of the Masdar Institute for Science and Technology in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Just recently, the Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF), in research partnership with Masdar and Baringa, announced its plan to assess the feasibility of up to a 100 per cent renewable energy in the UAE in a bid to facilitate enhanced energy security through diversification of domestic energy supply.

The project, known as the ‘100% Renewable Energy Vision for the UAE – 2050’ aims to assess the feasibility of transitioning to 75-100 per cent levels of renewable energy for power generation in the UAE as the country prepares for a post-oil era.

“Masdar Institute has conducted extensive research on the potential for renewable energy in the UAE, particularly solar energy, and with consideration of both the technologies and policies that the country can implement to achieve tangible results,” said Dr Steven Griffiths, vice president for research, interim associate provost at Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in a statement.

The climate and energy director at EWS-WWF, Tanzeed Alam, further elaborated that the project will build upon that research to test the boundaries of what the UAE can sustain in the advancement of renewable energy.

“Given the unlimited sunshine levels that we enjoy in the UAE, we believe that much more implementation of renewable energy is possible, but, where do we start? Which energy sources should we prioritize to achieve an optimal response? That’s precisely what the research aims to address.”

The project will work with energy authorities, utilities, private sector and government bodies to ensure the resulting action plan is effective and realistic as falling renewable energy technology and infrastructure costs continue to fall and drive up investment and employment in renewable energy globally.

“By setting out some clear and actionable recommendations, we believe that the UAE will be better equipped to move towards a climate-resilient future which will benefit UAE society, its economy and the environment,” added Alam.

This is the UAE’s first nationwide energy strategy reaching 2050, with previous national energy targets looking to generate 30 per cent of power from clean sources by 2030.

The post New Research to Unearth UAE’s Renewable Energy Potential appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Is the presence of the fossil fuel industry necessary in global climate change negotiations, or does their presence in these talks represent a conflict of interest and undermine global progress?

Offshore Oil Rig Drilling Platform. Credit: Bigstock

The push from developing countries to force fossil fuel lobbyists taking part in UN climate talks to declare conflicts of interest won one significant battle during an agreement made at COP23’s preliminary session earlier this month in Bonn, Germany.

A recent report by the US-based non-profit Corporate Accountability International (CAI) revealed that fossil fuel representatives are extensively represented in the associations that participate in UN climate talks.

While companies cannot participate in the talks themselves, membership-based business and industry non-government associations (BINGOs) can and they have been using backhanded tactics to stop key climate policies in their tracks, says the report.

Policies under the UN framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC) allow organizations with ‘observer status’, which include the likes of the National Mining Association, FuelsEurope, the World Coal Association, and the Business Council of Australia (of which members include Shell, ExxonMobil, and BP), to sit in meetings where delegates discuss policy options to avert climate disasters.

These organizations represent corporations with hefty track records of climate change denial and a portfolio that includes decades of profiting at the expense of the planet.

The UNFCCC’s Paris Agreement has locked in a crucial commitment to keep global temperature warming to “well below two °Celsius”, but also to “pursue efforts” to limit warming to 1.5 °C by 2018
“A transparent and clearly defined policy is essential if we are to truly protect the spirit and the goals of the Paris Agreement and if we are to have a fighting chance of limiting climate change to under 2° Celsius,” writes Mrinalini Shine, Environmental Law Researcher at the University of Cologne, Germany.

Many developing nations – collectively representing nearly 70 percent of the world’s population – have been fighting to incorporate a conflict of interest policy in the convention where such groups will be legally obliged to declare any and all conflicts.

For instance, in May 2016 at a meeting in Bonn, the Venezuelan delegate stated that UNFCCC’s Paris agreement was an ‘instrument between states’ and made a ‘moral request’ that lobbyists declare conflicts of interest.

However, these demands were met with fierce resistance from richer nations, with the US, EU, Norway, and Australia leading the battle.

During one panel discussion in Bonn this month, Norway’s delegate stated that excluding companies based on their interests would be ‘counterproductive’ while Australia’s delegation head said that the private sector was a key part of financing the transition to a low-carbon economy.

“Some of the companies being alluded to as the polluters of policy will be the providers of the biggest and best solutions,” said Australia’s delegate. “And you could look at some of the statements coming out of ExxonMobil and Shell recently to underline that point.”

An investigation conducted in 2015 by Inside Climate News, a non-profit environmental news organization, exposed that ExxonMobil knew of climate change from as early as 1981 but only to spend millions of dollars in the years that followed to promote climate denial.

CIA’s report, in addition, revealed that the US Chamber of Commerce has been receiving millions of dollars from ExxonMobil for ‘public information campaigns’. To top it off, the Trump administration in the US, in its full-scale attack on the US environmental policy that includes dismantling the Clean Power Plan, also recently installed Exxon Mobil’s former CEO, Rex Tillerson, as secretary of state.

“With so many arsonists in the fire department, it’s no wonder we’ve failed to put the fire out,” said Tamar Lawrence-Samuels, CAI’s international policy director, in a statement.

This, however, does not imply that there is no role at all for the fossil fuels industry to play in slowing global warming, states CAI’s report.

The report elaborated that the industry must transform its business practices to align with the commitments made by the global community to rein in the crisis, embrace the solutions created by the scientific community to minimize further devastation, and strive to meet global social and economic progress.

UNFCCC’s newly negotiated agreement commits to enhancing ‘openness, transparency and inclusiveness’ and calls for stakeholders – any person or group affected by climate change or policy to submitt their views on how that could be achieved.

“As a global community, we have an unprecedented opportunity to solve the climate crisis head-on at the precise moment when everything people, justice, and the planet hangs in the balance,” said a sppokesperson for CAI in a statement.

Activists, pressure groups, and even government bodies from developing countries that are now actively seeking justice for the planet and its people must keep pushing towards the solutions the convention has agreed to seek.

The convention is accepting suggestions on how to address the issue from member nations, and aims to take them up next year.

The post Big polluting lobbyists may be forced to declare interests at UN talks appeared first on Inter Press Service.