A long way still to a green economy

A white paper on how green and eco-friendly we are is a good start. Now, for the hard bit

With the UAE abundant in sunshine as well as oil, solar farms like the Shams 1 site in Madinat Zayed will help the country's energy security. Photo: Silvia Razgova / The National

The UAE has made notable progress in its attempt to diversify energy sources but there is a long way to go before we can claim to be a truly green economy. That is the blunt truth and here are a few more. The world is still almost entirely dependent on hydrocarbons to fuel transportation, manufacturing and electricity. Renewables, despite being more sustainable and environmentally-friendly, are too expensive to be practical and certainly not for large-scale use. Clearly, oil still wins any contest – on price, availability and efficiency.

And yet, it is important even for us, an oil-exporting country, to conserve energy and move as quickly and smoothly as possible towards more renewable sources of energy, especially solar, given the UAE’s abundant sunlight. There are a number of reasons for this, not least that consuming less will result in reaping the benefits of opportunity. This means that every litre we don’t use at home, can be sold abroad. The focus on renewables has to start at the usual point – investment. We need to direct resources towards renewable energy research in order to develop more efficient methods and technologies. In parallel, we should strengthen conservation efforts and build frugal consumption habits.

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week offers us the ideal opportunity to strengthen the UAE's position as a regional leader in the search for renewable energy solutions. By hosting the conference, we build networking opportunities with the green geeks who may be running tomorrow's (wondrously clean and green) world. As The National reported yesterday, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and chairman of the green future energy company Masdar, has said the event will help attract investment and cultivate important partnerships to improve technologies.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment and Water's first annual State of Green Economy Report is an important exercise in stocktaking. It has suggested better coordination of national and local policies and encouraging industry and individuals to live more greenly, which probably means a range of measures, such as turning off the tap while you brush your teeth; setting the air conditioning a degree or two higher, using public transport, and similar. Let this year be the start of our very own green revolution, if only by evolution.