How we build cities key to environmental sustainability conference hears

Officials at a major environmental conference in Abu Dhabi have stressed the importance of building cities that are as resource efficient as possible.

ABU DHABI // Officials at a major environmental conference in the capital have stressed the importance of building cities that are as resource efficient as possible.

Razan Al Mubarak, director general of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), speaking at the Ecocities Conference, cited evidence that suggests that the world consumed its natural resources for the year two months ago - meaning we have been overconsuming since August.

Dubbed “overshoot day”, August 13 marked the day when use of the Earth’s natural resources overshot what the planet can renew in a year.

“We have been using this overdraft since the 1970’s, the last time we were collectively living sustainably on the planet,” she said.

She said that a main reason for this is how we live in our cities.

“Approximately 60-80 per cent of emissions come from cities,” she said “If we are to change our planet, we need to change how we build, and coexist in urban areas.”

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 90 per cent of the UAE residents live in cities – a statistic that, according to Reem Al Hashemy, Minister of State and director general of Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau, is the way forward.

“The question is not ‘Should we be building for the future?’ but, ‘How should we be building for the future?’. And part of the answer comes from the confluence of new technologies, unprecedented sharing of knowledge, faster processing and endless worldwide innovation. All of which has created a new wave in urban design,” she said.

She added that the ecocity is an idea that Abu Dhabi and Dubai are working towards, and that government integration is key.

“If the world is going to achieve sustainable development, policies, business models and lifestyles that we choose in cities will be critical,” said Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, director of energy and climate change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ms Al Mubarak said that people are increasingly concentrated in cities, with the UN forecasting that about 5 billion people will live in urban areas by 2030.

With this increase, it is imperative, she said, that the world begin to push the earth’s overshoot day further back into the year, until we reach a point where the earth is producing enough for our consumption.

“It is therefore clear that if we are to push Earth Overshoot Day back into September, October, and then keep going until we no longer have an overshoot day. Cities must be at the heart of the solution,” she said.

“And we already see evidence of this. At a cities level we see ambition, action and forward momentum.”