UAE Adopts 22 Measures to Hasten the Shift to a Circular Economy
The UAE Circular Economy Council has approved 22 regulations aimed at expediting the circular economy model's implementation in the country.
The measures will prioritise the manufacturing, food, infrastructure, and transportation industries. At least sixteen circular economy activities, such as upcycling textile waste into new goods, developing automated artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled waste management solutions, and remanufacturing electronic trash, were highlighted by the council at its second meeting of 2022.
Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said: "With the cabinet’s approval of the UAE Circular Economy Policy in January 2021, we have embarked on an ambitious and important mission to transition from a linear model to a circular economy approach. Our current linear economy consumes valuable materials and resources without being able to benefit from them after use, which represents waste in the modern concept of sustainability.
"Our approach seeks to protect our environment and to ensure the long-term economic and social prosperity of our country.
"45 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions result from producing cars, clothes, food, and other products used every day, demonstrating the great potential that lies in a circular economy, which can mitigate the current climate crisis."
Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri stated that the Council's Circular Economy Policies Committee recently held workshops and meetings with the government and private sectors, as well as international partners, to support the implementation of the UAE Circular Economy Policy in four key sectors – manufacturing, green infrastructure, transportation, and food production and consumption – and the 22 new policies issued to drive the UAE's overall transition.
“These policies will contribute to addressing all challenges the private sector is facing in its shift to a circular economy and support the country’s green development drive. The Committee continues its efforts to implement the UAE Circular Economy Policy 2021-2031 through programmes and projects that are set to attract investments to this field and expand its infrastructure. Efforts are also being exerted to establish a circular economy database, in addition to offering incentives to encourage the private sector to shift towards clean production methods,” he stated.
The UAE Circular Economy Policy, which was approved in January 2021, outlines the ideal strategy for the country's transformation to a circular economy.
Its goals include constructing a sustainable economy, supporting the efficient use of natural resources, pushing the private sector to embrace cleaner industrial production methods involving AI and other 4IR technologies, and adopting sustainable consumption and production patterns.
A circular economy encourages the reduction of waste and the sustainable use of natural resources in perpetuity.
The Circular Economy Council of the United Arab Emirates consists of seventeen representatives of federal and municipal government institutions, private sector firms, and international organisations.
Source: Gulf Business
