The UAE Council for Climate Change and Environment held its third meeting in 2019 at the headquarters of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, MOCCAE, in Dubai
Chaired by Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, minister of climate change and environment, the participants discussed some of the major environmental initiatives that have been implemented or are currently underway across the UAE.
As reported in the Emirates News Agency (WAM), in addition to the council members, the meeting was attended by vital environment stakeholders from federal and local entities in the country.
During the meeting, Al Zeyoudi highlighted the importance of the council’s meetings in charting the way forward for projects and initiatives addressing the most crucial environmental challenges facing the UAE, preserving its natural resources and ensuring its sustainability.
“The council, through these regular meetings, aspires to find solutions to the crucial environmental challenges faced by the UAE while maintaining economic growth and protecting cultural and civilisational heritage. It also aims to develop and implement a comprehensive and ambitious plan that will serve as a regional benchmark in dealing with climate change and the environment," he said.
The council reviewed the structure, details and developments of the draft federal law on climate change. The law will seek to develop a general federal framework for climate action, and ensure its efficiency across all sectors, in line with the UAE’s direction to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to them at all levels.
MOCCAE finalised the draft ministerial resolution on climate change, to identify roles and put legislation in place to reduce the effects of climate change, as well as promote the involvement of the community and stakeholders in the decision-making process.
The second topic on the meeting agenda was reviewing the latest updates on the online Biosecurity Early Notification System, launched by MOCCAE in July 2019. The system is a unified national platform that enables the public to report suspected cases of emerging epidemic threats and foodborne diseases to facilitate early identification and verification of outbreaks.
