Abu Dhabi:  The UAE has called on nations to move forward and take urgent steps to prevent climate change and its catastrophic impact on all humanity.

Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment and Water, yesterday said that it was no longer acceptable for nations to continue with the ‘business as usual' approach.

"It is not acceptable anymore for the attitude ‘business as usual' to continue dominating with the presence of such escalating the risk of climate change," Fahad said at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) in Abu Dhabi.

He stressed that urgency was required particularly in light of last month's Copenhagen summit on climate change, which fell far short of expectations.

"The Copenhagen summit is a page that history has folded as it had folded pages before. It failed to achieve the desired international conformity with respect to facing climate change," he said.

Bin Fahad added that nations needed to move fast to build an effective and long-term partnership approach.

"Wasting time does not serve the interests of anyone," he said.

Scientific reports indicate that without a major reduction in the current level of carbon emissions, the world may witness radical increases in global temperatures in the region of 6C by the end of this century.

Such an increase would have a catastrophic impact on all of humanity, Bin Fahad pointed out.

"The developing countries, the most exposed ones to [the] passive impact of the climate change due to many factors, have always shown willingness to share [with] the international community its efforts to confront the climate change, despite their meagre contribution in worsening this phenomena," he said.

Speaking at one of the plenary sessions at WFES titled ‘What now, after Copenhagen?' Bin Fahad said that it was hoped that the major players, especially, would give up their economic and political interests to reach a satisfactory agreement. However, that obviously did not happen, he said.

Misplaced priorities

"Most of the negotiations were based on purely political and economic grounds rather than scientific ones, which were reflected in the Copenhagen Accord," he added.

Analysing the accord, he said that it did not reflect the wishes of participating delegations as it was drafted by a few countries.

The draft was general in nature, reflecting last-minute compromises to satisfy all parties.

The draft asserts the need to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions to keep the temperature 2C lower than that of the temperatures at the beginning of the industrial revolution.

It also seeks to acknowledge risks accompanying climate change and implementing measures of response by developing countries, especially least developed countries, he said.

However, it did not mention any new obligations for the developing countries which are emerging economies, as demanded by the major industrial countries.

Although the accord asserts the importance of mitigatory measures, it did not include quantitative goals or a time frame for reducing emissions, he said.

Bin Fahad expressed hope that the negative experiences of the past would be put behind in the quest to reach satisfactory international conformity in the shortest possible time.

He also demanded special priority to developing countries saying it was the only way they could contribute to international efforts without hindering their own efforts to achieve sustainable development and growth.

Limiting emissions: Measures taken by UAE

- The adoption and implementation of renewable energy began in 2006 with Masdar initiative. In 2009, Abu Dhabi committed to source 7 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable sources by the year 2020.

- The UAE Cabinet directed that all energy stakeholders to commit to the diversification of energy sources by focusing on using renewable energy, developing environmental policies and funding and publishing related researches.

- The adoption of the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) treaty which is considered part of climate change.

- The adoption and implementation of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The UAE will build four nuclear power plants to generate electricity to meet 25 per cent of its energy needs.

- The adoption of the concept of cleaner production in the industrial sector.

-  The adoption of sustainable and green building, especially ‘Masdar City', which will be the first city in the world free from carbon emissions.

- The sustainability of the transport sector through the development of public transportation means such as Dubai Metro, and through the process of resorting to less polluted fuel.

- The adoption of the concept of efficient use of energy resources and the rationalisation of its consumption.