The UAE Council for Climate Change and Environment held its third meeting of 2019 at the headquarters of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) in Dubai.

Chaired by His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, the meeting reviewed some of the key environmental initiatives that had been implemented or are currently underway across the UAE.

In addition to the council members, the meeting drew the participation of key environment interests from federal and local entities in the country.

His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi highlighted the importance of the Council’s meetings in charting the way forward for projects and initiatives that address the UAE’s most crucial challenges facing the environment, preserve its natural resources and ensure its sustainability.

He said: “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 civilizational 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. ”

As a first order of business, the Council reviewed the structure, details and developments of the draft federal law on climate change and its objectives 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 had finalized the draft ministerial resolution on climate change, with the aim to identify roles and put legislations 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 with the aim of facilitating early identification and verification of outbreaks.

It features three main categories of notifications. The Animal Development and Health category allows members of the community to alert the authorities to incidents related to infectious diseases of animals and violations of animal legislation, including animal cruelty, possession of dangerous animals, incompliant veterinary products and facilities, as well as illegal animal consignments .

Furthermore, Council members took stock of the outcomes of the national project for the inventory of air pollutants, the updated Biosecurity Strategy, the first draft of the general environmental policy of the UAE, and the unified municipal work guide.