Entering a sustainable future

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Entering a sustainable future     By MAGED SROUR

IN the early 1970’s the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was an impoverished desert, with little access to food, water and well-paying jobs. Today, this country looks nothing like it was 50 years ago.

Thanks to oil, the UAE has completely transformed and is one of the most developed economies in the Middle East, if not the world: its per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is equal to those of highly developed European nations (US$68,000 (RM270,000) — 2017 estimates).

        Wealth in the UAE, as in other Gulf countries, is derived mainly from oil, but the black gold will run out someday soon.  For this reason, the UAE, similar to other petro-rich countries in the region, is activating a list of local and national strategies and initiatives to build a new framework for the future.

This framework aims to be run only on renewable energies but keeping the same level of wealth, if not improving it.  Therefore rich, but without depending on oil.

Indeed, the UAE has embarked on a new path of investments, to end oil dependence and turn around most of its infrastructures run by renewable energies.   Launched in 2017, the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 aims “to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25 per cent to 50 per cent by 2050 and reduce carbon footprint of power generation by 70 per cent, thus saving AED700 billion (RM756 billion) by 2050”.

This strategy seeks to increase consumption efficiency of individuals and companies by 40 per cent and it targets an energy mix that aims to combine renewable, nuclear and clean sources as follows: 44 per cent clean energy, 38 per cent gas, 12 per cent clean coal and six per cent nuclear.

For example, the city of Masdar is the first city in the world to have a zero-carbon footprint and zero waste, and it is a car-free city. The city is not fully developed, but it aims to be home to 40 to 50 thousand people in an area of 6km.

Energy is not the only field in which the UAE is at the forefront for development and innovation. Transportation, health, education, tackling climate change, architecture, tourism, cyber security and so forth: these and others are sectors in which the UAE is showing the world its willingness to improve and possibly become the leader, shocking the planet in terms of innovation.

Today, the UAE is a country of where buildings are skyscrapers, streets are clean, electric and hybrid cars are becoming more common than those that run on fuel and the crime rate is low. According to Numbeo, which surveyed 50,175 people in 4,574 cities, Abu Dhabi is one of the safest cities in the world, ranking 16th, with a very low crime index (11.85) and a high safety index (88.15).

The UAE is planning to build a high-speed train, named Hyperloop, which will be able to reach 1,200 kph and connect Dubai and Abu Dhabi (120km) in 12 minutes by 2021. In addition, in 2016, the world applauded the first journey to be ever completed by a solar airplane, which, not surprisingly, was an UAE product.

Solar Impulse 2 is a solar-powered aircraft equipped with more than 17,000 solar cells.  The airplane landed in Abu Dhabi after a journey of 505 days and 41,600km at an average speed of about 70 kph. The UAE government is even planning to establish the first human settlements in Mars by 2117.

However, this is just a small portion of the wider picture that describes the UAE’s way to the future. In December 2016, Gulf News had launched The Amazing Nation, a book to celebrate UAE’s 45th anniversary that aimed to tell the story of the innovative and modern UAE while also exploring its deep cultural roots.

According to this book, homes of the future will be incredibly smart and capable of growing their own food in a sustainable way. 3D and 4D printing in construction will allow unique innovations in terms of sustainable architecture and homes will be folded up and transported by drones to any location.

The country is planning to build below the waterline and make underwater living possible. If there is one country that is projecting itself into the future, it is certainly the UAE.

The UAE, like some other Gulf countries, is clearly projecting itself into the future. These countries want to diversify the portfolio of their investments and provide an alternative source of revenues away from those related to oil.

The unprecedented modernisation occurring in the Gulf region is inspired by a new and young leadership that is gradually replacing the elders.  These leaders are showing a remarkable enthusiasm for innovation but, at the same time, are the protagonists of a foreign policy, who ultimately contribute to fuel tensions and conflict across the Middle East.

Indeed,  unless this region does not find political compromises, which allows enduring peace and a reliable stability, those same people who would enjoy the remarkable technological innovations, will constantly be concerned because of the lack of security in their countries.

Economic and social development need to be accompanied by a wise and peaceful foreign policy, particularly in the Gulf and in the broader Middle East. — IPS

My comments:  

We should look up to the leadership and aspiration of this country to develop our place.