IN AN effort to tackle climate change, reduce energy consumption, conserve valuable resources and help lower the UAE's Ecological Footprint, a campaign titled 'Heroes of the UAE' was launched on Tuesday in the capital.
The campaign website www.heroesoftheuae.ae also went live designed specifically to provide a forum for the public to show their support for the campaign.
The highly interactive website will educate all visitors on the scale of the energy problem in the UAE, and its impact on the environment.
The two year campaign organised by the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS), in association with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the Environment Agency -- Abu Dhabi (EAD) while primarily focussing its first phase on the general public will also target the individual, business, industry, government and policy makers across the nation.
However, the highlight of the campaign were child super heroes called 'Megawatt boy', 'Electra Efficient', 'Princess Cool Rinse' and 'Captain Air Con' from year five of the Emirates International School Meadows, who stole the show urging the public to reduce energy consumption in order to save UAE and the planet.
"Simple actions can reduce the impact of global warming and save money," they said holding their press conference.
They declared that an action now can safeguard the environment and appealed the audience to save the planet for their future.
Mohamed Al Bowardi, chairman of EWS, pointed out that in the UAE, not only are we at risk of using more energy than we can supply, but by burning so many fossil fuels we are contributing to climate change.
"We have to act now to stop this from happening -after all, a sustainable UAE is every child's right," he added.
Majid Al Mansouri, secretary general EAD, said: "According to our State of Environment Report, Abu Dhabi's electricity demand has surged in the past ten years from 1,766 MW to 4,320 MW.
Moreover, the UAE's per capita electricity consumption is around 28.131 kilo watts, ranking it among the largest energy consuming countries in the world.
"Air-conditioning especially is considered the largest portion of average household energy consumption," Al Mansouri pointed out.
He further said that in 2008, the Annual Environmental Awareness and Behaviour Survey showed that although society was aware in energy conservation, this awareness rarely and inconsistently translated into behaviour.
Awareness in energy conservation stood at 49 per cent while behaviour stood at 44.8 per cent.
Moreover, the survey also revealed that UAE nationals were aware of the high consumption rates in the UAE for electricity and fuel, yet they did not take action to reduce this energy wastage.
Majid added that "At EAD, we have always believed that one should begin with himself to set the example. Simple actions in your home or in your office can make a positive contribution in the long-term."
While Razan Al Mubarak, managing director, EWS-WWF, said that their overall objective is to raise awareness of the problem of rising demand for energy in the UAE and its consequences since eighty per cent of the UAE's ecological footprint is due to carbon dioxide emissions, largely due to energy consumption.
"UAE residents place a huge strain on natural systems, both locally and globally. This can be clearly observed from the population's ecological footprint that has remained consistently high (and growing) since first reported in 1998."
"Any attempt to reduce the UAE's footprint must, therefore, deal with usage of energy which relies on fossil fuels, mainly oil and natural gas," Razan added.
The campaign appeals for all to participate - all communities, age groups and residents - with the conviction that action, no matter how small, will collectively make a difference.
Source: Gulf Today/ BY SHAMILA JAMALUDDIN
Posted: 19/02/2009
| 
