EEG'S 11 Community Lecture looks at important issue of green economies

The lecture focused on the significant relationship between the Millennium Development Goals and Green Economies as well as the challenges faced when implementing the strategies of a Green Economy in the Arab World.

Ms. Habiba Al Marashi kicked off the event with a warm welcome to the attendees, by expressing the need for a Green Economy that will in turn improve the current standards of living and reduce current consumption patterns in order to ensure that future generations are able to live comfortably with the hope that they too will adopt green practices.

Green Economies will benefit a nation greatly as it will allow for increased employment opportunities, increase in green productions, prevent environmental pollution, and reduce the effects of global warming as well as lowering the amount of stress on natural resources.

The current projections indicate that a total of $3 trillion will be invested in the implementation of a green economy by the end of the current decade.

A green economy is said to be an effective tool to achieve sustainable development in the wake of current global environmental challenges such as climate change and water scarcity. It aims to strengthen the tie between the economy and the environment through the adoption of sustainable economic policies that will ensure the prevention of environmental degradation and will assist in preserving the environment. Green Economies will also be the barrier between the ever increasing occurrences of poverty and its effects as it will increase job opportunities that will in turn better human life as it will keep disaster, famine and disease at bay.

Ms. Habiba also detailed the previous events conducted by the EEG, "This year has been highly eventful for the Emirates Environmental Group, where we have organized several activities targeting various social strata and have been able to put focus on the current environmental challenges faced by the UAE and international community. We have also organized these monthly Community Lectures in a bid to expose the local community to the term sustainable development and increase their levels of awareness amongst the community with regards to their responsibilities to the cause as protectors of the environment, at the same time shed light on important environmental beliefs and misconceptions."

She also detailed one of the popular upcoming events of the EEG; the Intercollege Environmental Public Speaking Competition 2012 that will be held on the 28th and 29th of November. The programme is a motivational platform for students from across the GCC to express their views and concerns on some of the most relevant contemporary environmental challenges.

Ms. Habiba also took the opportunity to invite the attendees to be part of one of its most anticipated events; the 'Clean Up UAE' that will be held on the momentous date of 12.12.12. The aim of the campaign is in line with EEG's constant efforts to increase the awareness and build the capacity of the local community with regards to the importance of preserving the environment and maintaining the cleanliness that will in turn impact not only the environment but also human life.

The speaker anchoring the lecture was Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf; Research follow , Environmental Research programme, gulf research center in Jeddah and global focal point of science and tech major group UNEP. He provided great insight on the principles and challenges of implementing a green economy as well as detailing the outcome of the Rio +20 Summit.

The future environmental policies post 2015; the year in which the MDG's should be achieved were also discussed. He pointed out the importance of the smooth transition from a brown economy to the green economy in the Arab world that will essentially contribute to raising the quality of life of its citizens and ensure social equity.