emirates7 - Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, has emphasised that for the past five decades, the UAE has placed environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources at the heart of its development strategy and made distinctive contributions to international efforts to tackle climate change.

In her statement on the occasion of World Environment Day, Almheiri said, "In building a better future for us, our children, and the next generations, we must fully recognise that we only have one Earth, one planet. If we fail to protect it today, we will not have a sustainable future tomorrow. Due to the future-oriented vision of its wise leadership, the UAE presents a leading example of environmental commitment and climate action. On World Environment Day 2022, observed on June 5 under the theme ‘Only One Earth’, we celebrate our long track record of local and global wins against challenges that threaten our planet’s health."

She added that through an integrated framework of laws, strategies, and initiatives that culminated in the launch of the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, the UAE leads the region’s response to climate change and effectively participates in stepping up collective climate action.

We at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment are keen to forge partnerships with all strategic stakeholders in the country to align efforts and make environmental sustainability everyone’s business. We are marking this occasion with meaningful public engagement initiatives over the next two days, such as mangrove planting for schools and the general public in Umm Al Quwain and coral planting with the help of amateur divers in Fujairah, Almheiri noted.

Almheiri reaffirmed, "On this day, I invite all segments of society to be our active partners in driving environmental sustainability. We all have an integral role to play. Responsible use of food, water, and energy, planting trees, and implementing the three R’s – reduce, reuse, and recycle – to diminish the amount of waste that goes to landfills might all seem simple, trivial steps. But when taken collectively, they can bring about the powerful change we need to achieve our goal of building a better future for the current and next generations."

The bottom line is that no matter how many initiatives the government rolls out, if unsustainable behaviours continue on a large scale, our efforts will be in vain. Let’s all be part of Earth’s life support system so that our planet can thrive once again, she concluded.