Mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows were used by the UAE to combat climate change in the sixth episode. EAD was lauded by Minister of Climate Change & Environment Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri.
She commented, “Mangrove forests offer significant climate change mitigation and adaptation co-benefits. They protect our coasts from rising sea levels and storm surges, and provide critical habitats for biodiversity. They also serve as effective carbon sinks. To strengthen our blue carbon ecosystems, we proactively work to expand our mangrove cover. In December 2020, we submitted our second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement that included planting an additional 30 million mangroves by 2030. And less than a year later, at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021, we announced an increase in our mangrove-planting target to 100 million by 2030.”
Over 63 million mangroves cover 183 square kilometres in the UAE and trap 43,000 tonnes of CO2. The amended second NDC targets 483 square kilometres of mangrove forest and 115,000 tonnes of CO2 sequestration per year. Steven Lutz, Senior Program Officer and Blue Carbon Lead at GRID-Arendal, a Norwegian foundation and UNEP partner, discussed ocean-based CO2 harvesting methods at the event. Whales, fish, and sea turtles absorb one-third of human-generated emissions in the oceans. When it dies and sinks, a typical great whale sequesters 33 tonnes of carbon. Whales help phytoplankton trap 37 billion tonnes of CO2 annually. Carbon absorption-wise, one whale absorbs 1,000 trees. Researchers value each great whale at US$2 million, including economic advantages. Lutz stressed the necessity of protecting ocean ecosystems and ending overfishing by comparing the carbon sequestration capacity of thriving and depleted oceans. NDCA's sector-specific assemblies raise sectoral climate objectives and inform the UAE's net zero by 2050 plan.
