Climate change adaptation and mitigation are high on Dubai’s agenda, said Samira Al Rais, Director of Policy and Strategy Sustainable Development, the General Secretariat of the Executive Council, emphasising this in the context of the city’s participation in the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), a network of large and engaged cities from around the world taking action to reduce greenhouse gases.

Speaking against the backdrop of the 6^th Annual Emirates GBC Congress, on October 17, Al Rais outlined four high-priority sectors listed on the agenda of the Dubai government for 2017, which were assigned to different entities. The Dubai Climate Change Adaptation Plan is one of the sectors. Al Rais said the Executive Council expected this to be finalised and launched by Q1 2018. A heat island mapping exercise is another sector of activity. The Dubai Municipality, she said, is working on developing the island mapping exercise. The third is an Integrated Coastal Management Strategy. Al Rais said the Council will launch the full strategy by the end of 2017. The fourth is an Internationally Compliant Greenhouse Gas Inventory, which she said, is being developed by the Supreme Council of Energy, the result of which, she added, will be presented by Q4 2017.

Al Rais also announced that Dubai is now a member of the C40 Steering Committee and is representing the South Asia and West Asia regions to become a role model in supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement objectives. Al Rais added that cities that are part of C40 are aware that climate change is happening, emphasising that the cost of inaction “is staggering”.