Author: EcoLife

    UAE doubles number of cloud-seeding flights in six years in bid to boost rainfall
    25 Jan 2023

    The UAE is stepping up its mission to make it rain after nearly doubling its annual number of cloud-seeding flights in the past six years. While large parts of the country are braced for heavy downpours on Wednesday and Thursday, efforts to induce more rainfall in a largely arid climate remain crucial. Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change […]

    Meet the Zayed Prize winners, from an insect protein food maker to a surgery provider in the Amazons

    Abu Dhabi: What does a company producing insect protein-based food in Europe have in common with an organisation providing free medical surgeries in the Amazons? They are both among 10 winners of the Dh3 million Zayed Sustainability Prize 2023, each trying in its own way to provide impactful solutions that help the planet and its […]

    Hepa air filters were popular in Davos but what are they and do they work?

    When the great and the good gathered recently in Davos for the World Economic Forum, it was not just the state of the world that came under the spotlight. There was also chatter about the fact that Hepa (high-energy particulate air) filters seemed to be present in most rooms. Some online observers commented that the often wealthy delegates […]

    UAE and World Economic Forum unite to address climate change
    22 Jan 2023

    The World Economic Forum will join forces with the UAE to drive efforts to tackle climate change as the country gears up to host the Cop28 environment summit later this year. Borge Brende, President of the WEF, announced that the organisation will work with the UAE Cop28 presidency “to accelerate public-private solutions for climate and nature” ahead of the […]

    Feeling world-weary? Here are five reasons to be optimistic about the future

    As climate change wreaks havoc, plastic pollution blights oceans and biodiversity losses pile up, it is all too easy to fear for the future. But amid the gloomy forecasts there is hope on the horizon as society bands together to successfully tackle issues that once plagued the planet. From acid rain to precipitous declines in whale populations, progress has […]

    Africa and South Asia bearing brunt of climate refugee crisis
    19 Jan 2023

    Three times as many people are being driven from their homes by climate change and extreme weather than by conflict, the UN refugee agency has said, with Africa and South Asia bearing the brunt of the crisis. Andrew Harper, UNHCR special adviser on climate action, said renewable energy was a basic necessity that was “as […]

    Adnoc to pilot project that converts carbon dioxide into rocks

    Adnoc will undertake a pilot project with British-Omani sustainability company 44.01 to permanently convert carbon dioxide from the air into a mineral within rock formations in Fujairah. The project, which is also being carried out in partnership with the Fujairah Natural Resources Corporation and Masdar, will involve the use of technology that permanently mineralises carbon dioxide within […]

    Iraqi school’s plan to save water among Zayed Sustainability Prize winners

    A school in Iraq that plans to save thousands of litres of water over three years with its greenhouse and a Jordanian enterprise that delivers energy to Syrian refugees are among the winners of the 2023 Zayed Sustainability Prize. The 10 initiatives chosen from 30 finalists competing in five categories — health, food, water, energy and […]

    Drones scatter one million mangrove seeds in Abu Dhabi
    16 Jan 2023

    Drones have dispersed one million mangrove seeds in Abu Dhabi, the Environment Agency — Abu Dhabi (EAD) said. The seed-firing drones took to the skies as a part of the first phase of a drone mangrove plantation project that supports the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative. The dispersal was carried out recently over several days at different locations around […]

    Every country needs to step up for world to win climate change battle, John Kerry says
    15 Jan 2023

    Every country needs to step up for the world to win the climate change battle, US climate envoy John Kerry said. Speaking at the 13th Irena Assembly in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, Mr Kerry said 2023 needs to be the “year of reality” and that “we are moving too slowly” to meet key environmental goals. More than 190 countries […]