[ad_1]
Some 74% of young people believe that climate change has an impact on their daily lives, and 67% feel that the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) youth program has helped raise awareness of the issue.
Forty percent of respondents cited land and sea pollution as their top concern, while 26 percent said water scarcity was their top concern. Some 88 percent of respondents said they had reduced their use of single-use plastic bags in the past six months.
These are the findings of the Climate Change Youth Survey conducted by EAD in the fourth quarter of 2022 and released during the ongoing Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The survey included 4,210 respondents, including employees and students, aged 15-29, residing in various emirates, 65% of whom were female and 71% in Abu Dhabi.
young voice
EAD’s Youth Climate Change Survey gathers youth voices on the most critical environmental issues and climate change impacts;
The survey also assessed youth awareness and engagement on key environmental issues, identified their views on environmental protection technologies and the concept of sustainable development, and assessed their level of ecological awareness.
The survey also measures the extent to which young people’s behavior has changed as a result of the newly implemented single-use plastic bag policy, and explores young people’s views on environmental priorities and solutions to climate change.
The survey, which is accessible across EAD’s various digital and social media platforms to ensure it reaches the greatest number of young people, includes the Sustainable Schools Initiative network of 153 schools, and the Sustainable Schools Initiative network, which includes 24 universities with more than 500,000 students. Ongoing campus initiatives, in addition to EAD’s stakeholder network and its program partners.
The main direction of youth
Shamma bint Suhail bin Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Youth Affairs at COP28 and Youth Climate Pioneer, said: “Youth have been the main focus of the UAE’s national strategy in all areas, so they are contributing to tangible development through their direct support.
“They are key players in national and international plans and initiatives to tackle climate change and its impact on everyday life, and are important to start changing their environmental behavior in terms of sustainability. Furthermore, in order to support the UAE and the world in achieving zero carbon Efforts to reduce emissions, and other national programs that contribute to the adoption of environmentally friendly measures to mitigate climate change.”
She noted that all youth groups and institutions in the UAE must strive for initiatives aimed at raising youth awareness and strengthening their understanding of the risks posed by climate change and the importance of working together to address environmental challenges.
She added that the results of the climate change survey confirmed the importance of this category in the development of future environmental policies within the framework of finding practical and sustainable solutions to climate change problems.
dual power
Al Mazrouei added: “The UAE’s investment in youth to strengthen its efforts and support its strategic plan on climate change will give it a dual impetus to find immediate and feasible solutions that will reduce environmental pollution in the short term. Issues and challenges. Seventy-four percent of youth participating in the survey believe that climate change affects their lives. This will inevitably lead to an acceleration of work on strategies that rely on them to mitigate the effects of climate change.”
She said: “The findings will encourage youth groups and institutions in the UAE to work with policymakers at COP28, which the UAE is hosting this year, which is important for achieving environmental sustainability and reducing the impact of climate change that threatens the future of the planet.”
EAD Secretary General Dr Shaikha Al Dhaheri said: “We are delighted to see the broad response from young people and their desire to participate in the survey. Youth are an influential group in the global environmental movement and their voices are important to us as regulators “It is clear that our young people care about and are actively engaged with environmental issues and are inclined to propose solutions. Announcing the results of this survey during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week puts them on a high-profile platform, which we look forward to Share the findings with the UAE’s leadership and our stakeholders.”
She added: “We will incorporate all of the survey results into our programs and initiatives, especially since some 67% of young people who participated in the survey said our programs help spread awareness about climate change among young people.53 % of respondents said they hope COP28 will accelerate work on climate change mitigation strategies, so we look forward to playing an active role in amplifying their voices before and during COP28.”
Climate change is a top priority
When asked to name their top three environmental challenges (out of a list of 10), nearly 48 percent of respondents said climate change was their top environmental concern. Air pollution and traffic congestion followed at 47%, 40% said land and ocean pollution was the most important issue, and 26% said water scarcity was the top concern, while floods and flash floods came in at the top of the list. Finally, take 10%.
Other findings from the survey showed that 88 percent of young people expressed concern about the extreme rise in summer temperatures in the UAE, and 45 percent were very concerned about global warming and its consequences. Twenty-five percent said they were concerned about climate change, while 20 percent were optimistic about solving the problem.
causes of climate change
According to the young people surveyed, the use of carbon-intensive transport is the largest contributor to climate change and associated long-term changes in temperature and weather patterns (74%), followed by manufacturing and industry (68%) and finally deforestation (61%) %). When asked what directly contributed to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss, 65% of respondents cited human activity, followed by pollution at 20%.
Single-use plastic bag ban
The survey included several questions on the consumption of single-use plastic products to examine the effectiveness of the EAD’s single-use plastic policy launched in 2020 to promote sustainable living for all residents in Abu Dhabi.
About 80% of respondents said that single-use plastics have a negative impact on human health. More than 47% say the environment is most affected by single-use plastic pollution, followed by animals (37%) and humans at just over 12%.
In terms of the use of single-use plastic bags, 88% of the participants confirmed that they have reduced their use of single-use plastic bags in the past six months, which clearly shows the effectiveness of the ban on single-use plastic products, which will increase from June 2022. It will be implemented in Abu Dhabi from the 1st. — trade arab news agency
[ad_2]
Source link
