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The main idea behind the initiative is to prepare students for the upcoming COP28 and engage youth in climate action
Drawing on her experience as a shadow negotiator at COP27, Emirati student Alia Abdulmajeed Hussain Abdulrahim Ahli founded the Sustainability Club at Zayed University (ZU), hoping to inspire more young people to get involved in environmental issues.
“The idea is to raise awareness about the SDGs, climate change, and the actions that are being taken,” Alia said of the harrij times.
“We also want to engage young people in climate action because they will be the leaders of tomorrow.”
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Friday declared 2023 the year of sustainable development for the country. The country is gearing up for this year’s global climate summit, COP28, to be held at Dubai Expo City from November 30 to December 12.
Dr. Suzanna Elmassah, associate professor at ZU and head of the Sustainability Program, supported Alia’s efforts. “The group hopes to strengthen the UAE’s vision and commitment to the environment,” she said.
“We hope that by raising awareness, we will promote this vision because young people have a multiplier effect on society. They will be the decision makers for the next 20 years, so they need to be aware of that.”
The main idea of the Sustainability Club this year is to prepare students for COP28. “Each month we have an event related to one of the COP28 themes,” said Dr. Suzanna.
Earlier this week, the group held a talk on packaging’s role in eliminating greenhouse gases. “We’ve had speakers talk about how to change the packaging industry to reduce carbon emissions, and how people can be responsible for their plastic consumption,” she said.
The role of the UAE
Alia said she has high hopes for COP28 later this year. “One of the biggest problems in the UAE is how dependent we are as an economy on the oil and gas industry,” she said.
“We are turning to other sources of income and energy and I believe COP28 will be a landmark moment for our country.”
Dr Suzanna commended the decision of the UAE leadership to appoint Sultan Al Jaber, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), as Chairman-designate of COP28. “It’s a very smart move,” she said, “and it’s proof that the oil and gas industry is going to transform to reflect the country’s commitment to the environment. It’s a message, if you ask me.”
COP 27
Alia, one of six ZU students who accompanied the UAE delegation to COP27, said it was a life-changing experience for her. “We can choose from three groups, climate finance, mitigation and adaptation,” she said. “I chose climate finance. We were given an agenda every day and we had to go to several meetings where we took notes on a form provided by the government. I learned as I followed the negotiators and watched them in action A lot of stuff. I had no idea how the whole process worked. What I learned from that meeting also inspired me to start a sustainability club.”
According to Dr. Suzanna, the opportunity to attend COP27 was an unparalleled learning experience. “Students learned how real negotiations work,” she said. “Sometimes the discussions go on for hours, maybe just to change a word. So that patience, logic, detail and debate really prepares them for COP 28 later this year.”
challenge
Both Alia and Dr Suzanna acknowledge that there are many challenges to engaging young people with them in addressing environmental issues. “There are a lot of students who are interested in it, but it’s been a bit difficult to get them on board,” Alia said.
“It’s largely because they don’t realize the environmental problems we face and the climate action and local commitments that are needed.”
Dr Suzanne said they were trying to educate students on how climate change would affect their day-to-day lives. “They don’t understand that this big global problem is affecting their daily food intake,” she said.
“It’s also affecting their health, the job market, their salaries, the quality of food, the quality of education. That’s the message we want to get out to the community. Problems that you think are global are significantly affecting your day-to-day lives.”
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