22 new policies are adopted by the council to quicken the shift to a circular economy

The UAE has approved 22 policies intended for at stimulating the country’s transition to a circular economy, as part of its force toward sustainable economic development.

The UAE Circular Economy Council comprises 17 representatives of relevant federal and local government entities, private sector businesses, and international organizations.

According to the government, The UAE Circular Economy Council’s policies are going to focus on four main sectors of manufacturing, food, infrastructure and transport.

The council’s meeting also put the spotlight on eight innovation trends for a circular economy, including waste-to-resource, internet of waste, AI, remanufacturing, and bio-based materials.

They also specified at least 16 circular economy activities that open a wealth of opportunities for businesses, such as upcycling textile waste into new products, developing automated AI-enabled waste management solutions, and remanufacturing electronic waste.

The Council was presided over by Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment.

The UAE is already a part of the World Economic Forum’s Scale 360 initiative to establish a circular economy. It is going to be the home of one of the world’s largest waste-to-energy facilities.

The unsustainable linear economy by converting raw materials to finished products and later removes as waste. The 13 million tons of plastic waste being dumped into oceans every year is one of the most toxic fallouts of this economy. But a circular economy that depends on recycling can yield economic benefits of up to $1.3 trillion by 2030.

Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Minister of State for Food Security Said that the country’s current linear economy consumes valuable materials and resources without being able to benefit from them after use, which represents waste in the modern concept of sustainability.

Then added that this approach pursues to protect the environment and to ensure the long-term economic and social prosperity of our country.

This meeting attracted the participation of representatives of various government and private sector entities from across the UAE. These included Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy; Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications; Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, CEO of Alliances for Global Sustainability; Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology; Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi.