WORLD / MID-EAST
Green fines: UAE businesses swap pollution penalties for tree-planting
Published: Nov 04, 2020 05:43 PM
Businesses that violate environmental laws in the northern UAE emirate of Ras al-Khaimah are being given the option to plant trees instead of paying fines, under a government initiative designed to cut planet-warming emissions.

Jordanian security members wearing face masks stand guard at a checkpoint during a curfew in Amman, Jordan, October 9. Jordan imposed a 48-hour curfew across the country as of Thursday midnight amid a surge in coronavirus cases. Photo: Xinhua

With a goal of planting 10,000 saplings in 2020, Ras al-Khaimah's Environment Protection and Development Authority (EPDA) expects 20 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) could be absorbed in the first year of the scheme.

Building on a previous campaign to plant 1 million and one trees, the project aims to engage the business community in tackling environmental challenges and climate change, said Saif al-Ghais, the EPDA's general director.

"We're trying to help [companies] by extending our hand to give them the trees so they will not have to spend money buying them," he told Reuters.

"We're trying to add this as a contribution to the CO2 reduction of the country as a whole," he added.

Businesses can forgo paying one fine each under the scheme, which provides them with free trees, as long as they cover the cost of planting and nurturing them.

Ghais, a marine biologist, hopes the incentive will encourage companies to take greater care of the environment and expand Ras al-Khaimah's green spaces.

In the arid UAE, where scorching hot summers can sometimes reach 50 C and rainfall is scarce, the average annual temperature is projected to rise by up to 2.9 C in 2050 compared to the period from 1961-90.

Extreme weather fueled by climate change also poses a threat to the UAE's marine habitats as ocean temperatures rise, while storm surges may destroy infrastructure and weaken food security and public health.