Labworx

The UAE is set to serve as a reliable partner in supporting India’s renewable energy goals, according to a senior official in the Dubai Chambers of Commerce. Speaking late last month, CEO and President Mohammed Ali Rashed Lootah told assembled journalists on the fringes of the India-UAE Partnership Summit that the two nations were “old energy partners” and he expected more cooperation to follow...

First Plastic Recycling Plant Planned for the UAE

The UAE is in the early stages of building the country’s first food-grade recycled plastics plant, according to the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT). The plant, which will be capable of processing 12,000 tonnes of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic per annum, is scheduled to be located in Abu Dhabi in the coming year...

Three computer science students studying at Canadian University Dubai have come up with an ingenious contraption aimed at slashing food waste, generating renewable energy and fostering good habits among the general public: the Digi-Bin.

The concept works via a dual receptacle bin, with one container for general waste and one for food waste. The smart capabilities of the Digi-Bin mean it can ...

An international study co-authored by scientists from Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi has concluded that dust storms are becoming more common and more intense due to manmade climate change. The primary driver of such weather phenomenon is an increased incidence of airborne “rivers” of water vapour, which cause significant downdrafts and whip up dust.

These water vapour rivers are found with ...

Dubai Municipality was the recipient of four first places across four different categories at the 2022 Energy Globe Award ceremony. Pioneered by the Energy Globe Foundation, the awards recognize the effort and ingenuity that the municipality has demonstrated over the last 12 months and beyond, as it fights to transition towards a more sustainable economy and combat the effects of manmade climat...

Since the introduction of a ban on single-use plastic bags in all Abu Dhabi shops, supermarkets and other retail outlets on June 1st, their use has been reduced by a massive 90%. The move was pioneered by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, which wished to tackle the country’s poor historical record on plastic consumption and disposal.

The impact has been impressive. In the six months since th...

At just one atom thick, graphene is the thinnest material known to mankind. However, it’s made of stern stuff, being over 200 times stronger than steel. These incredible properties, alongside its ability to absorb light and conduct both electricity and heat, have earned it the moniker of the world’s “wonder material”.

Graphene was first isolated by scientists at the University of Manchester ...

Responsible for an estimated 25% of greenhouse gas emissions around the world, agriculture has an outsized impact on the environment. And the relationship is a mutually destructive one, too, since global warming and climate change have the potential to damage agricultural infrastructure, reduce crop yields and compromise food security.

In order to try and address this urgent issue, the UAE i...

Production of food, whether it be from agriculture or aquaculture, often receives a bad rap in environmental terms. Growing crops and breeding animals to feed the world’s swelling population consumes vast amounts of energy and natural resources, as well as producing significant greenhouse gas emissions which pollute the air and contribute to global warming.

But while that might hold true for...

Historically speaking, the Middle East is a region which has built its vast reserves of wealth – not to mention its economic independence and infrastructure – on the extraction and exportation of fossil fuels. For that reason, it’s perhaps unsurprising that major oil-producing nations like the UAE and Saudi Arabia (and even the USA) have resisted urgent action on climate change in the past.