Dubai: A new national UAE “vehicle fuel economy standard” designed to slash vehicle emissions has been set, which will ensure fuel-efficient cars spew far less carbon pollution on UAE’s roadways and into the atmosphere.
Less greenhouse gas emissions are also in keeping with the spirit of the UAE’s September 21 signing of its Paris Agreement commitment which agrees to cut carbon emissions by 1.5 degrees Celsius to halt global warming, reported Gulf News.
Development of the new standard was given the nod at a meeting of the public-private UAE body known as the Ecological Footprint Initiative (EFI) formed in 2007 to help research and reduce the country’s footprint.
The group reportedly comprises the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Water and Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (Esma), Emirates Wildlife Society-World Wildlife Fund (EWS-WWF) and the Global Footprint Network.
The new tool mirrors what is called the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards in the United States and first created in 1971 to combat world petrol shortages at the time, said the news portal.
Officials were quoted as saying that the new vehicle “standard will play a key role in helping the UAE achieve its emission reduction targets and support the country’s sustainability agenda in line with UAE Vision 2021”.
“When adopted by the UAE Cabinet, the proposed standard has the potential to deliver annual fuel savings to UAE households worth Dh9.5 billion, representing carbon savings equivalent to removing 4.5 million cars from the UAE’s roads by 2035.”
