H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, led the second meeting of the Emirates Green Development Council (EGDC) held on 21st September 2015 at the Intercontinental Hotel, Festival City, Dubai. The gathering of EGDC members forms part of the Ministry of Environment and Waters green development approach towards a low-carbon, green economy.

During the meeting, the attendees looked into the significant developments following the formation of EGDCs national committees, namely the National Committee for Knowledge based Economy; the National Committee for Development and Quality of Life; the National Committee for Environmental Sustainability; the National Committee for Clean Energy and Adaptation to Climate Change; and the National Committee for Green Life. The members were briefed about the committees functions and proposed work plans alongside the fundamental current programs.

The Council also reviewed the suggested strategic partnerships aimed at developing EGDCs key program outputs as well as the significance of such collaborations in building the capacity and know how within the concerned parties of the council, the methodology used in their selection, and their different levels of representation. Additionally, the attendees looked into the Smart Dashboard adopted to measure EGDCs performance, objectives, activities and outputs.

The council was updated about its Identity as well as the status of the UAEs green economy Report, its objectives, and key achievements since the release of the initiatives first report, and the mechanisms used to review the content and accordingly revise the reports contents. The members also examined the initiatives second report which introduced new objectives and activities, including relevant events, green economy development projects, significant green innovations, and areas for global environmental developments.

The Council members from various federal agencies and representatives of local authorities include H.E. Matar Hamed Al Neyadi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Energy; H.E. Eng. Zahra Salman Alaboodi ,Undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works; Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Undersecretary of Resources and Budget of the Ministry of Finance, H.E. Abdullah Sultan Al Fan Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for Industrial affairs the Ministry of Economy; H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary-General of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD); and H.E. Ahmed Butti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Energy.

Other members are H.E. Hana Saif Al Suwaidi, General Manager of Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah; H.E. Saif Al Matrooshi, Secretary General of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Ajman; H.E. Eng. Mohammed Saif Al Afkham, Director General of the Fujairah Municipality; Dr. Saif Al Ghais, Executive Director Environment Protection and Development Authority in Ras Al Khaimah; H.E. Dr. Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Director of Energy and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and a representative of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain.

Ealier, the UAE launched the UAE Green Agenda as a unified framework for implementing the UAE Strategy for Green Development and complementing the UAE State of Green Economy Report 2014. The report aims to monitor, document and provide clear and comprehensive details on the countrys green economy efforts in line with the UAE Strategy for Green Development.

The Ministry of Environment and Water also organized last May its 6th Green Economy Annual Conference titled the National Roundtable of Financing and Investing in Green Economy Projects in cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). The conference was aligned with the UAEs preparations for the upcoming round table meeting in 2016 to be held under the theme Islamic Finance in the Context of Green Economy and Sustainable Development in collaboration with UNEP FI.