Arab media should highlight climate change, UAE’s Sheikha Shamma says at Arab Media Forum 2023
Image Credit: Ahmad Alotbi/Gulf News
Dubai: Arab media should write and speak more about climate change, Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President and CEO of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), said on Wednesday.
Addressing the region’s largest annual media gathering, the 21st Arab Media Forum in Dubai, she said there should be more “storytelling” about champions of sustainability in the region and the media should focus on “climate action and solution.”
“Each and every one of us can make a real change… We have to assume our responsibilities regarding the environment and climate change as it is a shared responsibility,” she said during a session titled ‘Media and Sustainability’.
The great-granddaughter of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, expressed her pride in carrying forward his legacy of protecting the environment.
Recalling that she was passionate about nature and the environment since her childhood, she said she was proud of the fact that the nation is now benefitting from the trees planted by her grandfather.
“As you may know, some experts told Sheikh Zayed that it was impossible to grow trees in the UAE. He did it anyway and here we are, in the green paradise of the UAE. I am proud of his legacy. We should make the impossible possible for the green economy.”
The UICCA, an Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) registered non-governmental organisation, is a think tank and accelerator supporting the nation’s transition to a green economy.
Highlighting the country’s initiatives in ensuring a sustainable future, Sheikha Shamma said her office was playing its part in spreading those stories through a new platform.
‘Climate Tribe’
On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week in New York on September 24, the UICCA launched ‘The Climate Tribe’, a UAE-based social enterprise dedicated to inspiring climate action through dynamic storytelling, immersive community engagement and radical collaboration.
Sheikha Shamma said the digital platform will tell powerful stories about climate action heroes and sustainability champions.
“Through this platform, I want to launch a dictionary to help people better understand the language of climate change as every day we have new words emerging in this field.”
For example, she said green hushing is a comparatively new word in the lexicon of climate action. Green hushing refers to under-reporting or under-communicating sustainable practices for the fear of being criticised for not doing enough in environmental-friendly actions, she explained.
