American University of Sharjah becomes the first university to join the UAE Alliance for Climate Action, reinforcing its commitment towards decarbonization and net zero targets

American University of Sharjah (AUS) continues to advance its mission of creating a more sustainable future, announcing a new membership with the UAE Alliance for Climate Action (UACA), a domestic alliance of stakeholders led by Emirates Nature-WWF.

UACA is the flagship non-state actor program for the UAE in the lead up to COP28, which aims to increase momentum towards achieving net zero targets in line with science and the Paris Agreement. The alliance is endorsed by the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and convened by Emirates Nature-WWF who is the leading environmental NGO in the UAE. By bringing together stakeholders, UACA facilitates greater collaboration, mobilizing the whole of society towards achieving the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative. The alliance's priorities include supporting non-state actors in implementing and raising their net zero targets at any stage of their decarbonization journey, and engaging policy makers to address key gaps in the policy environment.

As a member of UACA, AUS commits to participate in dialogue and information sharing and to work towards credible targets in the university’s decarbonization journey. AUS is one of the region’s most progressive universities in the field of decarbonization and net zero initiatives. The university released its Climate Action Plan in 2022, which aligned the university’s sustainability efforts with the UAE’s Net Zero Strategic Initiative 2050. As part of its Climate Action Plan, AUS started to conduct a yearly greenhouse gas study to measure and track the university's carbon emissions. Based on the data generated from this study, AUS has set reduction targets for 2030 and defined projects to meet its targets, including reducing energy consumption, using alternative energy sources, making greener decisions on material usage and wastage, and mandating sustainable construction practices when building or renovating. AUS is the first university to join the group, and its faculty and administrators are committed to providing expertise on many decarbonization issues linked to climate change, to assist UACA members in their decarbonization journey. Membership of UACA will help to ensure that AUS research is transferred to organizations and governments seeking to reduce emissions and realize other sustainability commitments. Joining UACA will also allow members of the AUS community to learn more about the best practices for decarbonization and to align research efforts with industry needs.
Dr. Fatin Samara, a leading figure in the UAE’s climate change research community and Professor of Environmental Sciences at AUS, spoke about the role universities play in addressing climate change issues. “Scientific research is key to us being able to reduce the rate at which climate change is occurring and in being able to mitigate the impacts of climate change on communities. AUS is a source of many exciting research projects that seek to understand how carbon emissions can be reduced and how communities can better prepare for what’s ahead,” Dr. Samara said.

Julia Carlow, Acting Head of Sustainability at AUS, said of AUS’ membership of the group: “The education sector plays an important role in facilitating the global decarbonization process. As a UACA member, we are committed to increasing our ambition and implementation to achieve our climate change targets. We are also looking forward to sharing our decarbonization journey with the wider UACA community and advancing innovation for climate change mitigation and adaptation. We look forward to seeing how AUS can learn from other UACA members and also explore how our expertise will contribute to the realization of net zero targets in the UAE.”

AUS’ membership of UACA is in keeping with its strategic commitment to sustainability. AUS has been ranked by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) as one of the top five institutions worldwide for community engagement in sustainability, according to AASHE’s 2022 Sustainable Campus Index. In addition, AUS was the first university in the MENA region to achieve an AASHE STARS sustainability ranking. The university was the first in the UAE to launch a single-use plastics campaign on campus. Recently, AUS was invited by the UAE Special Climate Envoy to join the Universities Climate Network (UCN), comprising UAE-based universities and higher education institutions facilitating dialogues, workshops, public events, and youth participation in the lead up to COP28 UAE. For more information on sustainability initiatives at AUS, visit www.aus.edu/sustainability.

About Emirates Nature-WWF

Emirates Nature-WWF is an environmental NGO charity established to conserve the United Arab Emirates’ natural heritage and build a future where people and nature thrive. The organization was founded in 2001 by our Honorary Founder and President, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the Governing Board of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, as a legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed’s vision for the United Arab Emirates. For two decades, Emirates Nature-WWF has been a prominent and active partner in environmental conservation in the MENA region. We work in association with WWF, one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. As a local conservation think-tank and pioneers of the “Leaders of Change” programme, the world’s first-ever digital membership platform for the environment – we empower, convene and mobilize civil society, government.