Students urged to help tackle carbon emissions

ABU DHABI // Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, director of energy and climate change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has encouraged the country’s youth to get involved and commit to reducing carbon emissions.

“We need to ensure the young generation is engaged in climate change discussions today,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.

Speaking at New York University Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, a week before Cop21, the climate change conference in Paris, Dr Al Zeyoudi outlined how the UAE was working to reduce its carbon footprint with the implementation of resource-conservation efforts and the development of clean energy solutions.

“It is great to see so many students eager to contribute to the fight against climate change, which is an integral part of the UAE’s vision to shift to a knowledge-based economy,” he said.

According to NYUAD, its academics and students were contributing to these advancements with research in biofuels, sea level change and species conservation, among others.

Jocilyn Estes, a student, said: “His openness to speak and collaborate with students as well as faculty was really encouraging, and you could tell that he truly believes in young people and the power we have to make positive change.”