Harrison Ford backs UAE stance on climate change

Environmental attitudes of young people have offered hope that climate disaster can be averted

Harrison Ford is seen touring the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve on a visit to the UAE when he praised environmental projects in the country. WAM

Young people in the UAE have offered a ray of hope that change in attitudes towards climate change can be realised to divert environmental disaster, Harrison Ford has said.

The Hollywood actor has been in the country this week lending his voice to the debate on climate change, and was impressed by UAE projects underway to address the issue.

Warming of oceans could lead to catastrophe within 10 years without immediate action, he told CNN.

“I'm buoyed by the people we've met and the energy here and the young people here,” he said.

“This is a country with a very young, educated population.

“Their passion for their future, it's what's going to propel us to the next step.”

Ford made a statement on stage at the Word Government Summit in Dubai on Tuesday, calling for governments to take immediate action against the threat to the planet’s oceans.

That message was reiterated in his interview with CNN.

“There is this isolationism, this nationalism that's creeping into governments all across the developed world,” he said.

“The problems require attention on nature's scale, not on the scale of the next election.

“It’s not about a political ideologies.”

Ford praised the work being done by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment to preserve mangroves and redevelop coral reefs off the coast of the UAE.

“This is remarkable, here, what they've done in the Emirates,” he said.

“Their understanding of the importance of the ocean, and their history, allows an understanding and an empathy with the ocean that's perhaps rare.

“It's a really important time because we're so concerned about climate.

“We don't understand the affect the ocean has on mitigating some of the disastrous effects of climate change.”

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