Ahead of their plan to host the COP28 climate summit later this year, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has declared 2023 the “Year of Sustainability”.
With the slogan “Today for Tomorrow”, the UAE on a new website says that sustainability “is about protecting our land, resources and one another today, for a better tomorrow. Our ancestors did this instinctively for us, and today we must continue their legacy by taking concrete actions in our daily lives. Together, we can leave a thriving UAE for our future generations, just like our ancestors did for us. Welcome to the Year of Sustainability.”
As part of the nationwide campaign the UA will be encouraging people to adopt plant-based diets, along with wasting less food and eating appropriately-sized portions.
A recent report found that the UAE’s market for vegan meat alternatives is expected to grow a rapid pace between now and 2028.
In 2021 one of the country’s biggest supermarket chains launched a “Power of Plants” initiative to encourage consumers to make more sustainable choices. In addition, plant-based brands like Moving Mountains and VBites have entered the UAE market due to growing demand.
“On land and in the sea, our forefathers lived and survived in this environment,” says Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. “They were able to do so because they recognized the need to conserve it, to take from it only what they needed to live, and to preserve it for succeeding generations.”
