UAE Building Integrated Data-driven Air Quality System: Minister of Climate Change
The UAE joins the global community in celebrating the seventh International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, emphasizing the need for international cooperation and practical solutions to improve air quality while addressing climate action and economic resilience.
Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, highlighted the UAE's commitment:
“This year’s International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies will emphasize that clean air is not only an environmental goal but also a significant investment in community well-being, economic strength, and shared prosperity. Air pollution and climate change stem from similar sources, making integrated action crucial to achieving benefits across these areas."
In the UAE, enhancing air quality is a national priority, guided by the National Air Quality Agenda 2031, which outlines a comprehensive framework for federal and local governments, and the private sector, focusing on three key pillars: monitoring, mitigation, and management. This agenda aims to ensure the well-being of the community by addressing outdoor and indoor air quality, ambient odour, and noise pollution, supported by robust environmental legislation and regulations.
The minister further noted the importance of data in policy implementation:
“Turning policies into measurable actions relies on reliable, accessible, and integrated data. The UAE's National Air Quality Platform offers real-time air quality insights across the country. Additionally, a centralized digital dashboard has been operationalized to manage and collect air-quality monitoring data from local environmental authorities, replacing fragmented submissions with a standardized national workflow for data quality assurance, analysis, and reporting."
This system strengthens data integration and cooperation between federal and emirate levels, enabling efficient translation of air quality information into evidence-based policies and targeted actions.
Furthermore, the Ministry has developed an integrated National Emissions Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system, encompassing priority air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. This MRV system provides a consistent digital pathway for collecting, reporting, verifying, and analyzing facility-level emissions data, contributing to improved national emissions inventories and enhanced evidence-based decision-making for emission source identification.