UAE unveils World Fire Emission Reduction Alliance at COP28

The UAE Ministry of Interior, represented by the General Directorate of Civil Defense in Dubai, has inked memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and declarations of intent with national and international organisations dedicated to firefighting to establish the World Fire Emission Reduction Alliance.

The alliance will see partnerships formed to address the adverse impact of climate change, under the umbrella of the International Climate Change Law Enforcement (I2LEC) initiative and in line with the objectives of the 28th Coference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP28), which commenced in Dubai on Thursday.

The ‘World Fire Emission Reduction Alliance’ was officially announced at an international conference titled ‘Eco Readiness’ at COP28.

The conference focused on exploring strategies to strengthen international collaboration and coordination to combat fires, with a special emphasis on mitigating their environmental impact.

World Fire Emission Reduction Alliance signed by 56 countries

The signatories collectively represent over 56 countries globally, establishing a wide-ranging global alliance dedicated to reinforcing security, disaster prevention, and the wellbeing of communities worldwide.

The signing of these MoUs  were signed under the umbrella of the ‘Eco Readiness’ programme, an undertaking of the UAE Ministry of Interior.

This programme serves as a centralised platform for a global fire incident database, engaging major firefighting organisations worldwide.

The system conducts detailed analysis to determine carbon emissions resulting from fire incidents across different continents. The gathered data is meticulously categorised and shared with firefighting organisations responsible for each respective continent.

The primary objective of the programme is to achieve a global reduction in fire incidents and their associated carbon emissions.

In a collaborative effort with the private sector, the Dubai Civil Defense has also launched the ‘Heat Map of Environmental Crimes’, an innovative technological project that provides detailed insights into the characteristics, patterns and data related to environmental crimes.

It plays a crucial role in drawing connections between various crimes and climate change, thereby facilitating improved information and data exchange between countries and operational entities.

This initiative aims to combat both environmental crimes and fires.

The organisations involved in this collaboration actively contribute to global initiatives focused on the exchange of data and information.

Their collective effort encompasses strategies to reduce carbon emissions, mechanisms to manage fires, identification of global fire locations, and analysis of their primary causes.

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