United Arab Emirates Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

air pollution; rapid population growth and high energy demand contribute to water scarcity; lack of natural freshwater resources compensated by desalination plants; land degradation and desertification; waste generation, beach pollution from oil spills

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Climate

desert; cooler in eastern mountains

Land use

agricultural land: 4.6% (2018 est.)

arable land: 0.5% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 3.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 3.8% (2018 est.)

other: 91.6% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 87.8% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.5% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 41.75 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 206.32 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 56.55 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 5,413,453 tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 1,082,691 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 20% (2015 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 2.63 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 69 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 2.32 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

150 million cubic meters (2020 est.)