Economic Growth and Environmental Care: Partners in Progress, Insha'Allah
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. This week, during the gathering of conservation efforts here in Abu Dhabi, we have a blessed chance to demonstrate how economic development and protecting our environment can work beautifully together.
With the world's population growing and energy needs increasing, caring for Allah's creation is not only an environmental duty but also a social and economic responsibility. More than half of the world's economy, around $58 trillion, relies directly or indirectly on nature.
By 2050, the global population is expected to reach 9.7 billion. The way forward is not cutting energy use or slowing down progress, but adopting wiser, practical approaches. Affordable and reliable energy is essential for human advancement, but this must be balanced with our shared duty to preserve nature and biodiversity.
Here in Abu Dhabi, companies like Adnoc are carefully considering nature-related risks and opportunities alongside financial and climate factors, following the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Nature is part of strategic planning and investment decisions, such as in the Hail and Ghasha project, the largest gas development aiming for net-zero emissions.
This project is in the Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO site. It plans to produce over 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas daily by the end of the decade, enough to meet the needs of countries like Ireland, Greece, and Portugal combined. It will also capture 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually for safe storage underground, produce low-carbon hydrogen, and use clean energy from nuclear and solar sources.
Hail and Ghasha will operate responsibly, producing more energy with fewer emissions, while ensuring the natural area is used sustainably.
The Marawah Reserve is home to diverse marine and coastal life, including seagrass meadows supporting the world's second-largest dugong population, coral reefs, mangroves, ospreys, turtles, and many fish species.
To protect this biodiversity, Adnoc and the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi conducted one of the largest marine environmental surveys in the UAE. Mapping habitats in detail allowed careful planning to avoid sensitive areas during construction and drilling.
This research supports a biodiversity monitoring program guiding all stages of the project. Initiatives include building nesting platforms for ospreys, deploying artificial coral reefs and fish domes, and creating rescue and rehabilitation programs for sea turtles, supported by education and research.
They are also committed to planting one million mangroves during the project, as part of a wider pledge to plant 10 million by 2030.
Reflecting on Hail and Ghasha, three lessons come to mind: large projects can be responsible by design; development funds can also support conservation; and energy security and environmental care can go hand in hand.
As the UAE's population grows, so will energy demand. Aligning this with decarbonization and energy transformation shows how sustainable development offers a practical way to enhance conservation efforts.
Since the UAE's first oil discovery in 1958, energy has driven social and economic progress. This is what I call "sustainability with a big S"-not just about carbon or energy, but about benefiting people, communities, economies, and ecosystems.
May Allah guide us all to protect His creation while advancing in a way that pleases Him. Ameen.
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