Dubai: The book “The Date Palm Carbon Footprint” was published in English by the Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation’s (KIDPAI) General Secretariat, under the patronage of Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Under the direction of Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, Secretary-General of the Award, the book’s launch ceremony was held at the UAE pavilion at COP28.
Ms. Aly Abu Sabea, the director general of the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Dr. Helal Humaid Saed Al Kaabi, a member of the Award’s Board of Trustees, Prof. Ibrahim El-Dukheiri, the director general of the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, the participating Award team, and several experts and guests were present.
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak emphasized the significance of the palm tree’s role in mitigating the effects of climate change in the book’s introduction. The Secretary General of Award, Dr. Zaid, also noted that by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, chief among them carbon dioxide (CO2), the agricultural sector as a whole plays a critical role in mitigating the effects of global warming.
The Khalifa International Date Palm Award was established under the patronage of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. The date palm tree and the strategic future of dates as a balanced food product were brought to the attention of both regional and international audiences during its launch. It was also highlighted that dates are a crucial component of the sustainable development process that the UAE President, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, started.