Story highlights
Road to Rio comes from the UAE, where Abu Dhabi will host city of the World Future Energy Summit
Rima, Leone and Nick travel in green style while exploring how the city cuts carbon
They also visit Masdar City -- a high tech green hub aiming to house 40,000 people by 2030
This month Road to Rio: A Green City journey is touching down in the United Arab Emirates. In the wake of an inconclusive United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, CNN’s Rima Maktabi, Leone Lakhani and Nick Glass head to Abu Dhabi, soon-to-be host city of the World Future Energy Summit. The capital’s conference center will host the likes of Ban Ki Moon from January 16-19, 2012.
Leone goes on patrol with the city’s police force on their fleet of electric scooters while Rima visits architect Zaha Hadid’s Sheikh Zayed Bridge, constructed out of a new green cement made by recycling waste products. Meanwhile, Nick goes to Dubai to investigate the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world and a high-energy consumer to see how they are finding green solutions.
From a solar-paneled boat, natural-gas taxi to the latest electric boat, the three reporters ride through the Emirati streets and waterways in green style. They reconvene in the region’s most ambitious carbon-cutting project – Masdar City – a high-tech green hub which aims to house 40,000 people living sustainably by 2030.
A list of the stories covered on the show follows:
GREEN CITY CHALLENGE
The UAE is the fourth largest carbon emitter in the world. CNN’s Rima Maktabi, Leone Lakhani and Nick Glass meet in the capital city, Abu Dhabi, to see where efforts are being made to cut the carbon.
Leone goes on patrol with city’s police force on their fleet of electric scooters while Rima takes a ride in a natural gas taxi. She drives over architect Zaha Hadid’s Sheikh Zayed Bridge, constructed out of a green cement made by recycling waste products. Nick heads to Dubai to see how the world’s tallest building - Burj Khalifa - has gone green.
He then goes to the neighbouring Emirate of Al Ain to visit the site of the most sustainable building in the country - Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Center - where they are digging deep to keep cool. The team reconvene in the region’s most ambitious carbon cutting project - Masdar City - a high tech green hub which aims to house 40,000 people living sustainably by 2030.
RIO +20
The programme is headed to Rio+20 ‘Earth Summit’ in July. Nick explores the Kyoto Protocol from its source at the 1992 ‘Earth Summit’ in Rio and speaks to experts about the position of the UAE in the negotiations.
GREEN SHEIKH
Rima heads to the UAE’s smallest emirate - Al Ajman - to meet the Green Sheikh and the next generation of eco warriors. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Ali Al Nuaimi has adopted this name for his work promoting sustainability among the youth.
NUCLEAR
From the site of an imminent nuclear power plant, Leone reports on the government’s decision to become first Gulf Arab nation to have low emissions, atomic power. Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has signed a deal with the state-owned Korean Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) to build four nuclear reactors 2017-2020.
SOLAR DESALINATION
Nick Glass heads into the desert to find out about the carbon footprint of water. The UAE is one of the world’s largest consumers of water, with each person in Abu Dhabi consuming 560 litres of water per day, more than double the global average. Almost every drop of drinking water comes from energy intensive desalination plants. He explores a potential solution at a solar-powered desalination project.