The Ministry of Interior aims to cut pollution by tightening rules, such as banning the sales of cars older than 10 years.
The Ministry of Interior aims to cut pollution by tightening rules, such as banning the sales of cars older than 10 years.

Transport

Ministry tightens emissions standards in war on smog

Vehicles will face tougher pollution tests after the Government tightened the rules for next year.

Matthew Chung

September 15, 2008

Abu Dhabi // Drivers were told yesterday their vehicles will face tougher pollution tests after the Government tightened the rules for next year. The Ministry of Interior has targeted inefficient engines which produce smog-causing particles and contribute to climate change. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, the Minister of Interior, said vehicles must produce fewer than 500 hydrocarbon emission parts per million (ppm) in their exhausts when they are tested for registration renewal.

By 2010, that figure will fall to 300 ppm. The current level is 800 ppm. Any car which fails must remain off the road until it passes. The minister also made the formal decision to ban sales of cars older than 10 years, along with other restrictions on the age of vehicles. Carbon monoxide exhaust emissions will also be reduced from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent next year, and 2.5 per cent by 2010. Vehicles will also be tested for nitrogen oxides from next year, the minister said.

Motorists whose vehicles fail the tests will have to get their emissions reduced. Hydrocarbons are molecules of fuel that have been inefficiently burnt by an engine. The more inefficient the engine, the more hydrocarbons are produced. The minister also said there would be no change to the ministry's intention to impose strict regulations to limit the number of older cars on the roads. From December, vehicles more than 20 years old will be banned completely. By 2010, vehicles older than 15 years will not have their licences renewed.

Also by December, taxis will not be renewed if they are older than five years. Car dealers will not be allowed to import second-hand cars older than five years from January next year, while heavy vehicles and buses older than seven years will also be removed. Transfer of ownership inside the UAE is also being banned by January 2010 for cars older than 10 years. More than 600 vehicles a day were registered in the emirate last year - twice as high as the population growth, according to a report by the Ministry of Planning and Economy issued in June.

There will be one million vehicles on Abu Dhabi's roads in four years, the report said. mchung@thenational.ae

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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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Rating: 2/5

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Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

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TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES

 

June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
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June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
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Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology

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How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993

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Five famous companies founded by teens

There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:

  1. Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate. 
  2. Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc. 
  3. Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway. 
  4. Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
  5. Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

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