Is there an incentive not to pollute?

Buoyed by demand for building materials, a rock quarry ramps up production. As a result, it starts belching huge clouds of dust into the atmosphere. The local population breathes it in, and rates of asthma and other respiratory problems rise sharply.

Fifteen years on, and the UAE Government says it will now consider fines for companies that risked damaging the health of people living near the mines. Hamad al Matroushi, an environmental impact assessment specialist at the Federal Environmental Agency (FEA), says nearly 10,000 people in the Northern Emirates, whose health was affected by years of breathing in dust from mining activities, should be compensated by local governments.

Did no one think 15 years ago that polluting the atmosphere was a ‘bad thing’, and that it might be harmful to the health of residents?

Hats off to the authorities for finally starting to act, though, as ever, rules are one thing, implementation is another. The question is, will this herald a wider push on air quality in the cities? Will it focus attention on construction and traffic pollution in Dubai?

Or, to put it another way, is there an incentive for business not to pollute?