Dubai rowers to brave Arctic to highlight plastics pollution

DUBAI: At an indoor pool in Dubai, three rowers battle artificial rain and simulated waves as they train for an Arctic voyage intended to highlight the perils of marine pollution. Their quest will take the team from one extreme to the next.

Home base is the United Arab Emirates, notorious for its sweltering heat, especially in summer.

And their destination is one of the world´s coldest regions -- although because of climate change it is warming three times faster than the global average.

For leader Toby Gregory, it is a chance to sound the alarm about the scourge of plastic waste in the world´s oceans, a mission he took on after a 2023 Atlantic Ocean rowing trip during which he saw “a lot more plastic than I ever imagined”.

The United Nations says plastics account for 85 percent of all marine trash.

Last year Gregory founded The Plastic Pledge, which tries to educate students about plastic disposal. “We want to inspire one million students, not just in the UAE but around the world, to do things differently,” Gregory, a media adviser for UAE royal families, told AFP. “Do you just put your trash outside and hope it goes to recycling? Well, can you do something and be more proactive?”

He added: “The greatest threat to our planet is that everyone believes that somebody else will save it.”

The “Arctic Challenge” will see 46-year-old Gregory, his fellow Briton Andrew Savill, 39, and 30-year-old Irishwoman Orlagh Dempsey embark late this month on a 1,500-kms voyage.