DUBAI, 22nd October, 2014 (WAM)The Carbon Abatement Committee held its first meeting where it discussed and approved the carbon reduction strategy for Dubai, which was presented by the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE).
The Committee is chaired by H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, and Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), and Vice Chairman of the Carbon Abatement Committee.
The committee includes Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Hussain Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, Mohammed Ahli, Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Abdulla Kalban, CEO and Managing Director of Emirates Global Aluminium, Ahmed Butti Al Muhairabi, Secretary General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Waleed Salman, Chairman of DCCE, and Ivano Ianelli, CEO of DCCE and Rapporteur of the Committee.
The strategy to reduce carbon emissions is the first of its kind in the region. It supports the UAE Vision 2021, which aims to transform the UAE to be one of the best countries in the world by 2021. The strategy also supports the national long-term Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative to enhance competitiveness and economic sustainability of the UAE, and make it a global role model in sustainability and green initiatives.
It also complements the Dubai Strategic Plan 2021 to maintain Dubai’s leading position at the regional level and its competitiveness at the global level, as well as Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy to reduce energy consumption by 30% by 2030.
The meeting was chaired by Al Tayer. Salman, as chairman of the technical committee, presented the executive plan to reduce carbon emissions until 2021, in addition to the green initiatives and programmes that government departments in Dubai will implement to reduce carbon emissions by about 16% by 2021, which is high percentage at the global level.
The Carbon Abatement Committee reviews the objectives and mechanisms, and provides strategic direction and recommendations in terms of carbon reduction, with the support of the Technical Committee and a working group of stakeholders, experts and decision makers. The Committee comprises key public organisations in the Emirate of Dubai and focuses on achieving its goals for energy, the city, roads and transportation, and aviation, as well as the gradual empowerment strategy to promote innovation in reducing carbon emissions.
In 2012, the Supreme Council of Energy launched the first phase of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Verification (MRV) project of all greenhouse gases (GHG). This stage sets a detailed plan that identifies key indicators and benchmarks for all sources of greenhouse gases in the Emirate of Dubai. As a result, Dubai has aligned its systems to adapt international best practice in energy and sustainability to ensure the environmental effects of energy are in line with the Emirate’s growth plans.
