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Dubai plans to reduce carbon dioxide, greenhouse emissions

The initiative is an integral part of the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, including the plans to build a 1,000-megawatt solar power park in the Emirate announced last month.

The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, or DSCE, has partnered with the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, or DCCE, to verify preliminary studies on carbon dioxide emissions. Emirate-wide research on greenhouse gas emissions will be carried out and frameworks developed with relevant industries aimed at introducing a comprehensive carbon dioxide abatement programme.

On Sunday’s signing of an MoU between the two entities, DSCE vice-chairman Saeed Al Tayer said the partnership was a further stage in the successful deployment of the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 and an opportunity to encourage low-carbon industries and attract foreign investment.

“Our commitment towards a green economy starts today, with the creation of a platform to monitor and benchmark our carbon performance. Any policy or activity cannot be properly assessed unless it is measurable and quantifiable. The launch of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park project in January and our partnership with the DCCE demonstrates the strength of the commitment to Dubai’s vision for a green economy as the basis for sustainable development.”

“The DCCE was created to encourage and complement a business-led drive towards de-carbonising the UAE economy. Together with the public sector and wider society in Dubai, we aim to achieve greater environmental efficiency and improved economic performance on carbon reductions. The carbon abatement strategy will be a key step in translating these objectives into concrete action, generating additional momentum behind the Integrated Energy Strategy 2030. DCCE expertise will help the Council develop emissions reduction frameworks aligned with global standards, and harness the many economic opportunities of emissions reduction,” DCCE chairman Waleed Salman said.

Further to a carbon dioxide baseline study by the DSCE in the fourth quarter of 2011, the DCCE will complete a detailed inventory of Dubai’s greenhouse gas emissions in line with the requirements of the International Panel on Climate Change, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

It will develop a monitoring, reporting and verification framework, in order to harmonise and streamline data collection from the Council’s members, which include the main energy, manufacturing and utilities companies in Dubai.

The DCCE will also recommend viable targets for reducing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases and a methodology to monetise emissions, similar to the European Trading Scheme, the Clean Development Mechanism developed under the Kyoto Protocol, and other carbon reduction schemes.

“Creating an incentive-based mechanism to reduce carbon emissions will establish a regional benchmark for sustainable development and help finance new investment in clean energy infrastructure, further supporting the growth of Dubai,” DSCE CEO Nejib Zaafrani said.

business@khaleejtimes.com