Business | General
Increased interest on pro-environment products as UAE energy consumption quadruples
Increased industrial growth and urbanization has seen energy consumption in the UAE quadruple in the last 20 years.
- Staff Report
- Published: 17:50 September 21, 2008
Dubai: Increased industrial growth and urbanization has seen energy consumption in the UAE quadruple in the last 20 years.
With the UAE ranked as the highest consumer of energy per capita in the world, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced in 2007 a decree stating all new projects are required to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards.
As a consequence, there has been an increase of interest and purchase orders from developers looking to fit out large projects with high-quality energy efficient appliances, according to Better Life.
"The new laws state that all new building projects in the UAE must be LEED certified, and to obtain certification, developers are required to gain a certain number of points so energy efficiency obviously plays a part," said Ajai Kumar Dayal, Better Life General Manager.
"We have seen a substantial increase in interest of our environmentally friendly products, and at least 25 per cent of our orders are based on these qualities. We can see that this is going to be an increasingly important factor in our sales, as awareness among customers grows," Dayal said.
A report issued by the World Energy Council stated that the energy consumption rate in GCC countries is estimated at 10 per cent in the UAE, 7 per cent in Saudi Arabia, and between 4 and 6 per cent in other GCC countries.
More from Business General
More from Business
Business Editor's choice
-
‘Wrong Way' Krugman
The source of our economic malfunction lies with government-mandated bank regulations
-
Greek exit could make Eurozone stronger
Departure will show limits of bailouts and allow remaining members to act much more like a unit
-
UAE upholds values of free trade
Recently released statistics confirm an established fact, namely that of the UAE embracing the free trade principle in general and imports in particular
