Dubai: The emirate's state-owned companies, ports and airports could soon adopt strict quotas for reducing carbon emissions.
Saeed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), said on Sunday that Dubai plans to step up its efforts to slash its carbon emissions, currently set at 1.5 million tonnes per year.
The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE) on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a strategy to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Solar project
According to the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, the government is looking to diversify its sources of energy, targeting renewable energy to supply 1 per cent of its energy by 2020 and 5 per cent by 2030.
Part of this initiative is the Dh12 billion solar project — the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park — which will be able to generate 1,000 megawatts of power.
But state-owned companies such as Dewa, Dubal and Enoc, and Dubai's airports and ports will also be expected to play a role, Al Tayer said, as part of a joint voluntary initiative.
Verification
"This initiative will verify an initial comprehensive study to measure the quantity of carbon dioxide emissions in Dubai upon which a strategic plan would be carried out to introduce an abatement programme," he 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, he added.
The UAE currently has a significant number of registered Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, and five are undergoing validation, Waleed Salman, Chairman of the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, said.
"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," he said.
"It will develop a monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) 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."
Viable targets
"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."
Salman also added that the strategy would also examine the best options to build a ‘Clean Energy Fund' linked to carbon dioxide reduction and dedicated to new investment in energy-related projects in Dubai.
Incentives
Najeeb Zaafrani, Secretary General and CEO of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, said: "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.
"The outcome of the Dubai carbon abatement strategy will provide the basis for a policy framework to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
"It will serve as a template for motivating industry to achieve high standards in sustainability, and help to unlock new growth opportunities in the Dubai economy.
"This initiative would be a contribution to the UAE drive to achieve green economy for sustainable development and also contribute in turning UAE vision 2021 into reality in the coming nine years".
Zaafrani added: "We also aspire to play an active role at the federal level in the UAE's efforts to develop and implement Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) activities, through the DCCE."
