Dubai Supreme Council of Energy launches Green Transport initiative

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice-Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, DSCE, headed the council’s 36th meeting, held yesterday in its headquarters, in the presence of Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, DSCE Secretary-General.

The meeting was also attended by board members including Saif Humaid Al Falasi, CEO of the Emirates National Oil Company, ENOC, Abdulla Abdul Karim, Director-General of the Department of Petroleum Affairs, Salem bin Mesmar, Assistant Director-General for the Environment, Health and Safety Control Sector, at Dubai Municipality, Waleed Salman, Vice President of the Dubai Nuclear Energy Committee, Dr. Yousef Al Ali, CEO of the Public Transport Agency at the Roads and Transport Authority, RTA, and Keiron Ferguson, who was recently appointed as General Manager of Dubai Supply Authority, DUSUP.

At the beginning of the meeting, Al Tayer and the board members welcomed the newly-appointed General Manager of DUSUP, wishing him every success in his duties. "In line with the vision of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Dubai Plan 2021 to make Dubai a smart, integrated, connected city that is sustainable with its resources, improve quality of life, establish itself as a role model for the world in green economy, we launched the Dubai Green Transport initiative to encourage the use of sustainable transport by hybrid and electric vehicles. This will contribute to a 19% decrease in total carbon emissions in Dubai, with transport being the key attribute for it," said Al Tayer.

As part of implementing the strategy to decrease overall carbon emissions in Dubai, with plans to reduce it by around 16% by 2021, the Supreme Council of Energy will cooperate with government authorities, especially those owning large fleets of vehicles, to encourage them to purchase hybrid or electric cars in the future. This will ensure the successful implementation of this initiative, which Dubai anticipates will achieve a 10% increase in the number of hybrid and electric cars by 2030.

"During the board meeting, we reviewed the latest developments in the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 and analysed the programmes and projects that have been implemented by members of the Supreme Council of Energy in energy supply, and demand side management projects. We also reviewed the latest technological developments and updates in clean energy," said Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary-General of the DSCE.

During the meeting, Dubai Municipality presented its project on its latest developments in converting waste to energy, which will be implemented in the coming months, as part of the UAE Vision 2021, to build a diversified economy, preserve the environment, achieve sustainable development, enhance opportunities for investment in different recycling projects in the UAE, and contribute to achieving the National Agenda index, by raising the percentage of processed waste out of the total waste produced to 75% by 2021.

Finally, the road map of the second Emirates Energy Award was reviewed, and the Supreme Council members approved the results of the evaluation of the winners. The award has seen overwhelming participation from the GCC, Middle East and North Africa, and winners will be honoured on 22nd October, in conjunction with World Energy Day.