Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, continues its support to national and international efforts to achieve sustainable development and reduce climate change impact. These are the focus points of this year’s World Government Summit which is being held in Dubai. The Summit aims to bring together governments and influential leaders to work together to improve people’s lives, and serve human communities, through sustainable development, based on conservation of natural resources and access to more sustainable consumption patterns.
Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower, received a tribute at a special ceremony held at Etihad Museum in Dubai, to announce the launch of the State of Green Economy Report 2019, in recognition of Empower’s sponsorship and effective role in the preparation of the report which reviews annual achievements in the field of sustainable development. The Supreme Council of Energy compiled the report, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (Dubai Carbon), the World Green Economy Organisation (WGEO), and many local and regional organisations, as well as public and private entities.
“The State of Green Economy Report aims to help public and private sectors’ progress towards a green economy. Empower is one of the annual sponsors of this report, which highlights major projects and initiatives that promote green practices in all areas. These practices contribute to achieving comprehensive and sustainable national development. The UAE’s wise leadership, led by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, stressed the need to build a green economy based on diversity and innovation, and reduce reliance on energy sources to achieve developments and preserve natural resources for future generations,” said Bin Shafar.
“Empower strives to support national and international efforts towards sustainability to create the required balance between economic development, environmental conservation and carbon emission reduction, by promoting energy efficiency and reducing consumption, focusing on Research & Development (R&D) and increasing reliance on innovative solutions. This supports the Demand Side Management Strategy to reduce energy and water consumption by 30% by 2030, and the Carbon Abatement Strategy to reduce carbon emissions by 16% by 2021,” continued Bin Shafar.
Bin Shafar highlighted that, through its pioneering projects and initiatives, Empower anticipates the future of energy efficiency and enhances its efforts to achieve a ‘green economy for sustainable development’, in order to build a green economy in the UAE and maintain a sustainable environment by strengthening and diversifying partnerships with the public and private sectors. This supports the UAE Vision 2021 to make the UAE one of the best countries in energy and sustainability by 2021, and the Dubai Plan 2021 to establish Dubai as a smart and sustainable city, whose environmental elements are clean, healthy and sustainable.
Empower has more than 1,090 buildings that are using district cooling services, catering to around 100,000 customers. The company operates more than 1.43 Million Refrigeration Tonnes (RT), providing environmentally friendly district cooling services to large-scale real estate developments, such as Bluewaters, Jumeirah Group, Business Bay, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Ibn Battuta Mall, Discovery Gardens, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai World Trade Centre Residences and Dubai Design District, amongst others.