As part of the celebrations of World Environment Day 2021, annually observed on June 5th, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) organised several virtual activities. HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA, and its Executive Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents planted ghaf trees at DEWA’s Head Office.
To celebrate the occasion, DEWA also held virtual sessions in Arabic and English. The sessions witnessed the participation of government and private organisations to raise awareness on preserving natural resources. DEWA also organised internal awareness sessions in cooperation with Dubai Municipality to educate staff on the rich wildlife and local environment. Additionally, DEWA organised interactive virtual tours within its Innovation Centre to highlight its role in promoting innovation in clean technologies that provide clean and sustainable energy. DEWA urged individuals and public and private organisations to adopt a responsible and sustainable lifestyle and make smart decisions to reduce their carbon footprint, such as installing solar PV panels, using EV vehicles, and planting authentic ghaf trees, that are suitable for the UAE’s environment. The ghaf can survive in harsh environmental conditions and has several environmental benefits, including absorbing carbon emissions to mitigate climate change.
"DEWA follows the words of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who said: ‘The green economy will be among the vital industries in the country, and it is necessary while drafting our future plans to combine protecting the environment, achieving economic sustainability and ensuring community prosperity.’ DEWA promotes sustainability across all environmental, social, and economic aspects and providing a sustainable model for saving energy and water and supporting a low carbon economy. This supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to provide 75% of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050, and realise the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030," said Al Tayer.
"As part of our efforts to raise energy efficiency, we have implemented several initiatives, which have improved the efficiency by 33.41%, equivalent to a reduction of 64.69 million tons of carbon dioxide between 2007 and 2020. DEWA has a well-defined strategy to produce 100% of desalinated water by a mix of clean energy that uses both renewable energy and waste heat by 2030. This will allow Dubai to exceed global
targets for using clean energy to desalinate water. DEWA also manages the disposal of wastewater from power and desalination plants, and re-uses treated wastewater. In 2020, DEWA reused 98% of the total recoverable wastewater (process wastewater and treated sewage effluent) in the Jebel Ali Power Plant & Desalination Complex," added Al Tayer.
"The implications posed by the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of focusing our efforts to protect the earth. It also proves that we all bear the responsibility to protect our planet’s natural resources and ecosystem and mitigate climate change and global warming. Sustainability is an integral part of DEWA’s strategy and vision, to become a globally leading sustainable innovative corporation. DEWA cooperates with various entities to launch community initiatives to reduce waste and rationalise electricity and water consumption. The conservation programmes and initiatives launched by DEWA have achieved cumulative savings of 2.44 terrawatthours (TWh) of electricity and 6.7 billion gallons of water between 2011 and 2020. This is equivalent to saving AED 1.35 billion and reducing 1.22 million tonnes of carbon emissions," said Khawla Al Mehairi, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Government Communications at DEWA.