The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is participating in the second edition of the UN World Data Forum 2018, organised at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. DEWA is one of UAE’s government entities participating in the Emirates pavilion.
Mohammed Abdulkarim Al Shamsi, Senior Manager of Climate Change and Sustainability at DEWA, conducted a panel discussion at the Emirates pavilion. He discussed DEWA’s long-term vision to drive forward sustainable development, as well as the Institutional Sustainability Programme launched by DEWA in 2012, aiming to be a world-class innovative sustainable entity.
Al Shamsi highlighted DEWA’s participation in the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit held in New York in September 2015, which adopted the UN’s Agenda 2030, and underpinned DEWA’s role in engaging stakeholders through campaigns to raise awareness about the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the importance of these goals in achieving DEWA’s strategic vision.
Al Shamsi said internal discussions are made by the senior management in collaboration with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, to issue the Sustainability Report 2016.
The discussion panel presented DEWA’s sustainable projects, notably the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world, based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, with a planned capacity of 5,000MW by 2030, and a total investment of AED 50 billion. It incorporates a Research & Development centre, which is under construction with a total investment of AED 500 million by 2020.
The panel also discussed DEWA’s smart initiatives, such as Shams Dubai, Smart Applications through Smart Meters and Grids, and the Green Charger initiatives. In addition, a number of projects contributing to meeting SDGs, such as the Demand Side Management (DSM) Strategy on energy and water, Climate Change Tackling, and World Green Economy Organisation, were also discussed.
In conclusion, Al Shamsi underscored the commitment of all DEWA’s projects and initiatives to other various SDGs, such as gender equality, peace, justice and strong institutions and partnerships to fulfill these goals.