Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) organised a special session to evaluate the projects of the third Carbon Ambassadors Programme. The session was held at DEWA’s Sustainable Building in Al Quoz, with the presence of participating teams, experts, and stakeholders. The Programme was launched by DEWA, with support from the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (Dubai Carbon).
The jury included experts from DEWA and Dubai Carbon. The participating teams reviewed their innovative projects. These included teams from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, DEWA, Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), Department of Economic Development, UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia), Emirates Group, Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), Mai Dubai and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs. At the end of the session, the jury presented its observations to the teams.
“We are committed to supporting creative skills, motivate the youth to innovate, and engage them in achieving sustainable development goals. Today’s youth are the leaders of tomorrow who will play a key role in decision-making. This is the objective of the Carbon Ambassadors Programme. The Programme continues to attract greater attention from government organisations that announced their willingness to participate. It aims to empower the youth and engage them in sustainable development goals, to support the long term national initiative launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, under the theme ‘Green economy for sustainable development’. It also supports the objectives of the UAE Centennial 2071, the UAE’s vision to be one of the best countries in the world, It also supports Dubai’s ambitious aspirations to achieve the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 to make it the city with the lowest carbon footprint by 2050, and transform it into a global hub for clean energy and green economy, and the Carbon Abatement Strategy to cut carbon emissions by 16% by 2021,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.
Al Tayer noted that the programme includes many themes and activities aimed at establishing a culture of sustainable development among university graduates and employees, to enhance their scientific and practical skills. It also increases their awareness on various environmental issues, mainly climate change and its environmental and economic impacts locally, regionally and globally.
“The participating teams presented unique and innovative projects. This proves our success in investing in the youth and providing them with opportunities for development through this pioneering programme, as it underlines the importance of the role of the youth in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.” said Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources at DEWA.
Qualified teams will have the opportunity to participate in global conferences and workshops on sustainability. These conferences include the Conference of the Parties at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the youth workshop on adaptation to climate change, in collaboration with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Korean Embassy, and other local, regional and global sustainability events.