Ahmad Bin Shafar

DUBAI, UAE, 24 November 2020: Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) is participating in a series of sessions on the sidelines of the twelfth Conference of the Parties (COP 12) to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 32^nd Meeting of the Parties (MOP 32) to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer, being held from November 23 to 27 through virtual platforms, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Empower said it has also participated in the Annual Partners Call of the global project of United Nations Environment Program, the ‘District Energy in Cities Initiative’ (DES Initiative). The session was held in the beginning of November over digital platform.

Making the announcement through a Press release, Empower said it is one of the key partners of the DES initiative and that its CEO, Ahmad Bin Shafar is a Special Advisor on district cooling to the UNEP. The initiative was launched to promote district cooling solutions in developing cities around the world. Empower said it is one of the most prominent partners supporting the initiative that aims to increase the use of district cooling systems around the world, in a bid to boost energy efficiency, reduce harmful emissions, enhance local and regional economies, and cherish the social and environmental benefits of district cooling systems.

According to Empower, the participants reviewed the key achievements accomplished within the framework of the initiative over the past year. Much light was cast upon the effective role played by the partners and the various means through which they help to achieve the goals of the initiative concerning increasing energy efficiency around the world, and researching how district cooling systems promote energy and water efficiency, Empower said. District cooling is one of the six energy efficiency accelerators of ‘Sustainable Energy for All’, a platform promoted by United Nations to drive faster action towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7, Empower said.

“The Annual Partners Call reviewed the key achievements and progress made by the DES Initiative during the last year and also showcased the instrumental role that partners are playing in supporting the Initiative and the different means partners can extend support,” Bin Shafar said. “While the meeting was held as an integrated effort to achieve energy efficiency targets, we at Empower aim to contribute to climate change agenda by supporting the DES initiative.”

Bin Shafar stressed the importance of district cooling in conserving the environment and the role it plays in the strategy of Dubai and the UAE, in general, with regard to reduction of CO2 emissions. This has prompted many to adopt district cooling systems to preserve the environment by using clean energy, and has stressed the need to expand and invest heavily in this domain, which contributes to saving energy consumption by up to 50%, when compared to the use of traditional cooling systems, Empower said.

In July 2017, Empower signed an international cooperation agreement with the ‘District Energy in Cities Initiative’, launched by the United Nations Environment Program, during the 108th annual conference of the International District Cooling Association, which was held in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the United States.

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