Expect to reduce 1.3 million tonnes of CO2

Over the course of 2012, MDG Carbon, UNDP’s innovative corporate carbon finance programme aimed at harnessing the resources of the carbon market to bring long-term sustainable development to developing countries, cemented its collaboration with the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE), which offers advisory and carbon aggregation services, by registering five Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in the UAE.

Announcing this in a joint communiqué, the two entities listed the five new CDM projects, which reportedly serve to double UAE’s existing CDM project portfolio:

• An initiative undertaken in conjunction with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to improve the energy efficiency of power generation in Dubai
• Industrial energy efficiency measures in conjunction with Dubai Aluminium (Dubal)
• Waste heat recovery in the Union Cement Company plant in Ras Al Khaimah
• The distribution of almost 800,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) free of charge to residents of high-density Dubai suburbs
• The construction and operation of Dubai’s first solar photovoltaic power plant, paving the way for installation of a further 400MW of grid-connected solar power

Together, the five projects are expected, over the 10-year CDM crediting periods, to reduce a total of 1.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to approximately two per cent of Dubai’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.

Marcel Alers, Manager of MDG Carbon, commented: “UNDP’s collaboration with the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence has been extremely productive. In successfully registering five CDM projects, we are demonstrating that climate change mitigation need not be a cost and a brake on growth, but can actually represent a successful business model that delivers important development co-benefits.”

Waleed Salman, Chairman of DCCE, added: “The registration of these first Dubai-based CDM projects can be seen as a milestone in the low-carbon development of the emirate, and is in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as outlined in His Highness’ ‘Green Economy for Sustainable Development’ initiative.”