“Empower” highlights the importance of adopting cooling areas to enhance the sustainability of green infrastructure

The CEO of “Embower”, the Special Adviser to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the honorary member of the Board of Directors of the International Region Energy Association (IDEA), and the President of the Association of Regions Credit Works in the Gulf region, Ahmed bin Shafar, as a major speaker on the first day of the International Regional Energy Conference in Latin America (Lac2025), which was held in the city of Santiago in Chile from 9 to 10 September 2025.

The participation of Ahmed bin Shafar witnessed two main sessions: The first session entitled “Achieving the long -term vision of the regions cooling market at the global level”, as it highlighted the vital role of the regions cooling sector in supporting global sustainability goals, and reviewed the distinguished achievements of Dubai and the UAE in this field. He also presented a working paper that had a wide positive interaction from the attendees, stressing the importance of energy transmission and the adoption of sustainable solutions to meet the increasing environmental and climate challenges.

During the session, he stressed the importance of cooling regions and its ability to reduce energy consumption by 50% compared to traditional means, which makes it an ideal sustainable solution, especially in areas such as the Middle East in which about 70% of energy is allocated to cooling.

He also talked about the “Embower” success story in Dubai, noting that the Foundation has started its journey from a city that seeks to enhance energy efficiency, to be today the largest provider of regional cooling services in the world.

He explained that this exceptional growth came as a result of a long -term strategic vision, continuous government support, an investment in infrastructure and modern technologies, which enabled Embower to cover a large number of the most prominent areas and vital projects in Dubai, and to provide sustainable and effective cooling services to millions of population and visitors.

As for the second session, it was a discussion session within the activities of the conference, which brought together a group of experts and sector pioneers from different countries of the world to exchange experiences and visions about the future of sustainable energy, during which His Excellency Ahmed bin Shafar spoke about the urgent environmental challenges facing the world today, and stressed the importance of adopting energy -saving solutions such as cooling regions.

This participation comes within the framework of the “Embower” sponsorship of the conference, organized by the Ministry of Energy and the Sustainable Energy Agency in Chile, with funding from the World Environment Fund and with the support of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Cool Coalition, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the State Secretariat for Swiss Economic Affairs (SECO) and the International Region Energy Association (IDEA).

Embower CEO Ahmed bin Shafar said: The UAE pays great attention to sustainability and preserving the environment to contribute to reducing climate change, as it launched many strategies aimed at increasing the proportion of renewable energy including the Emirates Energy Strategy 2050 and Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 and the strategic initiative of climate neutrality 2050 and Dubai Clean Energy Strategy in addition to the Dubai Energy Inquiry Strategy 2030, which aims to reduce the demand for electricity and water by 30% by 2030, explaining that the international leadership achieved by the UAE in terms of the regions cooling industry was the fruits of the state investment in advanced infrastructure and accompanying international standards.

Bin Shafar added: “Such an international event enables” Empower “to build strong bridges with the poles of the regions cooling industry and with commercial partners, as it is a valuable opportunity to exchange opinions and make rich dialogues aimed at upgrading the areas of cooling regions and developing innovative technologies.”

On the other hand, he stressed the importance of supporting the areas of the regions at the global level because of its environmental, economic, social and health benefits, indicating that you require the provision of financing and investments necessary to develop this sector, as well as strengthening sustainable energy and green infrastructure systems in various countries.