Dubai’s carbon footprint continues to decline

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, chaired the 95th meeting of the Council, which was held virtually, in the presence of the Vice Chairman of the Council, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer.

The Council reviewed the performance of the Emirate of Dubai in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and approved the results of measuring greenhouse gas emissions for the year 2025, which showed a continued decline in the emirate’s carbon footprint, reflecting the progress made in implementing policies and initiatives supporting sustainability and the shift towards a green economy. This achievement is attributed to a group of major factors, most notably increasing energy production from clean sources, rationalizing electricity and water consumption, and raising operational efficiency in various sectors, in addition to the expansion of the use of environmentally friendly vehicles.

The Council also discussed the feasibility of producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from organic waste in the Emirate of Dubai, in line with global trends aimed at increasing the proportions of mixing sustainable fuel with conventional aviation fuel in the coming years, pointing out that this initiative would provide a cleaner local alternative to the aviation sector, and enhance the principles of the circular economy in the Emirate of Dubai.

The Vice Chairman of the Council, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, said: “These achievements are a translation of the vision and directives of the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, aiming to consolidate Dubai’s position as a global model in sustainable development and the green economy.”

He added that the projects emanating from the “Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2050” and the “Dubai Carbon Emissions Reduction Strategy 2030” demonstrated the effectiveness of the emirate’s strategic direction, and succeeded in attracting investments and partnerships from the private sector at the local and global levels, to implement pioneering projects in the fields of solar energy, battery energy storage, green hydrogen production, waste-to-energy conversion, waste recycling, and green building construction.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Council, Ahmed Butti Al Muhairbi, confirmed that the governance model that the Council adopted, and continued to develop over the past 15 years, formed a fundamental pillar in achieving qualitative results and distinguished performance indicators, through the implementation of an integrated system of programs and initiatives, within the energy and water demand management strategy. These efforts contributed to achieving tangible savings in electricity and water consumption, according to a clear road map and sustainable work methodology that has been applied since 2012.