Dubai Supreme Council of Energy Reviews Performance of the Building Retrofit Programme

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), chaired the 77th meeting of the Council, which was held virtually in the presence of H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the DSCE. 

The meeting discussed several topics, including the Building Retrofit Programme in Dubai. Members reviewed the programme’s performance over the past years, culminating with efforts by relevant authorities to reduce the annual water and electricity consumption.

Elements related to air conditioning, lighting, building structure and rooftop solar power systems were discussed in detail at the meeting. Dubai aims to retrofit 30,000 buildings by the end of 2030.

The meeting also reviewed the latest developments in retrofitting government buildings in Dubai to improve their energy and water consumption. Since launching the programme in 2015, 8,000 buildings have been retrofitted, including 7,791 government buildings.

H.E. Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the DSCE said: "The meeting reviewed the initiatives and strategies to reach net-zero carbon emissions and consolidate a low-carbon economy.

“The most prominent of these strategies are the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of Dubai’s total power production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050, and the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy 2030.”

H.E. Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary-General of the DSCE said: “During the meeting, we reviewed the results achieved by Dubai in reducing carbon emissions in 2022, which reached 19%.

"This reflects the effectiveness of the programmes and projects to increase the share of solar energy and raise operational efficiency in factories and facilities, in addition to waste recycling in electricity and water production, industry, road transport and waste treatment."

The meeting also reviewed the DSCE’s headquarters receiving the ISO 50001:2018 for energy management system, recognising its efforts to promote and manage energy efficiency.

This has helped the DSCE include energy efficiency into the Integrated Energy Management by adopting a comprehensive approach for continuous improvement of energy performance across its facilities and assets and increasing awareness of responsible energy consumption.

The meeting was also attended by Dubai Supreme Council of Energy board members – H.E. Dawood Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality; H.E. Abdulla bin Kalban, Managing Director of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA); H.E. Saif Humaid Al Falasi, CEO of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC); Juan-Pablo Freile, General Manager of Dubai Petroleum; and Hussain Al Banna, CEO of the Strategy & Corporate Governance Sector at the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).

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