UAE shows the way in adoption of clean energy as other nations stick with the black stuff

A worker throws his cigarette while smoking on a truck parked in front of a cooling towers of a coal-fired power plant in Datong, Shanxi province, China. AP Photo
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As the COP21 climate change talks continue in Paris, there is a growing sense of “who cares?” among the public. After all, since these climate change gatherings began 20 years ago the health of our planet has gotten worse, not better.

In 2000 the world’s pollution-intensive coal-fired power plants were generating roughly 1,100 gigawatts of electricity. By 2014 that number had doubled to almost 2,000 GW.

Coal, which is twice as polluting as natural gas, now supplies 41 per cent of the world’s electricity. This trend is expected to grow, with 2,440 new coal-fired power plants planned to be commissioned by 2030.

The proliferation of these dirty fuel plants has come mainly from China, with India and Indonesia also contributing. Understandably, they view the black stuff as the most economical way of fuelling their country’s growth. To turn around and ask these emerging nations to agree to mandatory reductions is like dragging a donkey to water. No chance.

The 150 heads of states who have descended upon the French capital instead need to adopt a more “bottom-up” approach.

While a high-level international agreement would be welcome, local governance will remain a key catalyst to propel green energy and cut carbon emission.

The emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai offer good examples of how local efforts can lead to change.

Abu Dhabi emerged as an early adopter when in 2006 it unveiled its Masdar master plan. Since then it has invested billions of dollars in clean energy technology and urban planning. Soon after, the Abu Dhabi government scooped up the rights to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

More recently Dubai has made big strides in tackling its carbon footprint. Last week it launched its Clean Energy Strategy 2050 which consists of bold policies aimed at drastically decarbonising its energy mix.

Over the next 15 years, the Dubai government through its utility sector arm, Dewa, will procure 5,000 megawatts of solar power, most of which will be installed at the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park. The procurement programme has already begun and the first set of solar panels, totalling 13,000MW, is feeding electricity into the city’s grid. Once completed, this solar park will span the equivalent of 8,000 football pitches and will help Dubai achieve its new target of harnessing the sun to satisfy 25 per cent of its energy mix. Currently that figure stands at 1 per cent, which shows just how ambitious the government is with its carbon reduction targets.

Moreover, the Dubai government is also adopting municipal policies to encourage building owners to install solar systems on their roofs. Realising that financing is a major stumbling block for these building owners, the government will offer Dh100 billion worth of low-cost loans as part of its Green Fund.

It has offered an additional carrot in the form of electricity credits. Through these, solar rooftop systems’ building owners will see their electricity bills drop instantly. The fact that these building owners are helping the city cut down its emissions is a nice bonus.

Dubai is also erecting an Innovation Centre that is meant to become like a Silicon Valley for clean energy innovations. After all, transformational change made possible through innovative technology is our best hope for combatting climate change.

We are the ones who put ourselves in this mess through the invention of the combustion engines and coal-fired power plants. Equally, we should be able to get ourselves out of it by inventing technologies that generate environmentally friendly energy and lessen the effect of climate change.

Once its Clean Energy Strategy is fully deployed, Dubai would become the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world.

If other local governments around the world adopt similarly forward-thinking policies then we could start seeing real change on a global scale. This way, when global leaders make their way to the Arab world for COP22 in Morocco next November, they will be able to talk about achievements rather than problems.

Vahid Fotuhi is director of origination at Access Power and founder of the Middle East Solar Industry Association