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28 March 2024

UAE using 225% more energy than Europe

Published
By Staff

Commercial and residential properties in the Middle East currently use 225 per cent more energy than their European counterparts, according to Alan Harpham, Chairman, APMG-International, a global examination institute.

“In fact, UAE's per capita footprint of 9.5 hectares is four times more than the global per person 2.1 hectares availability.”

He said that the UAE must step-up management of its ecological footprint. This was a response to recent research which revealed the equivalent of 6.5 planets is needed to regenerate resources and absorb the carbon emissions, if globally everyone lived like the average Middle Eastern resident.

“With international arrivals to the Middle East expected to reach 68.5 million by 2020, carbon footprint management is key in generating projects that create an effective presence within the UAE to ensure ecological, economic and social success,” he shared.

Harpham is set to kick-off timely conversation among the region’s senior management teams at this month’s upcoming ‘APMG-International Showcase Middle East’ masterclass and networking event on September 9 2012.

Meanwhile Harpham acknowledged that developing ‘clean energy’ has increasingly become a hot topic in the Middle East due to climatic conditions and the swift consumption of dwindling natural resources.

“However, since then that UAE-based projects like Emirates Wildlife Society’s (EWS-WWF) ‘Eco-School programme’, Abu Dhabi’s ‘Estimada initiative’ and the ‘UAE Strategy for Green Development’ have set out to contribute towards creating a greener living space for its residents,” he said.

Ivano Iannelli, CEO of Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE), a leading figure within the UAE’s carbon reduction industry, echoed Harpham’s sentiments as he acknowledged that management professionals must stand together to help reduce the nations’ carbon footprint.

Iannelli will discuss Change, Project and Risk Management and will address the relationship of PRINCE2 across different areas, from Humanitarian to Power Generation.

“We are only a couple of concerted management steps away from creating a carbon-free UAE,” Iannelli added.

Harpham shared that is vital to identify opportunities and we can work together to create public knowledge of the carbon state of the UAE, “the UAE has already committed to reduce the carbon footprint of the country by 20 per cent by 2015,” he said.

“What we urge is dialogue with major organisations and government departments to raise awareness and encourage carbon changes.”

The British University in Dubai (BUiD) is set to play host to the delegates from diverse business sectors at the upcoming APMG-International Showcase Middle East, where experts are set to take the stage in Dubai to share management research, ideas and best practices.

“We must recognise that our ability to manage our resources is key to survival. The UAE as a whole needs to practice carbon footprint management and champion green corporate practices,” Harpham said.

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