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ABU DHABI/ WAM
The Department of Culture and Tourism- Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) announced today, at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2024), the launch of its Carbon Calculator, designed to support all hotels across the emirate in tracking and quantifying their consumption of various carbon emission sources.
The Carbon Calculator will support the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, a national drive aimed at achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
With the aim of lowering the carbon footprint of the industry over time, the Calculator will provide hotels access to a dashboard to identify key areas of high consumption, especially within energy and water consumption.
The Calculator’s methodology has been developed in consultation with representatives from the hotel industry as well as several government stakeholders including the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) and the Department of Energy Abu Dhabi (DoE). EAD played an advisory role on the GreenHouse Gases (GHGs) accounting methodology and tools, and this initiative is consistent with the EAD’s Green Business Network.
By tracking indicators such as consumption of fuel, gas, electricity, and water and converting this data into a standardised unit of measurement (kgCO2e), the tool facilitates analysis across the industry. The Calculator will aid DCT Abu Dhabi in recognising top-performing hotels and supporting those with higher consumption to gradually reduce emissions.
This initiative aligns with emirate-wide decarbonisation efforts, as well as incentivizing the adoption of solutions such as retrofitting. It also provides a blueprint for expanding carbon footprint accounting in the tourism industry for other sectors, such as events, cultural sites or entertainment attractions.
Saleh Mohammed Al Geziry, Director=General of Tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “The launch of the Carbon Calculator is a significant milestone for Abu Dhabi’s hospitality industry and will help shape a greener future for our tourism sector, in line with our leadership’s vision of transforming the emirate into a carbon-neutral destination by 2050. By empowering hotels to assess and own their environmental impact, we are encouraging the adoption of eco-friendly tourism practices to ultimately attract a higher number of environmentally conscious tourists.”
Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary-General of EAD, said, “We are always pleased to see the industry playing a proactive role in reducing their carbon footprint in their path towards low carbon sustainability. The Carbon Calculator of DCT is a tool that showcases how this important entity is adopting digital technology for the greater good of an eco-friendly tourism sector. The calculator will support climate action and enable the reduction of GHG emissions in Abu Dhabi as it will help touristic facilities understand their emissions and design science based mitigation plans and strategies to fight climate change and enhance air quality.”
Ahmed Juma Al Falasi, Energy Efficiency Sector Executive Director-Acting at DoE, said, “The carbon calculator rolled out by DCT to the hospitality sector will greatly support our efforts to meet the energy and water efficiency targets of our Abu Dhabi Demand Side Management & Energy Rationalization Strategy 2030. This groundbreaking tool reinforces our commitment to environmental stewardship, empowering hoteliers in Abu Dhabi to make informed decisions that reduce their carbon footprint and pave the way for a greener future. The DoE is ready to collaborate with DCT and the hospitality sector in developing and implementing future energy and water efficiency initiatives that will help reduce hotels operating costs, while enhancing their carbon footprint performance.”
With an emphasis on collaboration and collective action, all Abu Dhabi hotels are mandated to use the Carbon Calculator and submit their consumption data, with mandatory monthly reporting being implemented across the industry. By logging in and submitting their emissions data, hotels will gain invaluable insights through dynamic dashboards, which will help inform and prioritise sustainability efforts.
Hotels in Abu Dhabi are mandated to register themselves on the Calculator and verify their data, with DCT Abu Dhabi aiming to onboard all hotels in the emirate. The tool is available to access on http://www.carboncalculator.dct.gov.ae.