Dubai to launch $27bn Green Energy Fund

Dubai / WAM

Dubai will launch the US$27 billion Green Energy Fund to support local, national and international projects, according to the Third Dubai Declaration issued at the conclusion of the World Green Economy Summit (WGES) on Thursday.
The third edition of the WGES, organised under the theme of “Driving Global Green Economy”, gathered more than 80 prominent speakers from across the globe, in addition to dignitaries and representatives from government institutions, academics, experts, and more. It was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
WGES 2016, hosted by the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) under the umbrella of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, in collaboration with World Climate Ltd, its international partners, was supported by the United Nations. The Summit ran in conjunction with 18th session of Water, Energy & Environment Exhibition (WETEX) and Dubai Solar Show 2016.
“The Dubai Declaration represents our commitment to create an even smarter, greener, happier Dubai, and make it the Global Green Capital of the World,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy in Dubai, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), and Chairman of WGES.
Al Tayer summarised the achievements of past years and commitments for the next year, emphasising the three areas of focus for this declaration – Dubai, a global green hub, global green partnerships, and green finance; achievements and future plans of DEWA; and Dubai, the Global Capital of the Green Economy.

Important Achievements
of 2015
Innovative government programmes were launched to support green economy objectives, such as the ‘Dubai Strategy for Clean Energy 2050’, which aims to diversify energy sources and raise clean energy contributions, and the ‘Demand Side Management Programme’, which aims to reduce energy and demand for water by 30 per cent in 2030.
Dubai will continue to work as per international excellence standards on green mega-projects, particularly the expansion of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, making it the largest single-site solar park upon completion.
DEWA launched of the UAE Solar Programme of Activities (PoA), which also enables the registration of projects under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and initiated key innovations in green infrastructure, such as the “EV Green Charger” for electric vehicles.

Future Plans
Among the plans DEWA has earmarked for the future, is one where it intends to collaborate with the UNDP during the set-up phase of the World Green Economy Organisation. It also plans to promote its position as the main reference for a green economy, while encouraging dialogue among nations and countries on green economy practices.
DEWA also plans to provide technical support for countries in the field
of green economy and create job
opportunities.
Dewa will develop the ‘Dubai Green Free Zone’, which will be dedicated to attracting mature and emerging companies in clean energy. The Dubai Green Free Zone will become a global hub to attract research and development and innovative clean energy companies.
DEWA will continue to develop innovative business models for energy and transport, such as power purchase agreements (PPA) for solar power, which already have resulted in record-breaking prices for solar energy per kilowatt-hour.
The authority will continue to implement the “Shams Dubai Initiative” which allows customers to install photovoltaic panels on their rooftops to generate electricity from solar power, and connect the systems to the grid.
It will also support the global policy framework for green economy and climate action, through a commitment to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 C above pre-industrial levels, and to aim to limit the increase to 1.5 C.

Global Partnerships
In terms of the important achievements of 2015, DEWA demonstrated its commitment to the global climate agenda, as Dubai shared its leadership vision for the green economy and examples of policy best practices at COP21 in Paris.
It continued collaborations with a number of international organisations including UNDP and IRENA, a number of large businesses such as Siemens and Philips, and other cities such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam, to discuss best practices in PPP development.

Future Plans
The authority will contribute to the Global Climate Action Agenda by presenting Dubai’s commitments and actions through the Marrakech Declaration and the State of Green Economy Report 2017.

Green Finance
With reference to green finance, among the important achievements of 2015 was developing the green finance expertise through a study of global best practices with visits to leading countries for the purpose such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Denmark.
The Dubai government has been creating new, innovative financing mechanisms, such as the framework for financing building retrofit developed for Etihad Super ESCO.

Future Plans
Dubai will also launch the $27 billion Green Energy Fund, based on the
framework developed this past year,
which will support local, national and
international projects.