Records worth holding on to

Carol Prince

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We live in an exciting, vibrant city that is embracing its acceptance as a key player in world economics and politics with ease and maturity.

Recently celebrating its 40th National Day, Dubai is young but has achieved tremendous amounts in such a short time including rapid growth. With this growth has come one major issue – that of resource scarcity.

I wonder, if at times we are just too busy living for the now that we are dismissive of the city’s long term sustainability needs and how our current actions affect what will be available for our future generations.

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We need to work today to ensure resources aren’t depleted to such a level that they cannot be renewed sufficiently enough to be able to provide necessary sustainability for survival. It is essential that we start to address how we use and maintain our resources.

We need to be a sustainable community that lives within its resource capability, has the ability of achieving environmental balance and therefore perpetuity.

The need to switch to sustainable energy solutions is a bigger issue here in the Emirates than anywhere else in the world, since it is here, that demand out strips supply.

Lighting represents 22% of electricity usage in the Middle East and this is a much higher statistic than anywhere else in the world. If the region’s consumers switch to more efficient solutions, they can save up to $400m and 5.1 megatons in CO2 emissions annually.

The Middle East Electricity Show in Dubai highlighted that the UAE is expecting primary demands for energy to increase by 71% by 2019. Sustainability and diversity will be key to the GCC’s energy policies.

The issue cannot be ignored. There is literally not enough energy to go around anymore. The option that the authorities have is to consider putting policies in place that will enforce companies to switch to energy efficient solutions in a bid to reduce consumption. This may be the only way to make that all important difference to being sustainable or not.

Or, maybe, rather than being overzealous with policies, incentives or rewards with grants and bonuses for companies, institutions, master communities who show they are running “super energy efficent fit-outs” should be introduced. Rewards for the good and fines for the bad. Would that be a further push towards making environmental changes?

Thankfully, a number of companies champion the need to be responsible, from an efficiency point of view, and look for ways to reduce their carbon foot print. These organisations provide reassurance that change can happen.

Furthermore we have initiatives such as MASDAR in Abu Dhabi,which is aiming to be the world’s most sustainable city with zero carbon and zero waste; the aim to be a city that is car free also; and the ESTIDAMA Pearl rating initiative 1 – 5 where developers can achieve ratings for varying levels of sustainability.

All initiatives are important, but there must be a mechanism in place to ensure companies that advocate these important moves to sustainability become the majority and not the minority, as they are at present.

Dubai proudly flies the flag for being home to the tallest tower in the world, the largest shopping Mall, the largest acrylic window at the Dubai Mall Aquarium - but sadly, the region also holds the record for the highest carbon footprint and water consumption per capita in the world.

On average most people in the world use 2.5 gallons of water a day, but in the UAE, this estimate reaches a staggering 500 gallons per person. These are records we should not be proud to hold.

It is a challenge for such a young city to adapt and change, but the foundations need to be put in place to ensure that as a nation, we are doing our bit to be sustainable, and, in passing on a planet worth being a part of to future generations.

Bio
Carol Prince is the marketing director of RWN Trading, the regional agents for Cube Lighting (UK).