The Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE), which aims to leverage the Emirate’s carbon potential, has commenced operations and introduced its board members at the first Dubai Global Energy Forum (DGEF).

The first DGEF ended yesterday (April 19) at Dubai World Trade Centre.

The DCCE was launched earlier this year through an agreement between the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Waleed Salman is chairman of DCCE, with a board of directors drawn from Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), Enoc, Dubal and Istidama: Wahdah Al Ghanim, Abdulmunim bin Brek and Ivano Ianelli.

DCCE will focus on opportunities created by global carbon-emission reduction projects, while simultaneously working to stimulate a carbon-efficient economy in Dubai by developing carbon incentives for the Emirate’s society, businesses and the public sector, a statement said.

“The most effective means of reducing carbon emissions today is, quite simply, economics. By treating carbon emissions reduction as an economic opportunity, the DCCE aims to act as a catalyst for carbon reduction amongst organisations in Dubai and support government entities in improving their environmental efficiency in the Emirate,” Waleed Salman.

“As such, we aim to promote the development and competitiveness of Dubai’s carbon credit strategies in ways that can result in sustainable environmental and economic gains.”

Dr Elissar Sarrouh, UNDP resident representative and UN resident coordinator in the UAE said: “UNDP and the Dubai Supreme Energy Council share the same objectives, assisting Dubai in sustaining its development through integrating climate change strategies and becoming the lowest-carbon economy in the region.”

“DCCE will make this vision come to life and we are very proud to be part of this partnership.”

“We are confident that, by the end of the project, DCCE will establish itself as a regional centre of excellence, offering its expertise in carbon finance and sustainable energy to stakeholders in the Middle East region, and across the globe,” she added.

“We are now actively increasing the capacity of our operations. Along with another initiatives, we are looking to implement Emiratisation as a core means of building awareness of the importance of carbon reduction within our nation’s perspective. We are looking to the new generation of UAE Nationals with greater interest and involvement in creating a sustainable environment and society to make a positive contribution to our society,” added Salman.

The DCCE plans to offset five million tonnes of carbon annually, by selling carbon credits on the international market. Dewa, Enoc and Dubal are considering carbon-emission reduction (CER) quotas as part of a joint voluntary initiative.

This has the potential to generate carbon credits, which can be sold to international markets. Carbon credits can be generated on any project, not just industrial projects. The DCCE will provide support and assistance to any entity that wants to learn more about carbon reduction and monetise their carbon-reduction programmes.

According to the DCCE, the UAE currently hosts four registered clean development mechanism (CDM) projects and five are undergoing validation. Of the nine advanced CDM projects hosted in UAE, a biogas steam generation project at a paper mill is situated in Dubai.

The DCCE aims to have five million CERs by 2015 and twice as much by 2020, with an annual incremental value of one million tons from current projects, the statement said. – TradeArabia News Service