Empower Takes Part in the 4th Annual Meeting of UN Environment’s Global ‘District Energy in Cities’ Initiative in Copenhagen

Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, will take part in the fourth Annual Partners’ Meeting of United Nations Environment (UNEP) Global ‘District Energy in Cities’ initiative, which will be held on 24 May 2018, on the sidelines of THE NORDIC CLEAN ENERGY WEEK, at Copenhagen, Denmark, which runs from 21 to 25 May, 2018. Ahmad Bin Shafar, the CEO, will be attending the meeting and addressing the participants.

Empower is an official and active partner of the UNEP’s Global ‘District Energy in Cities’ initiative, launched to boost district cooling solutions in developing cities around the world. This is the fourth time Empower is attending the Annual Partners’ Meeting of the initiative, as part of its efforts to support sustainable development goals in the cities, by enhancing the efficiency of district cooling. Empower’s partnership with the initiative aims to increase the use of district cooling systems worldwide. This would increase energy efficiency, reduce harmful emissions, strengthen local and regional economies and enhance the social and environmental benefits of district cooling systems.

Ahmed Bin Shafar, CEO of Empower and special advisor on district cooling to the initiative, will be presenting at the meet about the role of communication and the best practices adopted by the UAE in the district cooling industry.

As the energy sector is among the biggest contributors to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the UN has adopted various initiatives in the global efforts to reduce the sector’s impact on the environment. District cooling has been listed as one of six energy efficiency accelerators under the UN’s ‘Sustainable Energy for All’ initiative.

“The annual Partners’ Meeting of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is a platform to review the latest steps and technologies adopted by the cities in district cooling solutions. This meeting is an opportunity to exchange experiences, identify challenges, review steps, plan further stages of the initiative and work towards finding innovative and effective solutions to support sustainable development goals,” said Bin Shafar.

Bin Shafar will also be participating in the Project Steering Committee Meeting of the Initiative. The meeting will review last year’s results, follow up on the implementation of the recommendations, address the direct reactions of the countries and cities participating in the initiative, highlight the challenges and lessons learned, and review next year's work plans.

The Annual Partners’ Meeting will also be attended by senior UN officials, and other top official representatives from around the world. At meeting, country representatives from Chile, Malaysia, India, Columbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Morocco, Egypt, China, and Serbia will present the initiative’s latest updates. In addition, updates on Argentina, Mongolia, Philippines, Russia, Seychelles and Tunisia will also be presented.

In 2017, Empower signed the Global Cooperation Agreement with UNEP on the initiative, at the 108^th International District Energy Association’s annual conference &tradeshow in Scottsdale, USA.

Empower currently operates over 1.34 Million RT, providing environmentally responsible district cooling services to large-scale real estate developments, such as Jumeirah Group, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre, Business Bay, Dubai Healthcare City, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Palm Jumeirah, Discovery Gardens, Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai Design District and International Media Production Zone, among others.