Dubai cities summit attempt to find low-carbon strategies

United Nations and Dubai Land Department to establish new sustainable cities centre in Dubai

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Fresh on the heels of the COP 21 climate summit in Paris, the United Nations is set to open a new environmental policy centre in Dubai to foster new low-carbon, green-building initiatives in the UAE and Middle East.

The Centre of Resource Efficient and Sustainable Cities for the Arab Region is a new project by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with Dubai Land Department and will coordinate eco-friendly initiatives for smart cities across the region.

Officials said the new sustainable cities centre will be announced on Thursday at the inaugural Dubai Sustainable Cities Summit at Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

The summit will focus on UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) raised at the Paris climate summit which relate to sustainable cities.

“Apart from addressing the important topic of sustainability for the built environment, the event serves as a launch platform for a new centre being established between Dubai Land Department and UNEP. The centre will be located in Dubai and act as UNEP’s hub to build local, national and regional capacity for resource efficient policies,” summit organizers said.

The summit will serve as a platform in line with UAE Vision 2021, Dubai Plan 2020 and Dubai Expo 2020.

More than 30 expert speakers will gather at the summit with government leaders, NGOs, sustainability practitioners, business leaders and regulators.

The summit will explore new ways to use technology, education, employment and measurement to accelerate adoption rates for effective sustainable strategies. The summit will also look to new ideas that integrate design and the construction sector and developing regional benchmarking standards to measure the sustainability of cities in the Arab world.

Majida Ali Rashid, Deputy Director General at Dubai Land Department, said: “Design integration, technology, behavior and measurement are the key topics that contribute towards making a city more efficient. We have gathered more than 20 local, regional and global experts to speak and participate in panel debates to inspire and stimulate new innovations that will help Dubai and other cities around the region learn from their wisdom and plan for the future.”

“With increasing global concern on limited resources and environmental issue, it is now time for us to focus on a core requirement to bring about positive change in any given society: individual behavior. Because of that and the importance which the UAE’s government places on encouraging positive behavior changes across UAE society, the summit which brings together 30 speakers and 350 industry professionals will focus on the importance of behavior in the future of smart sustainable cities as one of 4 key discussion topics,” said Majida.

Sustainability will be explored at the summit by key global experts, scientists and authors.


Natural science writer and inspirational speaker, Janine Benyus will discuss how crucial building design lessons can be learnt from nature, while MIT’s Assaf Biderman, director of Senseable Lab, will show examples of new technology that is leading the field.

Halt Prize recipient Ahmad Ashkar will lead a session on the economic impact of better sustainable practices and ways of measuring them.

The summit is supported by strategic partners that include Damac and Jumeirah Golf Estate, Majid Al Futtaim, Veolia and World Resource Institute.

 

credit to Gulf News