Dubai has made great environmental strides toward environmental stewardship and reducing greenhouse gases through efforts to build public transportation, reduce waste going to landfill and by creating new sources of renewable energy.

To further reflect its commitment to intensifying local efforts in protecting the environment, Dubai has joined C40, an exclusive global group of megacities to fight climate change and immerse itself in the knowledge-based network to both offer and glean the latest data on urban planning best practices.Dubai has become a full member of the C40 Climate Leadership Group to learn and share new ecological success stories with 75 other megacity members.

It also supports the city's commitment to a universal message spread by Dubai, through the various plans and projects adopted to improve the environment. Dubai considers these projects a part of its responsibility towards the environment and drives the cooperation efforts and joint action among all government entities through a unified and integrated system. All these efforts seek to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Plan 2021, which strives to build a smart and sustainable future for the Emirate.

Dubai membership in the C40 Cities Climate Leadership was announced at an event at Emirates Towers hosted by Dubai's top civic leaders of the Executive Council who manage all aspects of government infrastructure from energy and transportation to municipal services.

C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group was started 10 years ago in London, UK, to pool resources of megacities in a collective effort to fight global warming. It is a very exclusive club of cities. 

C40 describes itself as "tackling climate change risks and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, well-being and economic opportunities of urban centres".

The C40 group sets "actionable, measurable goals at the individual city level " to ensure actions and outputs are equating to success in the fight against climate change.

Through peer-to-peer learning, C40 members have access to a suite of network services to help develop climate strategies. Group believes that other cities can also learn from Dubai's vision and rapid growth

In the Gulf  region, Dubai is a shining star  in it's efforts towards fighting Climate Change.

Fifty per cent of cities in the world have acknowledged climate change has made an impact on their cities. The next five to seven years is critical. Cities are at the forefront of critical change.

Given energy production's links with the environment, Dubai is doing all that it can under the energy council to create sustainable mixed energy sources by 2030 to create 15 per cent of energy from solar, seven per cent from nuclear power and seven per cent from clean coal.

A major climate-change tool in Dubai, the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is expected to help avoid the creation of one million tonnes of C02 every year by 2030 when it reaches power generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

A municipal culture in Dubai already dedicated to defending the environment against climate change is found a good fit for the C40 membership.

 

Some Facts

C40 goals

 C40 is a global network of large cities taking action to address climate change by developing and implementing policies and programmes that generate measurable reductions in both greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks,

 By the numbers

 • 75 cities now belong to the C40 Climate Leadership Group

• 98 per cent of C40 cities report climate change has affected them

• As of 2014, C40 cities have taken 8,068 climate actions

• Dubai joined C40 effective November 3, 2015

 

SOURCE: C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group , Gulf News