Ministry Of Climate Change And Environment Hosts Innovative ‘Clean Cold’ Workshop In Dubai

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) today hosted at its headquarters in Dubai Academic City a ‘clean cool’ workshop exploring ways of meeting the country’s rapidly rising demand for air-conditioning with more sustainable cooling technologies.

This special event was co-hosted with the EU GCC Clean Energy Technology Network and the University of Birmingham in partnership with the Heriot-Watt University. A number of experts from both the UAE and Europe attended the workshop to discuss the opportunities from a wide range of emerging low-carbon cooling systems and examine how to cooperate in accelerating their deployment.

Welcoming the participants, His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: “There are few regions that appreciate the value of cooling more than this part of the world, where summer temperatures soar to over 45oC. Around two-thirds of the UAE’s energy consumption in summer months comes from air-conditioning. As the economy grows and the impacts of climate change start taking hold, the UAE urgently needs to find ways to reconcile its fast-growing cooling demand and its environmental goals.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that global air conditioning-related energy demand will grow 33-fold by 2100 to more than 10,000 terawatt-hours (TWh), equivalent to roughly half the total electricity generated worldwide in 2010. It is estimated that by the middle of this century, the world will be consuming more energy for cooling than heating. Unless clean and sustainable cooling solutions are rolled out, this may cause unacceptable levels of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

The EU Ambassador His Excellency Patrizio Fondi also welcomed the participants. His Excellency Fondi said: “The European Commission recognizes that cooling has been under-represented in energy policy, compared to heat, power and transport, and hence, took a first step with the launch of its Heating and Cooling Strategy in February 2016.

“We are honored to share our thoughts and know-how on clean cooling technologies with experts from the GCC region and to engage in a fruitful dialogue that will contribute in addressing common climate and environmental concerns.”

Professor Toby Peters, Chair of the workshop and global cooling expert from the University of Birmingham, said: “Given the growth in cooling demand, we don’t simply need more efficient air-conditioners and fridges or transport refrigeration units. Rather, we need new radical approaches to cooling. Energy can be used, stored and moved thermally without converting into electricity, and can be leveraged to provide cooling.”