Environment

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of DEWA has announced that DEWA is doubling the number of students in the second batch of the Carbon Ambassadors Programme 2015-2016 to 80 students. The announcement was made at a Creativity Lab brainstorming session DEWA has planned today in cooperation with Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence. The session was attended by HE Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality, a number of officials from the government and private sectors, graduates of the first Carbon Ambassadors Programme, and a number of university students.
I am pleased to welcome you today and thank you for your presence at the launch of the second Carbon Ambassadors Programme 2015-2016, which will build upon the outstanding success of the first programme. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman for the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, graduated the first batch at the inauguration of the World Green Economy Summit, which was held in Dubai this April in conjunction with the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2015). We gather today to celebrate the first batch of the Carbon Ambassadors Programme, and congratulate them on what they have accomplished in this distinguished programme. They will share with you today the lessons they learned from this experience. We also have with us today promising young people with creative minds who look forward to joining the second batch of the programme. We will learn their creative ideas in the brainstorming session, so that we can together create a greener future for the UAE and the whole world, said Al Tayer

I here recall a saying by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai who has observed that, To be creative is to add something new to life as opposed to being a passive part of it. We may not live for hundreds of years, but the products of our creativity can leave a legacy long after we are gone. This is precisely the goal of the Carbon Ambassadors Programme, which Dubai Electricity and Water Authority sponsors as per the United Nations Development Programmes criteria and with the support of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Carbon Ambassadors are the next generation of leaders and experts who will implement ambitious National strategies and plans as well as contribute to innovating new initiatives and programmes. They will help to achieve the UAE Vision 2021, to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world by 2021. They will help to achieve Dubai Plan 2021, to make Dubai sustainable with its resources and make its environmental elements clean, healthy, and sustainable. And they will help to achieve the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, to reduce energy demand by 30% by 2030, added Al Tayer.

The Carbon Ambassadors Programme is an important step towards achieving the long-term goals of the Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative. This initiative, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, supports a diversified economy, based on knowledge and innovation that improves the competitiveness of the UAE in green economy, while preserving the environment and reducing the carbon footprint. At DEWA, we realise that young people are the driving force for building a greener future by combining the new concepts of renewable energy and involving todays youth in achieving sustainable development objectives. The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, who will play a key role in all kinds of decision-making. Last year, the Carbon Ambassadors Programme trained 40 students from different universities. They have shown promise and potential, demonstrating their ability to assume the leadership responsibilities entrusted to them. The Carbon Ambassadors Programme 2014 has been a amazing success. The graduates projects were showed alongside the achievements of large companies at the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2015) in April. Today, I would like to congratulate the first batch for their attainments and their innovative project to generate self-sustainable bus stops from out-of-service shipping containers. This spreads awareness of environmental issues and encourages UAE residents to adopt an environmentally sustainable way of life in the UAE, noted Al Tayer.

To underscore our commitment to the sustainable development of the region, and support Emirati youth, DEWA has decided to accept the programme and double the number of participants in the second batch of the Carbon Ambassadors Programme 2015-2016 to 80 students. They will join their peers, graduates of the first batch, in leading the efforts of Dubai and the UAE to build a green and sustainable economy. Our goal is to increase the number of Carbon Ambassadors year on year, to promote sustainability until it becomes a culture that helps us to drive the UAEs development. I am confident that through your positive spirit and drives to attain top positions, you will add to life by taking part in this programme and not be just numbers in it. This will only be attained through your innovative ideas and inspiration, which will contribute to achieving the vision of our wise leadership to reach number one, concluded Al Tayer.

The brainstorming session featured the first batch of the Carbon Ambassadors Programme who shared their experience last year and the lessons they learned from it. Participants were then divided into groups of 10 people. Each group discussed one of the renewable energy topics. At the end of the session, each group presented their recommendations and the prominence of the recommended project.

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