Dubai Chamber of Commerce to drive uptake of renewable energy

Dubai Chamber of Commerce (DCC), one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has launched the Solar & Renewable Energy Business Group, to drive the uptake of renewable energy amongst businesses and the private sector in Dubai.

“As the world shifts to renewable energy and a decarbonised economy, the establishment of the Solar & Renewable Energy Business Group is timely and relevant.

It comes at the heels of UAE’s COP28 presidency, highlighting the importance of the country’s Energy Strategy 2050 and Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy.

The business group will foster better understanding of these clean energy targets amongst local businesses while providing them insights to drive the shift to renewable energy. This will boost their efforts to support and accelerate Dubai’s energy transition and the ambition of making the emirate a hub for the green economy,” said Maha AlGargawi, Executive Director of Business Advocacy at Dubai Chambers.

Over the last couple of decades, the share of oil in the UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) has considerably decreased.

From approximately 43 per cent in 2001, this share dropped a third of GDP to 33 per cent in 2011 and much lower to 27 per cent in 2021.

The UAE is well on its way to achieve its clean energy targets as outlined in the UAE Energy Strategy 2050.

Announced in 2017, the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 aims to reduce the carbon footprint on power generation by 70 per cent, improve energy efficiency by 40 per cent, increase the contribution of clean energy from 25 per cent to 50 per cent and save a total of Dhs700 billion.

The UAE has since launched notable initiatives and taken significant steps towards realising these goals by 2050.

The UAE Government will invest Dhs600 billion in renewable energy by 2050 to meet the country’s growing energy demand from clean and sustainable resources.

Dubai launched its own Clean Energy Strategy in 2015, with the objective of producing 75 per cent of its energy demand from clean sources by 2050, making Dubai a hub for the green economy.

One landmark project in solar energy is the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai which it is expected to have a production capacity of 5,000 MWh by 2030.

L K Verma, Managing Director at Power n sun and founding member of the business group said, “Creating organisations such as this is important for our sector. It will drive the discussions that are necessary to enhance the competitiveness of our business and enable the dialogue amongst peers and other stakeholders on speeding up the solarisation in the region.”

Fellow founding member, Simon Brennan, General Manager at Al Shirawi Solar, added, “I am very pleased to have been part of the setting up of this business group.

It underlines the importance of environmental sustainability and I am certain with the establishment of this business group, our members will play a bigger role in supporting the UAE’s clean energy ambitions.”

With renewable energy at the forefront of the government agenda, the chamber’s establishment of the new Solar & Renewable Energy Business Group is a significant step in supporting the UAE as it prepares to host the COP28 conference in 2023.

The chamber plans to increase the number of business groups that represent economic sectors and activities in Dubai as they are representatives and advocates for their respective business sectors.

Business groups play a crucial role in recommending policy changes to improve a sector’s competitiveness and attractiveness while promoting international best practices and supporting economic growth. Dubai Chamber of Commerce plans to increase the number of economic sectors and activities represented by business groups to 100 by March 2023.

Meanwhile Dubai Chamber of Commerce has announced the launch of the Cloud Computing Business Group, connecting companies within the sector to encourage productive dialogue on ways to propel and embed cloud computing services across the various business industries in Dubai.

Commenting on the launch, Maha AlGargawi, Executive Director of Business Advocacy at Dubai Chambers said, “As one of the most future-ready nations in the world, a cloud-powered advanced digital infrastructure is essential to support Dubai’s goals of fully integrating digital technology into all government operations and plans.

“The setting up of the cloud computing business group is a pillar of this infrastructure as it will encourage transparent conversations between its members, supporting the sector in advocating beneficial policy changes that will in turn enhance its competitiveness.”