Environment & Energy | Saturday 25 April, 2015 12:37 am |

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and HE Mohammed Mir Abdullah Al Raisi, Under-Secretary of the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance and support the Carbon Ambassadors Programme, which was launched by Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (Dubai Carbon) recently. The MoU was signed during the 17th Water, Environment and Technology Exhibition (WETEX 2015), which is organised under the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance, and President of DEWA.

The MoU signing was attended by Waleed Salman, Chairman of the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence and HE Dr.Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Director of Energy and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Permanent Representative to IRENA.

As per the MoU, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will support the programme by adding it to its activities, programmes, and workshops. It will organise training sessions and workshops to all Carbon Ambassadors and appoint a Ministry employee as an advisor to one of the groups.

The Carbon Ambassador Programme is a youth engagement programme by DEWA, Dubai Carbon and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to train students in environmentally related issues, such as sustainable buildings, climate change, green economy, and environmental awareness.

“DEWA oversees this initiative to support the Green Economy for Sustainable Development initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,” said Al Tayer.

“DEWA has a clear strategy to develop and train National staff as they have key role in sustainable development. To achieve its vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility, DEWA exerts all efforts to protect the environment and conserve resources for generations to come. Our collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will further promote the success of the Carbon Ambassador Programme and enhance its position by adopting international best practicesto shape the future leaders of the UAE’s transition to a low-carbon economy. The Directorate of Energy and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a prime example of the UAE’s productive and engaged collaboration on an international stage,” said Al Tayer.

“We enter into this partnership with the firm belief that it will empower our youth to shape the future of this country. We will contribute to building the capacity of the Carbon Ambassadors on the UAE’s position on international climate change negotiations to assist them in their cause. We are looking forward to including more students from the programme in our activities leading up to the important climate change negotiations taking place in Paris next December,” said Al Raisi.

Asa strategic partner, the Ministry of Foreign Affairswill support the Carbon Ambassadors Programme by providingstudents with access to its network, events, trainings and workshops– especially in matters related to climate change and the negotiation process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UAE’s delegation to the UNFCCC iscoordinated by the Directorate of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)and the Programme include exposing students to first-hand experience with negotiations by attending a series of international meetingsthis year, as part of the class of 2015-2016. Bader Al Hammadi was the first Carbon Ambassador to take part in the UAE delegation on climate change negotiations in Lima, Peru in December 2014.

Carbon Ambassadors Class of 2015 graduated at the opening ceremony of the World Green Economy Summit 2015, which was organised in conjunction with Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2015). Dubai Carbon is currently accepting applications for the next intake of participants and encourages university students enrolled in the UAE in the 2015-2016 academic yearto express their interest. To find out more, please contact CAP2015@dcce.ae before 30 April 2015.