Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, took part in the preparatory meetings at New York for the United Nations’ Climate Action Summit 2019, which will be held on 23 September in UN headquarters.

Bin Shafar attended a series of workshops on energy transition, conducted on September 21 and 22, which included discussions and finding tech-based solutions for climate crisis, the impact of climate change, addressing climate-related security risks, moving towards an effective climate, and other related topics. The meetings included workshops for youth and Youth Climate Summit, on Saturday 21 September 2019. The summit is a platform for young and established innovators who presented to an audience of youth climate activists, governments, practitioners, entrepreneurs and civil society partners from around the globe, how technology can be used to produce renewable energy and monitor environmental impacts. Attendees had additional opportunity to follow up at the Tech and Youth deep dive session. The session also focused on an urgent climate solution that includes rapid transition to clean energy and equitable economic growth.

Bin Shafar also participated in a session entitled ‘Leaving no one behind and taking action’, on Sunday 22 September 2019, in which governments, private sector and organizations highlighted actions and examples on energy storage and access to energy.

“The UAE pays pronounced attention to sustainability and protecting the environment, in addition to addressing the challenges of climate change. Empower is involved in the implementation of several sustainability strategies, to increase the use of renewable energy, notably the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050,” said Bin Shafar.

Bin Shafar stressed that Empower’s participation in the UN Climate Action Summit 2019 highlights the UAE’s efforts in addressing the challenges of climate change and the transition towards sustainability to maintain a safe environment for future generations.

Empower is one of the key partners for the ‘Cool Coalition’ initiative, launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) , the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program, and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). This confirms its global leadership in the field of district cooling. The initiative aims to inspire ambition and accelerate the transition to clean and efficient cooling.

Empower provides district cooling services to more than 1,090 buildings, catering to more than 100,000 customers. The company operates more than 1.43 Million Refrigeration Tons (RT), providing environmentally friendly district cooling services to large-scale real estate developments, such as Bluewaters, Jumeirah Group, Business Bay, Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai International Financial Centre, Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lake Towers, Ibn Battuta Mall, Discovery Gardens, Dubai Healthcare City, Dubai World Trade Centre Residences and Dubai Design District, Dubai Production City and others.