The UAE Cabinet, headed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved a new version of the UAE’s second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. The updated NDC responds to the call of the Glasgow Climate Pact, a main outcome of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), for countries to strengthen the ambition of their NDCs by end-2022.

● Innovative electric vehicle startup becomes the first company in Dubai to pledge to measure and improve sustainability using FuturePlus.
● FuturePlus is the revolutionary new tool for sustainability measurement and management.
● ONE MOTO’s CEO will champion FuturePlus across Dubai and the UAE to support and encourage others

Launched in the UAE, UK and India, One Moto designs and develops electric motorcycles, bikes, vehicles and scooters for inner-city commuters and the delivery community. The company’s CEO and FuturePlus champion, Adam Ridgway, has pledged to showcase ONE MOTO’s journey towards creating a more equitable and sustainable world. Expanding into global markets, One Moto has been working closely with FuturePlus to clearly define its sustainability ambitions and turn them into positive actions that can be easily understood and shared with organisations across the UAE and beyond.

Mike Penrose, CoFounder of FuturePlus, said, “Helping One Moto in their mission to change the way people travel and goods are delivered is an amazing challenge for all of us at FuturePlus. Having spent years in cities where mopeds are the main form of transport, I have no doubt that the transport revolution One Moto is championing will have an enormous impact on reducing emissions and improving the health of millions. We are thrilled to be working with Adam, and his team at OneMoto as FuturePlus is the perfect tool for them to define, measure, manage and share their sustainability goals and achievements. ”

One Moto is fully supported by FuturePlus in mapping out its sustainability strategy and will measure and manage its ambitious goals across five sustainability themes: Environment, Climate, Social and Economic Impact and Diversity and Inclusion. Adam Ridgway wants to share ONE MOTO’s progress against each of these themes with his investors, customers and supporters, and showcase how FuturePlus can empower every organisation, no matter how big or small, with an accessible, achievable, and affordable entry to understanding and communicating their sustainability goals.

Ridgway believes that an honest and transparent demonstration of what just one business can achieve is key to encouraging other organisations to play their part in securing a more sustainable future. For ONE MOTO, sustainability is an ongoing process that brings adaptability and resilience and improves profitability. Actively committed to ensuring their business ventures create positive
social and environmental impact, the company is now inviting all organisations to join them on the FuturePlus platform.

Ridgway said, “Being invited to become a FuturePlus Champion in the Middle East is an incredible honour. I’ve been a sustainabilist for several years and trying to navigate ways of improving my impact on the environment, and people was a lonely journey. Over the years, I set a personal mandate “to bring change” in every aspect of my life, and I’ve been pioneering sustainable mobility with ONE MOTO, a brand built of five values and several audacious goals.

Before taking the leap away from my ‘past life’ in the media, I asked myself a question, “do I want to be doing this for the next decade?” And as I was becoming a father for the first time, I decided I wanted to commit to my mandate and make a difference. Ensuring our customers have accessibility to transport is a major factor in our growth map. We have several ESG and CSR initiatives scheduled to ensure we can commit to this in ‘income-weak’ territories. As part of our journey and one of our values of affordability, EVs are traditionally known for having a high-ticket price (justified by the tech investment required). Yet, we’ve foregone this to ensure our vehicles, brand, values, and the problems we address are affordable, aspirational, and achievable.

As of today, 90% of our business focus is driven to the commercial EV market with delivery motorcycles and vans, and the environmental impact petrol motorcycles have on the environment is staggering and overlooked by many.

We actively share wisdom and encourage customers to make a choice, and it’s theirs to define if it’s the right one.

The number of countries announcing pledges to achieve net-zero emissions over the coming decades continues to grow. But the pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to netzero by 2050 and give the world an even chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

This special report is the world’s first comprehensive study of how to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050 while ensuring stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access, and enabling robust economic growth. It sets out a cost-effective and economically productive pathway, resulting in a clean, dynamic and resilient energy economy dominated by renewables like solar and wind instead of fossil fuels. The report also examines key uncertainties, such as the roles of bioenergy, carbon capture and behavioural changes in reaching net zero.

When electric vehicles become the new status symbol

It was a ‘green dream’ come true for Goumbook, and for Tatiana Antonelli Abella, to drive an electric vehicle in Dubai. Goumbook’s Founder and Managing Director recently drove an electric Fiat500 around the city for a few days, lent to her to test-drive by EV Lab, a newly launched mobility concept focused on supporting efforts towards adopting sustainable transport in the country. 

While cars have become a necessity for many, it remains a status symbol especially when it comes to driving luxury cars. However, with the high number of cars on the road contributing to air pollution and the rise of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, it is no longer cool to be driving around with one, especially those gas guzzling ones, as studies have shown that 24 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions come from road transportation.

EV Lab provides a platform for car owners to explore and eventually adopt EVs as their car of choice by enabling them to understand and experience what it takes to drive an electric vehicle. The experience of driving an electric vehicle gives future owners the feel of what it is like to drive around with the awareness that the car has less environmental impact than the conventional ones. The company  is a boutique for a range of EVs available in the market.

Tatiana Antonelli Abella shared her driving experience, noting that EVs offer key benefits such as faster acceleration, ease of charging, extended range, increased power, and several other advanced technology features. She further noted that the UAE has the second-highest ratio of public charging stations per EV in the world, making the country a conducive environment to own an electric car. 

Electric vehicles are considered to cut an average of 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions for every kilometre driven compared to conventional cars. It can go up to 100 per cent, if the car charging station is fully powered by clean and renewable energy. 

“There is an urgent need to shift to electric transportation which can make a big difference towards achieving the global goal of reducing our impact on the environment and addressing climate change, one of the most pressing issues of our time. Driving around Dubai in an EV made me realize how ready the city is to enable the shift, especially considering the great number of public charging stations around town,” added Abella.

Global sales of electric cars have soared to more than 40 per cent in 2020 amidst the pandemic and Dubai and other cities in the UAE are rapidly catching up with the trend attracting car owners to explore the idea of owning an EV rather than buying a conventional one. With the support of the government and key organisations to early adopters of EVs, there is no stopping EVs from becoming the new status symbol – with sustainability in mind.

ABOUT EV LAB

EV Lab was started by a group of founders who believed that EV’s needed to better represented as the future of automobiles in a region that is in love with petrol cars.

By channeling their knowledge of mobility in the region and expertise in retail, they created a concept which pushed education first and created an experience that supported the customer through their switch to EV’s.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has announced a new global milestone placing the UAE as the first country in the world to produce aluminum using the power of the sun. The milestone supports the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the most sustainable city in the world and to take the lead in the development and application of scientific and technological advances in the energy sector.

DEWA will supply EGA’s smelter with 560,000 megawatt hours of solar power yearly from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park, sufficient to make 40,000 tons of aluminum in the first year with the potential for significant expansion. EGA will supply solar aluminum to global customers under the new product name CelestiAL.

Saeed Mohammed Al-Tayer, managing director and CEO of DEWA and vice chairman of EGA, said: “This global achievement of both DEWA and EGA confirms our firm commitment to achieving the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, in building a green economy in the UAE, and reaching the goals of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 in diversifying energy sources and providing 75 percent of Dubai’s energy production capacity from clean energy sources by 2050. To achieve these goals, we have launched many initiatives and projects, most notably the Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park, which is the largest single-site solar energy project in the world with a capacity of 5,000 megawatts by 2030. The solar park projects use photovoltaic panels and concentrated solar energy technologies.”

Al-Tayer added: “The new achievement contributes to supporting our efforts in reducing carbon emissions through the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy. Dubai reduced 22 percent in carbon emissions in 2019 compared to business as usual. Results achieved exceeded the targets set in the Dubai Carbon Abatement Strategy, which aims to reduce carbon emissions by 16 percent by 2021.”

Abdulnasser bin Kalban, chief executive officer of EGA, said: “Aluminum is lightweight, strong and an infinitely recyclable metal and these properties mean that as a material it plays a vital global role in the development of a sustainable future. However, it also matters how sustainably aluminum is made. CelestiAL, aluminum made in the UAE with solar power, will help make modern life possible for people around the world whilst protecting our planet for future generations. This is a great milestone for the UAE and our industry.”

Aluminum is used in products and infrastructure from smartphones to skyscrapers. Its uses include applications that contribute to a more sustainable environment from wind farms to electric vehicles, and mass transit to solar panels. The availability of solar power on the scale needed for aluminum smelting is thanks to the UAE’s significant investment in solar power, including in Dubai by DEWA and its independent power producer (IPP) partners.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park, located in Dubai, has a current installed capacity of some 1,013 megawatts using photovoltaic solar panels. DEWA is implementing an additional 1,850 megawatts of projects using solar panels and concentrated solar power (CSP). Eventually, this capacity will reach 5,000 megawatts by 2030.

Blue Carbon project seeks to rehabilitate Abu Dhabi’s mangrove habitats using drones

Business risk

Pursuing a broad sustainability strategy is not without business risk. “In 2015, we decided to get out of the coal businesses. It was not an easy decision, because the coal business was very profitable. This decision had a significant impact on our business model, but we pursue it because it’s important,” Fontani says.

“At the beginning, taking care of the environment is expensive. But now people increasingly recognise that destroying the planet is more expensive,” she adds.

Engie can bring its engineering acumen to bear in its sustainability efforts. “We have an advantage because of the nature of our business, we have the know-how and expertise to support cities, industry, and even customers in their energy transition with the technology we have,” Fontani says.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced his latest plan for Saudi Arabia’s future beyond oil: a linear city with no cars, roads or carbon emissions.

The 170 kilometer-long (106 miles) development called “The Line” will be part of the $500 billion Neom project, the crown prince said in a televised speech on Sunday. Construction is planned to start in the first quarter.

A news release described The Line as a walkable “belt of hyper-connected future communities, without cars and roads and built around nature.” It said the city would have 1 million residents and create 380,000 jobs by 2030. The infrastructure will cost $100 billion to $200 billion, the crown prince said.

Neom is a major part of Prince Mohammed’s plan to diversify the economy of the world’s largest crude exporter. Announced in 2017, the project spans more than 10,000 square miles in a remote area of the country’s northwest. It’s described on its website as “a bold and audacious dream” that will become a hub for new technologies and businesses.

The project has been plagued by skepticism and controversy since its launch, though, including opposition from residents forced to relocate to make way for construction. Analysts question if the plan is realistic and can attract the investment needed in a region that already has well-established transport and business hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

“The backbone of investment in The Line will come from the $500 billion support to Neom by the Saudi government, PIF and local and global investors over 10 years,” the prince told reporters in the city of Al-Ula, referring to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The announcement shows the extent to which Prince Mohammed is thinking about life after oil for the kingdom, which earned over half of government revenue from crude in 2020. The project was the first major development to be announced within Neom.

“Why do we accept sacrificing nature for development?” the prince said, citing rising sea levels and carbon emissions in a manner rare for a Saudi official.

No journey within The Line will be longer than 20 minutes, he said. The city would be built around “ultra-high-speed transit,” according to the statement.

It will also contain one of the world’s largest airports, Neom chief executive Nadhmi Al-Nasr said in an interview with Al-Arabiya television channel. He didn’t provide a time frame for construction, saying only the airport would be the final element of The Line.

This article originally appeared on bloomberg.com