Dubai Carbon Center of Excellence (DCCE) is providing turnkey carbon management solutions and developing sustainable business strategies. In an exclusive interview with Energy Review, the CEO of Dubai Carbon, Ivano Ianelli, elaborated more about its strategies to reduce carbon emissions through the solar energy kits and the E-Sayyara campaign. He also talked about the attention the center offers to water, considering it to be a strong energy component, as well as its latest agreement with DP World for carbon neutrality.

At WETEX, you signed a MoU with DP World regarding its HQ in Jebel Ali. Can you outline to us what benefits this collaboration agreement will bring?

We already have a collaboration agreement with DP World, which looks at their carbon emissions geographically and in terms of areas: free zones, warehouses, real estates, and services etc. Through our agreement, we helped it achieve its carbon neutrality because it was able to offset all of its emissions in its solar installations in Jafza.

The latest report from the IPPC has disclosed some shocking statistics which illustrate the impact harmful greenhouse gas emissions are having on global warming. What is your opinion on the report – and what can we do to address this crisis now?

I believe that the report doesn’t say anything that we didn’t already expect. So, the major difference is in the fact that the report says a much more stringent feature for the difference between 1.5 and 2 degrees. What we basically observed is that we have continued not to take action, and as a result, we are seeing the climatic conditions deteriorate at a much faster pace than we have anticipated.

How much of an issue is the cost of solar energy kits by property management companies in terms of encouraging residents here in Dubai to embrace the green economy?

I think the fees that the properties develop on this work are having a very big impact on cost simply because they are creating a much more difficult platform for end-users to utilize. As international benchmark data, the solution should cost about $1/W, sometimes the fees are about 55% of solar installation cost.

Can you tell us me more about your new e-vehicle campaign that Dubai Carbon is launching with E-Sayyara?

We have been following the progress by older relevant stakeholders. The EV campaign is launched under the Supreme Council of Energy and it’s running in junction with the FPA and DEWA. There are over 200 charging stations provided by DEWA which are free of any cost for the end-user. There are also additional private and institutional charging stations across the UAE bringing the total to 317.

Considering the fact that the electric vehicles’ range has increased dramatically and that we have now vehicles that normally travel 100 kilometers on a single charge, this makes the penetration of electric vehicles much easier.

The E-Sayyara campaign basically wishes to educate the public on the platform and the benefits it provides noting that E-vehicles can save an average of 10 000 dirhams a year in running cost to the average driver.

The latest issue of Dubai Carbon’s magazine, The Sustainabalist, focuses primarily on water and water preservation. How much of a key focus is this for Dubai Carbon?

Water is a major focus just like power because it’s a key resource we track. We’ve seen in the past that water infrastructure is already a challenge and obviously water here in the UAE as well as in many countries around the world is the product of desalination. So, there is a very strong energy component to it. For us, everything which can save energy at the forefront is part of our DNA.

Can you tell me more about Dubai Carbon’s Safaqat campaign regarding solar energy?

What we try to do with Safaqat is leverage crowdsourcing basically at one standard fuller rooftop hectare which can be easily utilized in the UAE. If it’s the vast majority of the applications, and by vast majority we’ve been able to sell the kits in roughly 95% on different configurations shared. Because of the scale and the simplicity, the prices are extremely competitive and beneficial for the end-user.

What are your primary objectives and goals for the next 12 months?

In the next 12 months, what we wish to see is the carbon market leverage these momentums that started with the Paris agreement. Carbon markets are essentially a representation of the private sector potentials in addressing climate change. Our main objective is to succeed in changing these negative trends that are affecting the environment.