CEO of Empower, Ahmad bin Shafar, appointed as UNEP special advisor

The initiative aims to support governments in developing and scaling up district energy systems to reduce CO2 emissions. The initiative brings together cities, academia, technology providers and financial institutions in a joint ambition to share knowledge and best practices in the field. The initiative has become one of the cornerstones of the UN Secretary General's ‘Sustainable Energy for All', SE4ALL, effort and is recognised as being instrumental to achieving SE4ALL's energy efficiency goal.

"It is a matter of great pride and honour that UN Environment Programme has invited me to act as a special advisor in the ‘global district energy in cities initiative’. This reflects the role that Empower, and on a wider scale, Dubai and the UAE plays in promoting, supporting and implementing energy-efficient, green solutions and projects," said bin Shafar.

"Dubai was selected previously by UN Environment as a 'Business Model of District Cooling to Developing Cities'. Empower has also been duly participating, as a prominent UAE company, in several global environmental events like COP21 in Paris, where our leaders’ vision and country’s experience have been exposed to the international community," he added.

Shafar will contribute to the UNEP in many ways, including advising on strategic direction of the initiative, providing counsel to governments, developers, utilities, consumers, and financial institutions on district cooling policy, finance, and business models, providing visibility and high-level advocacy for the initiative and its district cooling objectives and promoting the initiative and mobilizing support from new countries, cities, and other partners.