German energy expert praises the UAE’s leading role in CO2 reduction in the Middle East

Leading international companies set to attend World Future Energy Summit 2011 this week in Abu Dhabi 

Dubai, 16 January 2011 - The regional manager of the energy service provider Techem, Hans Altmann, has praised the UAE’s leading role in CO2 reduction in the Middle East, as well as in general environmental protection measures, calling the country a “pioneer” in the field. Mr. Altmann made his remarks when speaking about the importance of the World Future Energy Summit, which is being held in Abu Dhabi from Monday, 17 January to Thursday, 20 January 2011.  

The World Future Energy Summit (WFES), which first took place in 2008, has developed to be one of the most important events worldwide for representatives of the renewable energy and environment industry. Last year, more than 24,760 delegates from 148 countries attended the summit, including international policy makers, leading industry representatives, investors and other experts from the field. 

Aiming to find practical and sustainable solutions for modern energy security and climate change challenges, this year’s summit is again expected to attract a large number of industry leaders, many of them from abroad. Amongst others, numerous German companies active in this field, many of them already active in the local market, will also attend the summit.

Techem’s Hans Altmann praised the UAE for being a pioneer in the Middle East in the importance that the country has been according to the issues of energy savings and the reduction of CO2. He stressed that the Emirates have recognised the importance of setting incentives for energy saving and CO2 reduction as one of the first countries of the region, as was for instance underlined by the introduction of the Strata law, green building codes and the sustainability programme, Estidama.

As the influence of CO2 emissions on the environment constantly grows, UAE decision makers have taken just the right decisions to prepare the country and its consumers for future energy usage, providing more incentives for energy savings, according to Mr. Altmann. Speaking about the organization’s services most relevant to this subject, especially Techem’s long-standing experience in providing efficient reading, billing, maintenance services and asset management for cooling, heating, and water, Mr. Altmann added: “We have been operating for more than 55 years worldwide. There are regulations in place stipulating that up to 70% of the total utility bill reflect the actual consumption, while the final balance are fixed costs. These percentages comprise the cost of a tenant’s consumption as well as the costs arising in common areas. These components are clearly shown on Techem’s bills, thus contributing to more transparency and a fair allocation of costs.”

“With such regulations, as reflected in the UAE by the recently introduced Strata Law, end consumers who want to keep their air conditioners on all day long have to pay much more than those end consumers who are more energy-conscious”, Mr. Altmann continued to explain. A more conscious behavior of energy consumption encourages users to save on energy use as they will see substantial cost savings on their monthly bills. On the other hand, users who consume energy excessively will receive significantly higher bills.

In combination with a more conscious use of energy, consumption-based allocation billing can lead to energy savings of up to 25%, Techem has shown by carrying out many successful projects in this realm. Based on 4.5 million apartments equipped with meters in Germany, the company could achieve yearly energy savings of approximately 13 billion kWh. With this energy amount over 900,000 apartments could be heated, which is equivalent to cooling purposes for the Gulf region (Source: Techem study, “Energy Parameters 2009”).

In turn this enormous saving potential result in 3 million tons less of carbon dioxide emissions. As a country with one of the highest per capita CO2 emission rates in the world, which has the highest ecological footprint at the same time, this is a decisive issue for the UAE.  While, out of 215 countries measured, China has been ranked as number one when it comes to annual CO2 emissions rates, followed by the USA, according to the United Nations Statistics Division, the UAE are ranked number 33. This is a warning sign for the Emirates, as they are a much smaller country in size and population in comparison to both, the USA and China.