Dubai focuses on sustainability with plan to cut public transport emissions to net zero by 2050
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has announced a plan for public transport to operate with net-zero emissions by 2050.
The authority also aims to minimise its carbon footprint in buildings and waste management plants.
It plans to decarbonise all taxis, limousines and public buses, design its buildings with near-zero energy consumption, use renewable sources of energy and cut the municipal waste sent to landfill, state news agency Wam reported.
The initiative will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 10 million tonnes and save Dh3.3 billion ($898.5 million), the authority said. “The new strategy outlines a comprehensive approach to sustainability within RTA,” said director general Mattar Al Tayer.
“Its primary objective is to enhance sustainability and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
“It contributes to realising the RTA’s mission of achieving global leadership in smooth and sustainable mobility through innovative roads and transport services that elevate the customer experience to world-class standards.”
Under the plan, the authority will convert 10 per cent of public buses into electric and hydrogen vehicles by 2030.
This will grow to 20 per cent by 2035, with the entire fleet running on electricity and hydrogen by 2050. The authority said 30 per cent of taxis and limousines would be electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles by the end of the decade.
This will increase to 50 per cent by 2035 and 100 per cent by 2040.
The authority aims to convert 10 per cent of school buses into electric and hydrogen vehicles by 2030, increasing this to 30 per cent in 2035 and 100 per cent by 2050.
Buildings will be retrofitted with solar-cell systems, with 24 structures to have solar panels installed over the next two years, the authority said.
The goal is to retrofit and upgrade 74 per cent of its buildings by 2030, increasing to 100 per cent by 2045. New buildings will be near-zero energy from 2025, it said.
Waste management programmes will be introduced to reuse and recycle all municipal waste by the end of the decade.
The amount of recycled water used in the authority’s buildings and centres will be increased to 40 per cent by 2050.
The authority said the initiative was aligned with the UAE’s preparations for the Cop28 climate summit and the country’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, announced in 2021.
Last year, the authority announced it was able to reduce its annual costs by Dh86 million by introducing several green energy projects.
It adopted 36 “energy and green economy initiatives” to reduce its electricity, water and fuel consumption.
The Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative is a Dh600 billion plan to invest in clean and renewable energy sources over the next three decades.
In March, the governments of the seven emirates signed the Net Zero 2050 Charter, which supports the objectives of the National Net Zero by 2050 Pathway unveiled at Cop27.
The charter includes a commitment from the emirates to enact and monitor initiatives and measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The charter provides for the development of action plans, policies and strategies for climate action.