Aldar teams up with Ewec to power its assets with clean energy for up to five years

Aldar, the UAE's biggest listed property company, has signed an agreement with Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) to power all of its owned and managed assets with clean energy sources for up to five years, as part of efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

The clean power will be supplied to Aldar’s assets from Ewec’s clean energy sources. These will be validated through Clean Energy Certificates registered by Ewec, a scheme that was launched by the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy to enable companies in the emirate to validate claims of producing and consuming renewable or clean electricity, Aldar said in a statement on Monday.

"There has never been a time more critical for the corporate community to acknowledge the impact that real estate assets have on the environment," said Greg Fewer, Aldar's chief financial officer.

"Buildings account for 37 per cent of today's global CO2 emissions when both operational emissions and embodied emissions of materials are taken into account. It is evident that sustainable buildings are one of the most effective means of tackling this global challenge."

The move is part of Aldar's wider sustainability goals. Last week, the company launched a portfolio-wide energy management project to reduce its energy consumption by about 20 per cent across 80 assets including hotels, schools, commercial, leisure, retail and residential buildings. Besides reducing energy emissions, the project will allow Aldar to save about Dh40 million ($10.8m) a year in energy consumption costs.

Earlier this month, Aldar said it increased its ESG ratings within two major global benchmarks, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and Sustainalytics. It also maintained its BB rating in the 2021 Morgan Stanley Consumer Index (MSCI), which tracks exposure to ESG risks and how well companies manage those risks relative to peers.

Currently, Scope 2 emissions, which are related to the purchase of electricity from the grid, are the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions at Aldar’s real estate assets. The new agreement with Ewec will reduce those emissions and support decarbonisation across the company’s portfolio, Aldar said.

“We are really excited to see key Abu Dhabi companies such as Aldar taking the lead on reaching zero carbon by certifying the origin of the power consumed from the grid through the clean energy certificate scheme, joining other major energy, industrial, healthcare and commercial entities taking positive action to reduce carbon emissions," said Francois Brice, commercial executive director at Ewec.

Aldar's sustainability initiatives are in line with the UAE's efforts to promote a green economy. The UAE is committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, making it the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to do so. By 2050, the Emirates will invest Dh600 billion in clean and renewable energy sources.

The Arab world’s second-largest economy is developing several clean energy projects to achieve its sustainability goals by 2050. It is constructing the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, the Arab world’s first multi-unit operating nuclear energy plant.

The country is also building renewable energy projects to boost the supply of clean energy, including the world’s largest solar plant in Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi. The 2-gigawatt plant is expected to be fully operational this year.

Dubai is developing the 5-gigawatt Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park as part of its strategy to cut emissions.

In 2023, the UAE will become the first Gulf Arab nation to host the Cop summit.

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.

- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law

Gertrude Bell's life in focus

A feature film

At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.

A documentary

A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.

Books, letters and archives

Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.

The story in numbers

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

It Was Just an Accident

Director: Jafar Panahi

Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr

Rating: 4/5

Match info

Bournemouth 0
Liverpool 4 (Salah 25', 48', 76', Cook 68' OG)

Man of the match: Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)

MATCH INFO

Europa League semi-final, second leg
Atletico Madrid (1) v Arsenal (1)
Where: Wanda Metropolitano
When: Thursday, kick-off 10.45pm
Live: On BeIN Sports HD

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

SPECS

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4-litre%20flat-six%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E525hp%20(GT3)%2C%20500hp%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E465Nm%20(GT3)%2C%20450Nm%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh944%2C000%20(GT3)%2C%20Dh581%2C700%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

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UAE SQUAD

Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)