S01 IWS 2016 Dailies - DAY 4 - Start_Layout 1 20/01/2016 15:24 Page 1
DAILY NEWS
DAY 4 21 JAN 2016
‘WATCH YOUR WATER SPEND’
CONTENTS NEWS: Ak-Kim showcases UF modules at IWS
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TECH NEWS: Dutch fund for MENA water management
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FEATURE: Fight CO2 emissions with solar power
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Q&A: Zakia Bahjou, Dow Water & Process Solutions
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Conference floorplan
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Innovate@IWS
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NEWS: Emicool eyes bigger market share in UAE
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Tanzeed Alam at IWS 2016.
In the last 20 years, there has been a huge development of new schemes for water supply mainly for irrigation, increased use in industries and oil production. At the same time dropping of water tables in many countries such as GCC, Asia and Europe have raised added concerns. Next comes the energy-water nexus. Experts says that the UAE has the largest energy footprint for water desalination in the world. According to EWS-WWF climate and energy director Tanzeed Alam, “We need to understand the energy-water nexus and must aim at reducing CO2 and greenhouse emissions in the UAE. The water used here is 99 per cent desalinated, generated mostly from gas-powered plants. So what the plants generate for consumption also contributes to carbon emissions in the country. We, at EWS-WWF, are advocating for cleaner methods of producing energy, specially by
increasing the share of renewables as there is an interest in renewable-linked desalination and reverse osmosis.” Alam adds that consumers also need look at water and energy from demand perspective and how to increase the efficiency of water consumption. “If you look at water in Abu Dhabi, figures suggest that residents here consume over 550 litres of water per day per capita. That is three times higher than the average around the world. When you think about how water scarce this country is, its scary. One of the big factors aiding this is the water subsidies.” But with Abu Dhabi now taxing residential areas, it will be interesting to see the impact on conservation, he notes. Talking about IWS 2016, Alam opines that event like these can bring in changes towards better water sustainability and stakeholders and the need to change policies.