Dubai, Nov 23 - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has unveiled the concept of an environment-friendly city that would consume up to 60 percent less energy than its conventional counterpart by using cutting-edge Japanese technologies.The 'Cool City' concept uses available green technology in transport, urban development and architecture and is being promoted by the Sustainable Urban Development Consortium for Japan and Gulf States Partnership, in collaboration with Nikken Sekkei, news agency WAM reported.Speaking at the unveiling of 'Cool City' Thursday, Muhammad Saeed Al Kindi, federal minister of environment and water, identified sustainable construction, renewable energy, efficient waste management and combating air pollution as action areas.Al Kindi singled out the recent launch of the green buildings initiative by Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, in which buildings in the federal capital will be constructed in compliance with strict environment friendly standards thus making Dubai the first city in the Middle East and one of the handful in the world to implement green building codes.Addressing the symposium, the Japanese government and industry representatives stressed the need for efficient energy consumption and praised the UAE's efforts in this field.Mitsuo Nakamura, CEO of Nikken Sekkei, expressed Japan's desire to share technological information to enable sustainable development in the UAE. He also pointed out Japan's pioneering role in many areas of energy and environmental technology.The symposium featured a total of 11 organisations including Nikken Sekkei and the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company Masdar.
(c) Indo-Asian News Service
