Dubai ranks among top 10 green cities

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Dubai ranks among top 10 green cities
Dubai ranks eight among the top 10 global cities for green building. Paris, Singapore and London are among the top three.

dubai - City scores well in 'green building efficiency and performance' parameter

By Abdul Basit

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Published: Thu 23 Jun 2016, 6:23 PM

Last updated: Thu 23 Jun 2016, 8:45 PM

Dubai has been ranked among the top 10 global cities for green building, according to a recent white paper published by Solidiance, a management consultancy firm focused on Asia.0

greenThe emirate ranked eighth on the list. Dubai was given a score of 43.5 per cent - it scored strongly in the 'green building efficiency and performance' category. Paris, Singapore and London ranked among the top three global cities for green buildings.

The white paper aims to assess and compare the performance of the top 10 global cities specifically with regards to green buildings.

The methodology used to assess the global cities for their green building performance are drawn across four categories: City-wide green building landscape; building efficiency and performance; green building policies and targets; and green city culture and environment.

Three of these categories centre on the total number of green buildings, performance and initiatives, while one category focuses on the city's green initiatives and performance.

The research, assessment and evaluation undertaken for the white paper results in the ranking of global cities based on their green building performance: Paris ranked top, Singapore came second, London stood third, Sydney fourth and then Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, Dubai, Beijing and Shanghai.

Findings from the white paper revealed Paris and Singapore were the only cities that ranked within the top five in every category and took the top spot by excelling in all four assessments.

These two cities showcase strong building efficiency and performance, which showed that both local and international certification standards continue to yield high performance on green buildings.

The global cities were assessed on the basis of their green building landscape, which is defined as the total number of green buildings and green building certification systems in use.

When evaluating the citywide green building landscape on the 10 global cities, the research identified London, Singapore and Paris as the top scorers.

London has the highest percentage of green building projects (68 per cent) among the 10 global cities. Paris and Singapore rank closely behind with 64 per cent and 48 per cent respectively, with more than half of the built stock certified as "green".

Paris won first position for its very low percentage of carbon emissions, which is attributable to the city's built environment. The level of energy used in buildings in Paris and Singapore were among the lowest in the list, indicating the cities' level of eco-consciousness and proof that both the local and international green building certifications used in both cities set a strong benchmark that pushes for greater greener building performance.

New York City, on the other hand, did not fare well in this category. The mega city accounts for the second highest building energy consumption (80 per cent) as well as emits a large volume of CO2 (74 per cent), which explains the poor performance on the Green Building Efficiency and Performance dimension.

Singapore stood out as a forerunner in the industry by putting a bold set of policies and targets for greening the city's built block by establishing a target to green 80 per cent of its built stock by 2030. In 2008, the city-state amended its Building Control Act, requiring all new buildings and existing ones that undergo major retrofitting to achieve, at minimum, a certified rating under the Green Mark Scheme. By 2014, more than 25 per cent of the city's entire built stock was already 'greened'.

- abdulbasit@khleejtimes.com


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