Carbon neutral bus transfers hotel guests to green expo

Leading UAE-based facilities management company Farnek Avireal and the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi have agreed to operate a daily carbon neutral minibus from the hotel to the World Future Energy Summit which takes place this week at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).

The vehicle, a two door, two wheel drive 2010 Nissan Civilian can hold up to 26 passengers and with the help of myclimate’s offset-portfolio programme, will offset around 12 tons of CO2 a year, based on the vehicle traveling 30,000 Kilometres (km) annually (82km a day) with fuel consumption of 35km per gallon.

“This carbon neutral initiative with Emirates Palace Hotel is a regional first. No other hotel in the region has offset the carbon emissions of their guest transportation,” said Markus Oberlin, General Manager of Farnek Avireal Middle East.

The agreement is in association with international carbon offset foundation myclimate, which is exhibiting at the World Future Energy Summit on the Swiss Pavilion.

“Naturally it is highly appropriate to operate this minibus for our guests attending the future energy show and it is consistent with our other environmentally friendly initiatives,” Bugra Berberoglu, General Manager, Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.

Myclimate is a leading international non-profit foundation providing consultancy, advisory and carbon management services to help companies reduce their environmental impact by offsetting carbon emissions and reducing or, where possible, replacing their use of fossil fuels.

Carbon offsetting involves paying an annual sum to myclimate, equivalent to the cost of repairing the environmental damage caused by carbon emissions. The money is then used to fund carbon offset projects around the globe.

As an example, a project in Kenya produces efficient Upesi stoves to reduce wood consumption, and helps to preserve the unique vegetation and biodiversity of the Kakamega rainforest. Moreover, savings in burning unsustainably harvested fuel wood cut down CO2 emissions. This project alone will save 241,976 tons of CO2 (over 7 years).

According to a survey by global risk management company, Maplecroft, at the beginning of 2011, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were ranked in the top six worst offenders for CO2 emissions per capita in the world along with Australia, USA, Canada and the Holland. The UAE is bottom of the table, reflecting its reliance on fossil fuels and the use of energy intensive desalination plants.