“On World Sustainability Day, the UAE’s journey towards Net Zero 2050 requires us to focus not only on how energy is produced, but also on how efficiently it is consumed. In a region where cooling is essential to daily life and economic growth, district cooling plays an important role in reducing energy demand and carbon emissions.
Ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference, co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal in Abu Dhabi this December, Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, called for water resilience to become a central priority in economic and investment planning, emphasising the need to connect water, energy, technology, and finance to drive sustainable growth and strengthen economic competitiveness.
Sustainability in any system is mostly a matter of design. A building that needs constant air conditioning to be habitable is badly designed; one that stays cool because of its orientation and materials is well designed, and needs less willpower from the people in it. The same logic applies to a gaming market. Most countries built theirs first and added protections afterwards, which is why those protections lean so heavily on individual self-control. The UAE built the regulator before the first product, and the result is a market where several of the safeguards are structural. Here are five of them, what each does, and how they compare with open markets, using Play971, the country's licensed online sportsbook and casino, as the working example.
Abu Dhabi has completed the first implementation phase of the Environmental Centennial 2071, advancing the emirate’s long-term environmental vision for future generations. Between 2023 and 2025, nine government entities delivered 751 achievements through 98 programmes, translating a shared vision into coordinated action across government.
The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) participated in the 11th GEF Biennial International Waters Conference (IWC11), organised by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Bali, Indonesia, where Her Excellency Dr Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary General of EAD and Vice Chair of the Global Council on SDG 14, was among the keynote speakers at the opening ceremony.
Forbes Middle East has named H.E. Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation PJSC (Empower), among its Sustainability Leaders in the Energy and Utilities sector across the Middle East, in recognition of his contributions to advancing sustainability efforts and practices in the region.
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, a global clean energy leader, has signed an agreement to acquire and develop one of Greece’s largest solar projects, strengthening the country's clean energy infrastructure and supporting its ambitions as a European digital hub, while deepening the strategic partnership between the UAE and Greece.
The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has announced the schools across Abu Dhabi that excelled in embedding sustainable practices into their operations, teaching and student-led activities, awarding them Green Stars ratings for the 2025 – 2026 cycle as part of the Sustainable Schools Initiative (SSI).
In collaboration with Malabes by Beit Al Khair Society, a UAE-based charitable organisation, Al Jaddaf Rotana Suite Hotel, Arabian Park Edge by Rotana and Park Apartments Edge by [...]
