George Berbari, founder and CEO of UAE-based DC Pro Engineering, told attendees at the 2017 District Cooling Stakeholders Summit that towns, cities, and individuals must be held accountable for the energy they consume. Berbari also said that the construction, industrial and transportation sectors are responsible for using the most energy globally.

Berbari, who is the author of ‘The Energy Budget’, which lays out a self-financing long-term solution to tackle climate change, added that municipal officials, government entities, the private sector, and individuals around the world must work together for a greener future.

“According to the USA Energy Information Administration agency, energy-related CO2 emissions will increase, particularly in developed countries,” commented Berbari. “Global warming is affecting humanity and considered its biggest failure, hence new approaches should be implemented.”

The climate change advocate explained that energy-related CO2 emission reached 32-billion tonnes in 2012, and announced that they are expected to increase by 34% to 43 billion tonnes by 2040.

In his presentation, Berbari suggested that the scenario of empowering cities, towns and even villages to take control of their own destiny to tackle global warming is the way to move forward. He explained that cities should be allowed to measure the benchmark of energy consumed per person, and per m2 of facility for a year, and should then set a target for reducing consumption by 20% in the subsequent year.

Berbari’s vision has one intermediate private-sector firm responsible for all utility meters, including billing and the collection of property tax in a jurisdiction. He believes this would allow the firm to collate figures to the local authorities, and rewards or penalties could be awarded depending on consumption levels. Berbari is confident this structure would ensure transparency and reduce costs.

The funds accrued through collecting penalties would be used to cover the costs the city or town incurred in establishing, operating and maintaining the distribution grid, including the district energy network, as well as the natural gas, water and sewer networks.