The SCE’s fact-finding mission was led by its Vice-Chairman Saeed Mohamed Al-Tayer.

The delegation learnt more about public-private partnerships in the UK, best practices, and the challenges and opportunities for implementing energy strategy.

The team comprised Ali Al-Owais, chairman of the Regulatory Supervisory Bureau for Water and Electricity, Nejib Zaafrani, secretary general and CEO of The Supreme Council of Energy (SCE); and Waleed Salman, chairman of the Dubai Carbon Center of Excellence and Board Member of the SCE.

The delegation organized a roundtable meeting with British Expertise Association and Energy representatives from the management, engineering, development and consultancy Mott Macdonald, and an expert from Green Buildings from Cambridge Center for Climate Change Mitigation Research, an interdisciplinary research center within the Department of Land Economy at Cambridge University.

The roundtable provided a stimulating and insightful discussion on topics such as CO2 emissions reduction by using innovative policies, supply side and demand side energy management, energy efficiency and green building projects.

The delegation also discussed how best to manage the security of storage and distribution of gas supplies and mitigation of the risks associated with them.

The final topic centered on the macroeconomic model related to the triple-E triangle of Energy, Economy and Environment.

During the engagements, the delegation took the opportunity to give an overview of the Supreme Council of Energy, which has been in existence for only two years, and presented the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy (DIES) 2030 and key implementation initiatives in 2011, including the establishment of The Board of the Regulation and Supervision Bureau (RSB) of Dubai.

The delegation then outlined the considerable opportunities for significant multi-billion dollar investments in the energy sector and potential partnerships with international energy companies to successfully implement DIES 2030.

The delegation also met with the UK regulator of the UK energy markets: The Office of Gas and Electricity market (Ofgem) to gain practical insights on regulatory matters.

Ofgem provided valuable information on their organizational structure, board members and reporting lines, including their relationships with various stakeholders.

On Thursday, the final day of the visit, the delegation visited Mansion House and had a roundtable discussion on energy security and climate change with Alderman Michael Bear, Lord Mayor of the City of London and Sheriff Fiona Woolf, UK business representatives and experts from Chatham House, the independent think-tank on international affairs.

UK government representatives and business representatives praised The Supreme Council of Energy’s Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030 and the progress achieved within a short period of time.

Al-Tayer expressed, on behalf of Dubai government and the SCE delegation, their sincere appreciation to the UK government and the business community for the fruitful and valuable open discussions that took place over the three-day visit.