The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have emerged as unlikely climate heroes in the Middle East according to a report by Agility, a global supply chain services company based in Kuwait.
The findings of the report titled Middle East and Africa Environmental Sustainability Scorecard, are pertinent, especially with respect to the burgeoning Cloud & Data Center industry in both, the UAE and KSA. Given how data centers are major power guzzlers, and also the fact that the region’s wealth has predominantly been a result of its thriving fossil fuel industry, it will be interesting to see their journey towards sustainable and climate friendly technologies.
For example, the UAE is home to the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park which powers Moro Hub, which is a digital data hub providing state-of-the-art data centre solutions and innovative digital services. Moro Hub is a subsidiary of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and provides digital solutions to a variety of government, public service organisations and utility providers. Recently, it teamed up with SAP to introduce SAP’s public cloud services to Moro Hub’s green data center. This landmark development paves the way for both public and private sector entities in the UAE to diminish their ecological impact by harnessing SAP’s cloud solutions hosted by Moro Hub.
Meanwhile, sustainability is a key part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 as the Kingdom strives towards a Net Zero future by 2060. KSA is also emerging as a sought-after data center destination with the capital city of Riyadh, as well as Jeddah and Dammam emerging as key locations. Recently, DataVolt, a data center major from KSA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AquaTech, an Indian water technology company for water cooling and recycling technology cooperation and services. With this strategic alliance they hope to design, construct, and operate state-of-the-art sustainable data centers. These data centers will be equipped with highly efficient cooling systems tailored to the evolving demands of modern computing technology while striving to minimize total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
According to the same report, South Africa and Egypt are leading the charge in Africa. Overall South Africa comes up top followed by UAE, Egypt, KSA, and Rwanda rounding up the top five.
The report was compiled by Horizon Group, a Geneva-based firm that specializes in research and analysis for governments, international organizations, and leading businesses worldwide. The report is a detailed examination of country performance in environmental sustainability outcomes, government policies, and corporate practices in the two regions. Other countries studied by the report include Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Morocco, Qatar, Tanzania, Nigeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Cote d’Ivoire, Oman, and Mozambique.
According to a press release, “The scorecard uses 48 performance and progress indicators to compare countries. The indicators include data, regulatory frameworks, policy assessments, incentives and corporate practices across six pillar areas: green investment and technology; sustainable infrastructure and transport; governance and reporting; energy transition; environmental ecosystems; and circularity. To capture corporate practices and progress, Horizon surveyed 647 business executives in the 17 countries.”
