Dubai is to enforce green laws for all new buildings from next year, said Essa Al Maidour, the assistant director general for planning and building affairs at Dubai Municipality.

Speaking at a seminar held by the municipality last month, Al Maidour underscored the significance of developing the right standards for green buildings compatible with Dubai’s local conditions and in conformity with the best international design and construction practices.
He said the municipality would develop a new legislative framework for green design that will be implemented in all new buildings across Dubai by January 1 next year.
The regulations, to be developed by the municipality’s buildings department in collaboration with consultants WSP, would be in line with the Dubai Strategic Plan.
“It will be an ongoing process for new buildings with a tier structure and will be implemented in phases,” he told the seminar, titled “Build it Green: Greening of Dubai through Regulations” which came as part of the civic body’s initiative to offer a continuous learning environment for the local architects and consultant engineers.
The seminar was organised in association with WSP.
Al Maidour noted that the issue of “building green” in rapidly growing urban environments is emerging as a major factor in the booming Middle East real estate market. Commenting on the significance of the seminar, Al Maidour said it was aimed at providing an insight into the key features of this initiative, in line with the directive of Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, that all buildings constructed in Dubai should adhere to green standards from the beginning of next year.
Three experts addressed the seminar. In the first lecture, Dan Dowling of WSP explained what constituted a green building and what is the vision of Dubai Municipality and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) with regard to green buildings. The second lecture was delivered by Susan Rogers who presented a worldwide review of existing framework. In the third lecture, Tim Armstrong submitted a road map for Dubai’s regulations in the field of green buildings.