Khaleej Times    February 28, 2008  - DUBAI — Poor development could raise a city’s temperature by 6 degrees C, propelling climate change, according to an architecture and environment expert.

British University in Dubai (BUiD) senior lecturer Dr Ahmad Okeil made this observation while speaking at the Emirates Environmental Group’s community lecture on Tuesday evening.

Initiatives such as Green Buildings and sustainable design such as that being employed in Masdar in Abu Dhabi, are vital, he said.

Sprawling cities and growing population clusters were creating “urban heat islands”, according to Okeil.

One of the biggest issues associated with the development was the waste heat from poor energy use such as with powering air-conditioning.

While industry also generated heat, Okeil said the employment of glass, concrete and metal in buildings absorbed and reflected sunlight and additional heat.

These effects were expanded as cities continued to grow up, with high-rise buildings, and urban sprawl.

Okeil added that tall buildings also blocked the wind and the change in landscape reduced water and vegetation, all aggravating the situation.

Okeil said the combined effects could raise air temperature in a city by two to six degrees Celsius.

The importance of Green Buildings in encouraging sustainable designs was outlined both by Okeil, and by EEG chairperson Habiba Al Marashi.

“The concept of Green Buildings is a response to the need for preserving the physical or natural environment through design and technological principles embedded in the built environment,” Al Marashi said.

EEG this week also released the latest issue of its Waste Paper Magazine together with its CSR publication “CSR, A Way of Life for Tomorrow’s Business”, a summary report on a survey conducted by EEG on CSR activities of companies in the UAE.