Middle East Business
Dubai cooling operator sets a 10 per cent cut by 2035 against a measured baseline
By Staff Writer | 24 August 2026
Emicool has published a decarbonisation pathway built on a 2023 baseline of 183,423 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with about 31.6 million dollars earmarked for energy optimisation to 2027.
Emirates District Cooling, which trades as Emicool, has set out a structured route to net zero operations by 2050. The starting point is a measured 2023 emissions baseline of 183,423 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, covering scope 1, scope 2 and the scope 3 categories the company treats as relevant.
Against that baseline the board has approved an interim target of a 10 per cent reduction by 2035. The company's stated ambition for 2050 is a reduction of about 90 per cent, with the remaining hard to abate emissions neutralised only once every feasible direct reduction has been made.
Sustainability is no longer an option for infrastructure companies, it is a responsibility. Our Net Zero roadmap reflects a long-term commitment to transforming district cooling into a cleaner, smarter and more efficient industry.
Dr Adib El Moubadder, Chief Executive Officer of Emicool
The shape of the curve is the point
A 10 per cent cut by 2035 and roughly 90 per cent by 2050 is a back loaded pathway, and the company says so directly: the larger reductions are expected after 2035, as low carbon technologies mature and the national electricity mix continues to change. District cooling is overwhelmingly a scope 2 business, so most of the eventual saving depends on the grid rather than on the plant room.
That is worth reading carefully by anyone drafting or pricing a sustainability obligation into a Gulf development agreement. A cooling provider that has published an interim number tied to a stated baseline year can be measured against it. One that has published only a 2050 destination cannot.
A target with a named baseline year, a stated emissions figure and a scope boundary is capable of being audited. Everything before those three things is an aspiration, whatever date is attached to it.
What is being spent, and on what
About 31.6 million dollars has been earmarked for energy optimisation initiatives through 2027, alongside what the company calls its broader green financing strategy. The measures named are operational efficiency, plant and network optimisation, digital transformation, integration of renewable energy and the later adoption of low carbon technologies.
Emicool operates 20 district cooling plants serving residential, commercial and mixed use developments across Dubai, with more than 306,000 refrigeration tonnes of connected capacity. The roadmap is to be reviewed every five years to take account of technological change, regulatory change and operational progress.
What has not been published
The company has not broken the 31.6 million dollars down by measure, plant or year, and has not said what proportion of the 2023 baseline sits in each scope. There is no figure for the emissions reduction already achieved since 2023, so the interim target cannot yet be measured against progress.
Nor has any assurance provider or verification standard been named for the baseline. On a five year review cycle the next published checkpoint is some way off, which is a long wait for the first number after the one the whole pathway rests on.