World Future Energy Summit signs key stakeholder agreements
The summit will host exhibitions and forums across clean energy and sustainability: Energy, Water, Solar, ECOWASTE, Smart Cities and Climate & Environment
World Future Energy Summit, part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), has signed key stakeholder agreements with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Bee’ah and EDF Renewables.
The event, which provides a plaform to showcase clean energy and sustainable projects, initiatives and developments for the Middle East - will be held in Abu Dhabi’s National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), hosted by Masdar, from Jan.17-19, 2022.
The summit will host exhibitions and forums across clean energy and sustainability: Energy, Water, Solar, ECOWASTE, Smart Cities and Climate & Environment.
It will also host Climate Innovations Exchange which connects global start-ups to investors, and a dedicated Sustainability Business Connect programme to help connect exhibitors to qualified buyers from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) looking for technology and services for their projects.
“The UAE has set itself some seriously ambitious medium- and long-term environmental targets and put in motion a strategic plan which will facilitate clean power generation and increased energy efficiency while catering for our fast economic growth,” said Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.
“Despite the challenges, we are already making significant progress as we work to achieve the goals outlined in the UAE National Energy Strategy 2050.
The enormous investments we are now witnessing in clean energy, energy efficiency, carbon reduction and sustainable, secure water supplies provide a clear path for the UAE’S future development as a global force for driving sustainability.” According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), by the year 2050, sustainably produced electricity will have become the world’s most important energy carrier. Electricity’s share of final energy use is forecast to increase from 21 per cent today to 60 per cent in 2050, a three-fold rise achievable through significant efforts to electrify our economies.
Current government plans call for $98 trillion of energy system investment in the coming three decades, yet IRENA’S ‘1.5oc scenario’ requires an additional $33 trillion related to energy transition over the planned investments and a significant redirection of money from fossil fuels into green assets.
Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee’ah, said that exhibiting at the World Future Energy Summit will provide a timely plaform to highlight initiatives that drive progress towards a circular economy. “We have been developing clean energy projects In the Middle East for over 25 years, actively strengthening our leading ambition,” commented Laurent Clement, CEO and Managing Director of EDF Middle East. “Building a net-zero energy future with electricity and innovative solutions and services is EDF’S purpose, its “raison d’être”. It is a privilege for us to bring our vast experience and technologies to this world-leading event in the UAE’S capital.
In the previous edition, the Summit hosted 34,000 atendees from 125 countries - including 10 heads of state - and featured 840 exhibiting companies and brands.
The UAE government has pushed ahead with some of the most ambitious green targets, pledging to generate 24 per cent of its electricity from clean sources by the end of this year and reducing its carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 through building and construction efficiency improvements.
Participants at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week’s events will discuss and build on the UAE’S efforts in recent decades to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons and diversify its economy. It is fast becoming a knowledge hub for the world’s most advanced clean energy technologies, alongside alternative energy sources. The government has pushed ahead with some of the most ambitious green targets, pledging to generate 24 per cent of its electricity from clean sources by the end of this year and reducing its carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 through building and construction efficiency improvements.
Already Dubai is supporting the installation of solar panels on existing houses, and the neighbouring city of Sharjah has just started construction of a sustainable community where energy use will be net zero. Meanwhile, the Barakah Nuclear power plant opened last year. As well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is expected to contribute 25 per cent of the UAE’S entire power generation.
Like the UAE, other Gulf states have realised that alternative sources of energy are necessary. Saudi Arabia has pledged that 30 per cent of its energy generation will come from renewables by 2030, while the Bahrainis have gone for a less ambitious 6 per cent of its energy mix being renewable by 2025. Some will undoubtedly question whether these targets will be met, but the fact that these announcements were made at least shows Arabic governments are aware of the need to go greener.
While the efforts of the UAE and its neighbours is a good start, by itself it won’t be enough. Buy in is needed from younger generations, who are the ones most at risk to climate change and the challenge of preventing its escalation. For that reason, youth is a prominent feature at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.