Abu Dhabi underscores climate agenda

The Young Future Energy Leaders (YFEL), a programme of the Masdar Institute, will have United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Christina Figueres, executive secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), and Dr Susan Hockfield, Massachusetts Institute of Technology President among the keynote speakers.

The UAE has placed renewable energy and climate change high on its agenda. Throughout the years, this has been demonstrated through a variety of actions including the inception of the Masdar Initiative, the UAE’s peaceful nuclear programme, the Abu Dhabi green building code (ESTIDAMA), the World Future Energy Summit, the Zayed Future Energy Prize as well as the establishment of the Directorate of Energy and Climate Change within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The UAE also understands the importance of a collaborative engagement between the private and public sectors and the presence of the Directorate of Energy and Climate Change at the World Future Energy Summit shows that understanding.

Since its inception in 2008, the WFES has evolved into the world’s foremost annual meeting for the renewable energy and environment industry. In 2010, WFES brought together over 24,760 participants from 148 countries including world leaders, international policymakers, industry leaders, investors, experts, academia, intellectuals and journalists to find practical and sustainable solutions for energy security and climate change challenges.

Masdar announced the commencement of an Electric Vehicle (EV) pilot in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). The Masdar pilot will involve electric vehicless and test the feasibility of EV technology as a point-to-point transportation solution for Masdar City.

In 2009, Masdar broke ground on Masdar City, the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city. Masdar’s CEO Sultan Al Jaber at the time announced a development budget of $22 billion (Dh80.91 billion) for the project.

Masdar aims to maximise the benefits of sustainable technologies, such as photovoltaic cells and concentrated solar energy. It targets carbon reduction and management and development of other renewable energy sources such as wind  energy and hydrogen power.

www.masdar.ac.ae/