UAE | Environment
Forms of energy will be complementary
The UAE's bid for the seat of the renewable energy agency has been unique in that it was the only bidding state that is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of hydrocarbon energy.
- By Rayeesa Absal and Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporters
- Published: 22:52 July 1, 2009
- As country from the developing global South, the UAE now has the opportunity to become a leader and a main player in renewable energy, says Majid Al Mansouri.
- Image Credit: Supplied picture
Abu Dhabi/Dubai: During a press conference held by the Emirati delegation after the UAE was chosen to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) in Sharm Al Shaikh on Monday, UAE Minister of Energy Mohammad Al Hameli stepped in front of the podium and introduced himself: "I am the minister of energy. Hydrocarbon energy."
His joke was met with laughter from the audience. At that point, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, stepped in and responded, also lightheartedly: "And renewable energy!" That was met with more laughter.
The UAE's bid for the seat of the renewable energy agency has been unique in that it was the only bidding state that is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of hydrocarbon energy.
The bid had initially been met with confusion by observers and experts on why a state that seemingly does not "need" renewable energy would venture into such an ambitious and costly project.
Emirati officials led by Shaikh Abdullah have been keen to stress that renewable energy would complement hydrocarbon energy for the time being.
But experts that have since observed the UAE's renewable energy ambitions are part of a pragmatic move for an energy exporter that wants to remain a global player in that field.
The UAE, they say, has realised that the only way it can maintain its position is by making a gradual transition to renewable energy once the era of the finite hydrocarbon energy is over.
"The oil sector will not be challenged by this. From the beginning, it has been said that renewable energy and other forms of energy will be complementing each other and not competing with each other. This proves that even though we are an oil producing country, at the same time we strive hard towards a clean environment," said Sultan Al Muhairi, Director of Marketing and Refining at Adnoc.
"Irena coming to the UAE means a lot. It would mean that we will become the centre of the world for renewable and clean energy," he added.
Aside from placing the country as a regional leader, and perhaps eventually a global leader, in renewable energy, the UAE's energy ambitions would also work to clean up its environmental image, according to Hamdan Al Shair, the Director of Environment at Dubai municipality.
"Irena will serve as an ideal platform for innovation and creation of cleaner technology, despite the fact that we are an oil producing country," he said, adding that the agency would facilitate the transfer of technology and knowhow to developing countries.
"[This] will make the UAE even more environmentally accountable to the world. As country from the developing global South, the UAE now has the opportunity to become a leader and a main player in renewable energy", said Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of Environment Agency Abu Dhabi "As an oil-producing country, we welcome this opportunity and the international responsibility it brings with it," he added.
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