Abu Dhabi: At least four heads of state, dozens of ministers, 200 high-level speakers and more than 35,600 delegates have begun converging in the capital to attend the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2017.
The 10-day series of conferences, exhibitions and activities, hosted by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, aims to promote the use of renewables, and enable sustainable development for a rapidly increasing global population.
“I am honoured to say that ADSW has consistently delivered on motivating global action for a more sustainable future. This is reinforced by the strong momentum in the renewable energy sector, which has achieved commercial viability, and is now recognised as a mature, mainstream industry,” said Mohamed Al Ramahi, chief executive officer at Masdar.
“This year’s ADSW will continue to build on the event’s unique ability to enable dialogue between policy makers, business and academia, bringing collaboration and shared actions across the interconnected dependencies of energy, water and waste,” he added.
Ministers and industry executives from 150 countries have already convened over the last three days at the seventh assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), where $44.5 million (Dh163 million) of funds were granted by the UAE for clean energy projects in the Pacific and Africa.
Tomorrow (January 16), the tenth edition of the World Future Energy Summit will commence, with an opening ceremony that is expected to attract 3,400 delegates, including the presidents of Costa Rica, Kazakhstan, Paraguay and Montenegro. The four-day forum provides a platform for industry executives to discuss the trends and challenges in renewable energy generation and deployment. It will also include a ‘Global Day of Action’, where decision makers can share ideas and concrete plans to implement sustainability agendas.
Alongside it, the International Water Summit will look at ways of promoting water sustainability in arid regions, while the Eco Waste Exhibition will present technologies and methods of waste management and recycling.
This week will also see the announcement of winners for the Zayed Future Energy Prize. The annual awards, which recognise and funds sustainable initiatives across the world, have already improved the lives of 202 million people since 2008.
The award will be handed out in five categories, namely for large corporations, small and medium enterprises, global high schools, non-profit organisations and lifetime achievement.
The best research technologies for rain enhancement will also be announced at the second cycle of the Rain Enhancement Science awards. A total of $5 million (Dh18.37) will be distributed among the selected projects to be used over a three-year period.
Another dedicated conference, the Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER), will focus on ways to encourage greater innovation and commercial solutions from female executives and community leaders.
Young innovators will also be encouraged to take up energy and green leadership at the ADSW Student Exclusive, and the week of activities will wrap up with a two-day farmers’ market and craft fair at Masdar City.
