Abu Dhabi: The 13th edition of the World Future Energy Summit was inaugurated in the capital on Monday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
The four-day summit is the flagship event for the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, a platform to promote and catalyse international sustainable development.
“We welcome world leaders and our guests to the Abu Dhabi #Sustainability Week 2020 to join them in enhancing global energy efforts and using innovative solutions to serve society,” Shaikh mohammad said in a tweet.
Addressing delegates at the opening ceremony, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State, and ADNOC Group chief executive officer and chairman of Masdar, announced the UAE’s ambitious sustainability plans.
“BY 2030, we plan to reduce our greenhouse gas intensity by an additional 25 per cent, and plant 50 million mangroves in Al Dhafra. This year, we will also become the first country in the region to deliver safe, commercial and peaceful nuclear power [through the Barakah nuclear power plant],” Dr Al Jaber said.
“In short, the UAE not only talks the talk but walks the walk when it comes to deliver sustainable, clean energy. We do this because it is right, and because it makes perfect economic sense,” he added.
The opening ceremony was attended by a number of heads of state, including Indonesian president Joko Widodo, Bangladeshi prime minister Shaikh Hasina Wajed, Rwandan president Paul Kagame, Sierra Leonean president Julius Maada Bio, Armenian president Armen Sarkissian, and others.
The ceremony also saw the announcement of the winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, a global award for impactful and innovative sustainability solutions.
The summit is expected to see nearly 33,500 visitors by the time it wraps up on Thursday, January 16.
