Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2020 (ADSW)as officially inaugurated in the capital on Monday morning.
A number of heads of states, senior UAE government officials, businesspersons, youth and students flocked to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) for the global sustainable event.
In his opening address, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, said, “The UAE continues its vital role under the leadership of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in uniting efforts to find solutions to the major challenges facing the world today, as well as charting a common path to building a promising and sustainable future for all.
“Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week reflects the UAE’s leading position as a strong supporter of global sustainability initiatives and has transformed into a global platform that catalyses sustainable strategies and real-world solutions to help drive human progress. It is a dedication to the approach of the late founding father Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who adopted sustainability as a way of working to achieve progress in all areas.”
He said: “We look to the future with more determination and confidence to continue the path of the leading nation and achieve what is best for our future generations and all of humanity.”
The opening was attended by among others, Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia; Armen Sarkissian, President of the Republic of Armenia; Danny Faure, President of the Republic of Seychelles; Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, President of the Republic of Mali; Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone; Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda; Anna Brnabi, Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia; Shaikh Hasina Wajed, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bangladesh; and Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji.
Widodo in his keynote, said, “We need to work together to address the repercussions of climate change and find alternative energy sources to meet In his welcome address Dr Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, said, “In the first two decades of the 21st century, we saw life expectancy reach new heights, global child mortality cut in half and the middle class more than double. However, while human progress is accelerating, another key challenge is emerging – how to produce the energy and resources the world needs, while protecting the world we all share together,” Dr Al Jaber said.
“Through initiatives such as the Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, Masdar, and others, we have launched renewable energy projects totalling almost 12 gigawatts here in the UAE and across more than 30 countries around the world. Nationally, we have grown our renewable energy portfolio by over 400 percent in the last 10 years and we are well on track to double it again in the next 10 years,” he added.
FIRST TO DELIVER SAFE NUCLEAR POWER
This year, the UAE will become the first country in the region to deliver safe, commercial and peaceful nuclear power.
“In short, the UAE not only talks the talk, but walks the walk when it comes to delivering sustainable, clean energy. We do this because it is right and it makes perfect economic sense,” Dr Al Jaber said.
To align more closely with the UAE Vision 2021 and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ADSW has widened its scope beyond renewable energy.
SMART CITIES EXPO
New to this year’s ADSW is the Smart Cities Expo and Forum, which will bring forward-thinking governments and municipalities together with pioneers in smart infrastructure, future transportation and next-generation building technology to develop the potential of connected communities – from sustainable planning to smart mobility.
The Youth For Sustainability Hub (Y4S) will provide a platform for students, young professionals, innovators and entrepreneurs to become more educated about the future of the sustainability industry. CLIX (the Climate Innovations Exchange) will be part of the hub.
An Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week’s -all electric bus -has also been assigned to tour all seven emirates of the country to educate communities about sustainability and climate change. The bus will end its journey at The Festival at Masdar City on January 18.
