UAE/TURKISH BUSINESS RELATIONS
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Dr. Nilgün Birgören Premium Member Group moderatorThe company name is only visible to registered members.Renewable Energy
United Arab Emirates hosted the historic first General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), on 4-5 April in Abu Dhabi.
The Assembly attracted more than 90 senior ministers, 800 delegates, business leaders and non-governmental organisations from more than 150 nations.
Dr Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, UAE Special Envoy for Energy and Climate Change and President of the session, said: "The UAE will be at the epicenter of dialogue and collaboration to find an actionable path forward to accelerate the global development and deployment of renewable energy. In testament to the efforts of our wise and visionary leadership and as a committed member nation to Irena, the UAE is honored to welcome such a diverse group of policymakers, business leaders and ministers from around the world. As an international centre for renewable energy innovation, our nation will provide a strong platform for open, multi-lateral dialogue and real action".
Delegates coming to Abu Dhabi include Irena members from developed and developing nations dedicated to expanding renewable energy.
To date, 148 countries and the European Union, have signed the Statute of the Agency; amongst them are 48 African, 38 European, 35 Asian, 17 American and 10 Australia/Oceania member states.
Moreover, 64 countries and the European Union have ratified the statute of Irena in time for active participation in the Agency's first Assembly.
"The UAE's impressive commitment and actions to advance renewable energy around the world are directly aligned with the objectives of Irena, which make the nation an ideal international meeting ground for partnership and dialogue," said Irena Interim Director General, Adnan Amin.
"IRENA and the UAE share a vision for a future of clean energy solutions that will support communities, economies and citizens around the globe."
The UAE has emerged as a global hub for renewable energy development, demonstrated through a variety of actions including the inception of the Masdar initiative, the World Future Energy Summit, the Zayed Future Energy Prize and its involvement in the Clean Energy Ministerial. Masdar City – Abu Dhabi's sustainable, urban development – is an international centre for collaboration on clean technology and renewable energy that is attracting partnerships with world-class businesses and academic institutions.
"The world has recognised the important role the UAE is playing in advancing innovation and the integration of renewable energy. Our nation's commitment to renewable energy adoption is a core contributor to creating a more sustainable future for the world," said Dr. Al Jaber.
Bill Richardson has been dealing with renewable energy since, in his words, "before it was sexy or getting any attention".
As the US Secretary of Energy under President Bill Clinton from 1998 until 2001, Richardson, who sat down to speak saying that his department made the first major commitment to renewable energy.
"We saw the future at the time," he said.
But a decade later, global energy consumption from renewable energy, such as solar, wind and water power, still accounts for a small percentage of power consumed today.
"It's in the teens," he said. "It's critical that in the next five to ten years that we dramatically increase that percentage, but I think this is a long term effort, and I think the US and other industrial countries need to lead the way."
The energy market today is more complex than it was ten years ago. Emerging markets such as China and India are developing rapidly and requiring more and more energy.
Meanwhile, a number of issues including the rising price of oil and a number of environmental disasters related to energy — including a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and a nuclear incident in Japan — have raised questions about the ability of energy companies to meet rising demand.
Despite recent events in Japan, which saw partial meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power planst following the massive earthquake and a devastating tsunami, nuclear will continue to play a dominate role in power production, Richardson said.
"Nuclear power has to be part of the mix, but it has suffered some real safety and credibility issues. I believe it has to be part of the mix because it doesn't emit greenhouse gases. But the cleanest fuels, the cleanest energy source, is renewables."
Richardson predicts that Japan, which gets 30 per cent of its energy from nuclear plants, will be the country that most rapidly shifts to renewable sources.
In the US, there are plans to build 20 nuclear reactors in the next five years. Richardson said the country needs to review its existing 104 reactors and evaluate their safety and security before building new ones.
"Nuclear, while it's clean and on the whole it is safe, has to make a major effort to convince the public that there are no safety and environmental risks, and we have to use our best technology to make sure that any future nuclear plants are well designed and environmentally safe."
He also said rising oil prices are likely to stay. "I think now when you're going to see, consistently, [oil] prices in the hundreds. They'll go down to maybe $90, but I think those prices are here to stay and the international economies of the world are going to have to deal with that inflationary spiral and they're going to have to shift to renewables."
Companies too need to take a more active role in switching to renewables.
"More and more of these companies — not as fast as I would like to see — are moving towards renewables."
What would further facilitate the move to substainable energy are new companies that focus exclusively on renewables.
"The strategy should be get existing energy companies to move to renewable, but the healthiest and most direct way to expand renewable is to create new entrepreneur entities which are publicly or privately financed."
Richardson is currently the chairman of APCO's executive advisory service Global Political Strategies (GPS). APCO is an adviser to Masdar City.
Richardson, a former US Secretary of Energy and former Governor of New Mexico, praised the UAE yesterday for having the political willpower to develop an agency that fosters renewable energy. "If every country had the political will of the UAE we'd be in good shape," he said.
Richardson, who was energy secretary under Bill Clinton, was in the UAE for the first meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).
"It's a great, historic, and visionary event and I wanted to be here as a former energy secretary," he said.
According to Richardson, the future for world's energy production lies in renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, as well as natural gas.
The shift is due to a number of factors, including the price of oil, the nuclear crisis and because of dwindling resources, he said.
The move to cleaner energy should be led by developing economies, he said. The US should mandate that 20 to 25 per cent of energy consumption come from renewables but added that the political climate in the US would make such a mandate difficult.
Source: GulfNews
This post was modified on 06 Apr 2011 at 07:15 pm.- 06 Apr 2011, 7:08 pm
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Dr. Nilgün Birgören Premium Member Group moderatorThe company name is only visible to registered members.
Re: Renewable Energy - IRENA
As part of awareness programmes to promote renewable energy worldwide, the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) has resolved to remind individuals of the real cost of the polluting fuels they use on a daily basis.
Neither the user nor the producers are bearing the real cost of fossil fuels because they are treated as external factors in the economic system.
Irena is also preparing to address energy shortages in the world by building renewable energy sources for 1.5 billion people worldwide who do not have access to energy.
The agency has constituted a council of 21 member countries, including the UAE, which will act as the governing body of the agency with a term of two years, said Dr. Sultan Ahmad Al Jaber, UAE special envoy for energy and climate change, CEO of Masdar, and president of the first Irena Assembly.
The other council members are: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Denmark, Ecuador, Eritrea, France, Germany, India, Japan, Luxembourg, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, South Korea, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Tonga, and the US.
The assembly approved a core budget of $25 million (Dh91.8 million) for the current year and a work programme that allows for knowledge management, policy and advisory services, and innovation and technology.
The highest safety standards are an integral part of the UAE's nuclear energy programme and there is no room for any concerns on this count, Sultan Al Jaber, UAE special envoy for energy and climate change, CEO of Masdar, and president of the first Irena assembly, said.
Adnan Z. Ameen, director general of Irena, said the UAE is not located in a seismic zone and there was no need for safety concerns triggered by earthquakes. Looking at the nuclear sector, he said newer reactors were safer as compared to older models whose safety record was not 100 per cent satisfactory.
All the same, it was the sovereign prerogative of countries to select components of the energy equation that would meet their demands.
UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has emphasised the UAE's commitment as an active partner of both the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and of the member states to enhance the growth of the renewable energy sector so that it becomes competitive in the world market.
Addressing the first session of the General Assembly of the (Irena) here on Monday, Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who delivered a speech on behalf of Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed, said, "The UAE is a supportive global centre for innovation in the field of renewable energy. It looks forward to working with all the Irena members to contribute to the adoption of renewable energy solutions on a large scale in various parts of the world."
In his speech, Shaikh Abdullah expressed his appreciation for the confidence placed in the UAE, as shown by its selection as the location for Irena's permanent headquarters, stressing that the country was able to take on the responsibility of providing solid foundations so that the Agency could work on the basis of constructive dialogue among all parties to achieve real progress in the best interests of all members.
Shaikh Abdullah reiterated that the UAE is committed to support innovation in the area of renewable energy that contributes effectively to a reduction of carbon emissions and their repercussions in terms of climate change.
He added that the commitment of the UAE can be seen through the way in which the UAE's leadership is encouraging the wider use of renewable energy solutions so as to build a sustainable and cleaner future energy for future generations through a number of practical initiatives. Amongst these, he cited the World Future Energy Summit, a world platform that gathers world leaders, leaders of the energy sector and investors and members of the academic community worldwide to find solutions for energy security and climate change challenges.
Shaikh Abdullah said the Masdar Initiative had been launched five years ago to develop new technologies, to spread awareness of renewable energy solutions and to provide higher education based on research as well as building one of the most sustainable cities of the world.
He added that Abu Dhabi had launched the annual Zayed Award for Future Energy in memory of the founder of the UAE, the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The award aims to encourage innovation and to recognise distinguished achievements in the areas of renewable energy and sustainability.
Shaikh Abdullah said the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs had created last year its Department of Energy and Climate Change Affairs to partake actively in international forums on these vital issues.
As the official permanent home for Irena, he said, the UAE was committed to continuing to devote attention to the topic. The whole world, he said, now calls for the adoption of renewable energy solutions, with the establishment of Irena being an outcome of this.
"The convention of the first general assembly meeting of Irena provides further momentum, representing the culmination of the cooperation between the advanced and developing countries to score tangible progress in the area of renewable energy", Shaikh Abdullah said.
He indicated that "with this meeting, the vision of Herman Cher, the founder of Irena, has become true. Irena cherishes the joint ambition of all its members, and reflects their collective will to promote the spread of renewable energy worldwide."
Shaikh Abdullah noted that while Irena members have already achieved much, there was much yet to be done, since the demand for renewable sources of energy supply continues to grow daily. He added that the daily increase in the planet's population further increased the responsibility on Irena members to continue to promote the use of renewable energy.
He concluded by praising those Irena members who have made new steps towards achieving the goal of providing clean energy for the world.
This post was modified on 06 Apr 2011 at 07:16 pm.- 06 Apr 2011, 7:11 pm
