The UAE’s quest to ensure sustainable development while achieving a perfect balance between economic and social development gets a fillip with the annual Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW). As a platform that addresses the interconnected challenges affecting the acceleration and adoption of sustainable development and clean energy, ADSW has come a long way since it was first conceived.
Over the next few days the UAE capital will be host to world leaders, policymakers, thought leaders, decision makers, experts, scientists and business leaders who have gathered to address some of the key issues that confront us: the global energy challenge, relationships between economic development, poverty eradication, energy security, water scarcity and climate change. Hosted by Masdar, ADSW 2017 is expected to continue to build on the event’s unique ability to enable dialogue between policymakers, business and academia. The highlights of the event include the giving away of the prestigious Zayed Future Energy Prize (that recognises sustainable initiatives across the world). This will be complimented by the International Water Summit, the International Renewable Energy Agency meeting and Ecowaste. Young innovators will be encouraged to take up energy and green leadership at the ADSW Student Exclusive.
Reaffirming commitments
Since its inception ADSW has become a key forum to deliberate and discuss trending topics ranging from the decarbonisation of energy systems to the scaling up of variable renewable power among other areas. Pertinently, the Mena region has taken a lead in this growth by driving cost competitiveness with a number of price-setting projects in recent years, such as the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Power Park in Dubai, and the NOORo solar power complex in Morocco. At the ADSW 2017, stakeholders are expected to reaffirm their commitments towards adopting improvements in technology and tackling the world’s pressing issues in energy, water and environment. From accelerating the global adoption of renewable energy and sustainable development to addressing water challenges in the globe’s arid regions, notes will be compared on a battery of critical issues.
The importance of ADSW in encouraging the dialogue between influential stakeholders to strengthen strategic partnerships cannot be overlooked. Its aims to enhance investment in water, energy and environment projects are laudable. All these initiatives fit into the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda that focuses on improving the quality of air, preserving water resources, increasing the contribution of clean energy and implementing green growth plans. ADSW is an important milestone towards discussing, debating, and ultimately addressing the energy and sustainability challenges of mankind’s shared future.
