| Kippreport.com

COMMITTED: UAE focused on green energy

January 15, 2013 5:12 by Atique Naqvi

Speaking at the opening of the sixth World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi earlier today, the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE armed forces said Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency and Masdar are playing a big role in putting the UAE on the global renewable energy map.

The keynote speaker, French President Francois Hollande, said immediate steps are needed to expedite green energy efforts across the world.

“It’s our economic and moral duty to promote green technologies so that our planet would continue to be livable.

“In France, all new constructions have to strictly follow the environment norms and our country has made a good progress in innovation.”

The world needs more innovation in solar and sustainable energy sectors, he said, adding: “The world is not only experiencing economic crisis, but there is also a technology crisis.”

While saying France aims to cut down gas emissions by 20 per cent over the next three years,Hollandealso called upon public and private investors to increase their capital allocation towards green energy sector.

Nuclear energy is one of the ways to move forward toward cleaner environment, said President of Argentina Cristina de Kirchner. Her country signed a nuclear cooperation deal with the UAE yesterday (Monday).

She was of the view nuclear energy is the cleanest form of energy, and that economic growth cannot be a hurdle for green energy solutions. “South America has seen a fair economic growth in the past few years, but its contribution toward the global emissions is only five per cent.

Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, quoting a survey, said that Arab youngsters prefer solid energy infrastructure to soccer fields.

“About 1.4 billion people around the world do not have access to electricity, and another billion have extremely unreliable power supply. The effects of energy poverty are felt by children,” she said.

Difficult, but possible, task is to provide energy solutions that are cheaper, reliable and accessible. There is a lot of energy among Arab youth, and this should be complemented with smooth energy supply to ensure youngsters realize their dreams, said Queen Rania during the opening ceremony of World Future Energy Summit.