The upcoming Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2018 is special as it will be held in the Year of Zayed and will coincide with the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, which was established to honour the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and promote his vision of sustainability and environmental protection, said Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar.

 

In an interview with the Emirates News Agency Wam, Al Ramahi said Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, starting on January 13, is one of the largest sustainability events in the world, and aims to promote understanding of key social, economic and environmental issues that will lead to a sustainable global development path, to enable the international community to realise the importance of efficient and realistic strategies to reduce climate change.

 

Al Ramahi added that over 35,000 participants from more than 150 countries will participate in Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, while highlighting the unique media presence in the event, represented by 600 global media outlets. 

 

He also stressed that the event is a unique opportunity to explore the opinions and visions of international leaders and communicate with policy-makers, decision-makers, experts, entrepreneurs and scholars, to discuss key future energy and sustainability challenges.

 

He noted that the theme, "Easternisation," will be one of the key social, economic and environmental trends to be discussed during the event, based on the three main topics of climate change, urbanisation and digitisation, as well as other important topics, such as mobility, sustainable cities, energy efficiency and water sustainability.

 

Al Ramahi noted that previous year has witnessed many achievements that confirm the company’s leading local and international role in renewable energy, and construction work has started on the third phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Energy Complex in Dubai, with a total production capacity of 800 megawatts and covering an area of 16 sq km. The plant’s initial energy output of 200 megawatts is expected be reached in the first half of 2018, followed by another 300 megawatts in the following year, and the final 300 megawatts in the first half of 2020, he added.

 

He also highlighted the recent announcement of Beah and Masdar about the official launch of their joint project, "Emirates Waste to Energy Company," which plans to develop facilities in the region that can transform waste into energy, which is another example of the company’s sustainable innovation.

 

Al Ramahi further said that the facility, which is being developed by the new company in Sharjah and will operate with a variety of fuels, is the first of its kind in the region, while noting that its first operational phase will process over 300,000 tonnes of solid waste annually, generating 30 megawatts of energy.

 

Sharjah will be the first city in the Middle East to achieve its goal of transforming 100 percent of its waste into energy, with the development of the facility, which will be able to process solid waste, instead of burning the waste in rubbish dumps, he said.