World Future Energy Summit raises big concerns

The summit discussed the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming, while highlighting a number of alternative resources to fossil fuel that must be developed, despite the length of time it will be before it could be relied on.

His Highness Dr Mohammad Said Al Kindi, UAE Minister of the Environment and Water, outlined two directions for efforts in the region: 'What is important here is to develop technologies that can minimise the effect of production and use of fossil fuel, and introduce sources for renewable energy with reduced costs.'

In this respect, the UAE government has contributed some $150m to the Energy Environment, and Climate Change Research Fund, which was established during the Opec Summit in Riyadh last November to promote fuel efficiency.

Masdar… Abu Dhabi's green city

Opening the summit, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, summed up the emirates' responsibilities through three key actions: finding new sources of energy, protecting the world, and providing the right legacy for future generations.

Sheikh Mohammed considered the Masdar City initiative as Abu Dhabi's way of showing commitment to these three actions, announcing an initial investment of $15bn.

Speakers stressed that to reach a stage where the world can rely less on fossil fuel, countries need to achieve public acceptance, regulatory framework and policy framework.

To encourage the public to embrace this approach, Sheikh Mohammed announced the $2.2m annual 'Zayed Future Energy Prize' that will be given to three individuals or institutions that make the greatest achievements in the energy sector.

Carbon capture and storage

One of the main topics discussed at the summit was carbon emissions and their effect on the environment. Harold Dovland, Senior Advisor at energy consultants Econ Poyry, said carbon global emissions are set to increase by 50 per cent by the middle of this century unless some serious, co-ordinated efforts are made by countries and companies around the world. In the current political climate, this is unlikely to happen, especially as only some of the European Union countries have set limits on carbon dioxide emissions.

Currently, the only available method to reduce carbon emissions is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS can reduce emissions by 20-28 per cent according to Liv Monica Stubholt, Deputy Minister of Oil and Energy in Norway. But while its efficiency is between 85-95 per cent, CCS has some challenges that seem to be hindering its wider application, mainly through the high costs and the need for an additional 10 per cent of energy for the operation.

Stubholt shed more light on the size of the problem the world is heading towards when she said that 20 per cent of the problem would be considered solved if China alone replaced its refrigerators and air conditioners by efficient alternatives, as has happened elsewhere in the world.

At present, the Salalah region of Algeria is the only Arab country that has a CCS plant, which was established in August 2004. However, Abu Dhabi has its own milestone in the carbon dioxide equation and that is Masdar City; the world's first carbon neutral, zero waste, and car-less city in the desert. Ground will be broken next month and it will eventually host 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses.

Renewable Family

Solar energy would be an obvious energy source in the Middle East, being another and speakers from companies such as Enel Research, Abengoa Solar, Solargenix, and Solarcentury, offered data suggesting that the technology can provide 50 per cent or more of the energy needs in the sunny regions. John Myles of Solargenix claimed that the benefits and initial costs of solar energy are far more attractive than some alternative clean energy technologies.

Biofuels has bee touted as an efficient alternative to diesel, and demand is growing by three pre cent annually. However speakers indicated that this is a long term prospect as no solutions would be ready any time soon.

Biofuel process and production takes different shapes that include Gas to Liquid (GTL), Coal to Liquid (CTL), and Biomass to Liquid (BTL). The biofuel industry is still is in its infancy, but Santiago Saege, Head of Strategy and Corporate Development in Abengoa, said he expected it to be operating as a fully-fledged industry by 2030.

Coming from different parts of the world, speakers in the World Future Energy Summit were convinced that the region - especially the UAE - will play a big role in 'protecting the world we live in', and Masdar City is just on the right track towards creating a renewable and alternative energy that can be relied on to reach to a cleaner world. As for how long it would take it to reach there, we will have to wait and see.

See also:
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