Abu Dhabi to host the eleventh World Renewable Energy Congress and Exhibition on September 2010

The conference will be held as part of the Eleventh World Renewable Energy Congress and Exhibition will be held as the Council of WREC/WREN voted at its 9th Congress held in Florence, Italy September 2006 to have the World Renewable Energy Congress XI in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (September 2010).

Chairman of Organizing Committee H. E. Majid Al Mansouri Secretary General, EAD said in the press conference which was held on Sunday (17/5/2009) with the accelerated approach of the global climate-change point-of-no-return the need to address the pivotal role of renewable energy in the formation of coping strategies, rather than prevention, is more crucial than ever.

He said sustainability, green buildings, and the development of the large-scale renewable energy industry must be at the top of all development, economic, financial and political agendas. The time for action has arrived. Prevention and questioning how and why we face this great challenge is a luxury we can no longer indulge.

He added recognizing the synergy between sustainable development, green buildings and energy, we welcome participation of MASDAR's and other relevant organizations in UAE to enhance the use of Renewable Energy in Green Buildings to achieve a sustainable environment in the UAE and globally.

Prof. Ali Sayigh, Chairman of World Renewable Energy Congress & Director General of WREN and Chairman of the Technical Committee said, "WREC is happy to celebrate its 20th anniversary by holding its first congress in the Middle East.

The International Steering Committee has representatives from every nation of the world and their congresses have regularly attracted participants from over 100 countries.

For this 2010 meeting more than 120 leading experts and scholars have been invited to present their research and expertise covering the eleven areas ranging from energy policy, green buildings, electricity generation, environment and gender issues. In addition to these invited speakers over 600 participants will present individual papers related to their county and specialty.

The paper presented will be refereed and approved by eleven Technical Committees whose 80 members from 23 countries are outstanding authorities in their own fields. Alongside the congress, an extensive Exhibition will be held.

WERC would be also working with MASDAR and the Abu National Energy and Water Research Center and other local organizations. Among the sponsors and partners are the UN, UNESCO, United Nation Environment programme (UNEP), Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), European Union, Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and the GCC.

The world population in the year 2100 will be in excess of 12bn. If the current trends in technological progress and innovation continue, the demand for energy then will be five times greater than what it is now.

If we continue the policy of using coal, oil and gas at the present rate, then by the year 2010 the global temperature will have increased by two degrees Celsius. We do not need reminding of the adverse effects of this: the increased risk of flooding in lowland areas, the processes of desertification, and changing climate all over the world.

Al Sayigh noted,

"It is a known fact that at the present moment renewable energy contributes only 11% to our primary energy. If we intend to do something about our planet, to safeguard our future and to create a healthy environment for the generations to come, then we must all actively utilize renewable energy in our daily life. It is expected that 60% of all our energy will come from renewable energy by the year 2070"

"The sooner we employ the attitude that today is better than tomorrow, the greater the opportunity to increase this figure to 80%. The World Solar Summit, World Solar Decade and the World Bank have recently allocated over $2bn to projects dealing with renewable energy and the environment. This clearly demonstrates the importance of renewable energy as the new source of power for the future," he added.