Abu Dhabi’s clean energy company Masdar has signed an initial agreement with the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) to co-operate on a major research project that will lead to the tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
The agreement, signed on Thursday at the UAE Climate Tech forum in Abu Dhabi, is expected to provide a global baseline for renewable energy with a focus on solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and other technology including battery storage, the two entities said in a joint statement.
The "international knowledge project" will also highlight the challenges faced by different regions in meeting their renewable energy ambitions and provide recommendations for action before Cop28 in Dubai this year.
“The world needs to commit to tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and to double it again by 2040,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Cop28 President-designate and chairman of Masdar.
“In the 17 years since the UAE leadership established Masdar in 2006, the cost of a kilowatt hour of solar energy has plummeted to under 2 cents and we need to harness this pioneering spirit of innovation now more than ever.”
Masdar is active in more than 40 countries and has invested in or committed to projects worth more than $30 billion.
The company aims to grow its capacity to at least 100 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030.
Investments in renewable energy technology reached a record of $1.3 trillion last year but that figure must rise to about $5 trillion annually to meet the key Paris accord target of limiting temperature increases to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, the Abu Dhabi-based agency said in its World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023 preview.
Renewable capacity must grow from about 3,000 gigawatts currently to more than 10,000 gigawatts in 2030, at an average rate of 1,000 gigawatts annually, it said.
"In 2022, a record 300 gigawatts of renewables were added and renewable power now accounts for 40 per cent of total installed generation capacity globally," Francesco La Camera, director general of Irena, said on Thursday. "Despite this progress, the energy transition is off track."
He added the transition to renewables provides a sustainable and affordable solution to many of the challenges the world faces currently and "we have the technology to deploy at speed and scale".
More investment in needed in climate technology, which can help create a new economic development model focused on cutting emissions while ensuring growth, Dr Al Jaber said this week at the UAE Climate Tech forum.
"With the right policies stimulating the right investments, climate technologies could at least double their contribution to global growth, while removing 25 billion tonnes of carbon emissions annually," he said.
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
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Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
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- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The biog
Family: Parents and four sisters
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah
A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls
Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction
Favourite holiday destination: Italy
Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning
Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes
Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure
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Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
