Dr Nawal Al-Hosany is permanent representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency
July 06, 2021
In a conversation I had recently with Francesco La Camera, the Director General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena), he said something which struck a resonant chord.
“When I first moved to the UAE [in 2019], I was not surprised by what was happening here, in terms of the modernisation of the nation,” he said. “But I didn’t expect the pace.”
I was talking to Mr La Camera about the UAE’s role in accelerating the global energy transition and securing a future of clean energy access for all, on the latest episode of On Renewables, the UAE Mission to Irena’s videocast (which you can watch here).
The reason Mr La Camera’s observation about the pace of the Emirates’ transformation hit home is this: it serves well to be reminded of how much our nation has achieved in such a short time, and how much we can achieve in the critical years ahead.
The UAE has become the global convener of choice for urgent international dialogues. This is especially the case when it comes to renewable energy solutions and the global energy transition. A natural next step in this direction is hosting the 2023 UN Conference on Climate Change, or Cop28.
We’ve become so accustomed to our achievements in the fields of renewable energy and climate action that we should not forget what those achievements are. Not only for what has been done, but for what can be done.
That the UAE is home to three of the world’s biggest solar plants has become so integral to our identity as an incubator of renewable energy solutions.
With 3.2 million solar panels installed across 8 square kilometres, Noor Abu Dhabi can produce 1.2 gigawatts of clean electricity, and meet the energy demands of up to 90,000 people. And soon, the Al Dhafra Solar Project, which set a record low tariff of $1.35 cents per kilowatt hour, is set to be almost double the size of Noor.
And in Dubai, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, which set the original benchmark for the world’s largest single-site solar park, spread over 77 square kilometres, has just seen the inauguration of a first-of-its-kind green hydrogen project.
It is worth noting that these projects were made possible thanks to international collaborations. In the instance of the two Abu Dhabi solar projects, that’s with leading Chinese firms – Jinko Solar Holding and China Machinery Engineering Corp for Noor and Al Dhafra, respectively. And in the case of the green hydrogen project, it is with close technology- and knowledge-transfers with Germany’s Siemens Energy.
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai set the benchmark for the world's largest single-site solar park. Reuters
We’ve become so accustomed to our achievements in the fields of renewable energy
And that’s just for projects at home. The UAE has been a pioneer in bringing clean energy to countries around the world. To date, the UAE has invested $16.8 billion in renewable energy ventures in more than 70 countries around the world. And in small island developing states and least-developed states alone, it has invested more than $1bn.
Countries from the Caribbean to Eastern Europe have benefitted from the UAE’s mission to make clean energy more accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic circumstance. The nation’s leadership has pursued this model for good reason. What we see when we collaborate across borders is that costs come down, economic opportunity goes up and society at large reaps the rewards.
Having provided the headquarters of the world’s leading authority on the global energy transition for more than a decade, the UAE is perfectly situated to host the world’s biggest climate change conference.
In short, the UAE has become the de facto home of international collaboration when it comes to facilitating the global energy transition and renewable energy solutions fit for the modern world. This is also evidenced by the fact that Irena’s membership has grown from 85 member states to 164 in the 11 years the agency has been headquartered in Abu Dhabi.
Furthermore, Irena’s policy advocacy efforts, knowledge base and depth of analysis of the real-world impact of renewable energy has never been greater. Papers such as the Global Renewables Outlook: Energy Transformation 2050, which was the first report of its kind to provide a roadmap for the next three decades, have directly shaped public opinion on the need to accelerate renewable solutions at greater pace and scale.
Given this context, it seems a natural, almost evolutionary move that we should be the convener of the most important climate change conference on the planet.
The UAE officially launched its candidacy to host Cop28, on May 24, 2021. Since then, the support we have received from the international community has been substantial and reassuring in equal measure. Our international partners are cognisant of the pace of change here in the UAE. But perhaps more importantly, they are aware of the direction we are going in.
For, pace is nothing without direction. Ask any sportsperson or athlete. Any chief executive of any company, big or small. Ask any leader. What is pace without direction? It is merely energy expended without use.
Having the raw instruments at your disposal is only half the equation. Harnessing your speed and power into a single, coherent direction with a clear goal in mind is the other, and most crucial, half of the equation.
We are fortunate to have benefitted from the guidance and direction laid out by a leadership who intuitively knew that we must turn what we have into something that benefits everyone, and not just those capable of moving fast. Indeed, it is when these two parts of the equation – speed and direction – meet, that things get done. And that’s why the Emirates has become a place for those who do.
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
Results
4pm: Maiden (Dirt) Dh165,000 1,600m Winner: Moshaher, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1.
United States
2.
China
3.
UAE
4.
Japan
5
Norway
6.
Canada
7.
Singapore
8.
Australia
9.
Saudi Arabia
10.
South Korea
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
