ABU DHABI // The Zayed Future Energy Prize was awarded last night to Toyota, the world's biggest car company, to honour its contribution to the battle against climate change. The news came at the close of the second day of the four-day Future Energy Summit, which has attracted climate-change experts, world leaders and captains of industry, and has placed Abu Dhabi centre stage as it seeks to raise its profile as a capital of climate-change concern and diversify its economy away from a reliance on fossil fuels. It was a day of surprises; earlier, Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and the host of the four-day summit, revealed details of a pioneering carbon-capture scheme that places the UAE at the forefront of one of the most exciting climate-change technologies and promises to relieve the UAE of its unwelcome status as the country with the biggest per-capita carbon footprint in the world.
The Zayed Future Energy Prize was created in honour of Sheikh Zayed, the late founder of the UAE, "to inspire the next generation of global energy innovators, creating solutions for the future". It is given annually to up to three individuals, companies or organisations that have made "significant contributions in the global response to the future of energy, climate change and sustainability". The Toyota Motor Corporation, chosen for the "ground-breaking fuel-efficiency system of the third-generation Toyota Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid vehicle", was selected from more than 300 entries. The US$1.5 million (Dh5.5m) prize was presented during a ceremony at the Emirates Palace hotel last night by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Sultan al Jaber, the chief executive of Masdar and director general of the Zayed Future Energy Prize. said: "The calibre of entries has been phenomenal and the jury had tough choices to make in narrowing the selection down to three finalists. "The chosen finalists are recognised for their dedicated efforts towards creating a sustainable future for the world, and we are delighted to support them by providing a platform for global recognition and further innovation." The choice of Toyota is a switch from micro to macro for the Sheikh Zayed award, which last year went to an individual, Dipal Barua, the managing director of Grameen Shakti, a company that promotes solar energy in rural communities.
Mr Barua told The National recently that there were now 240,000 solar panels across Bangladesh and that the company had trained 5,000 Bangladeshi women as solar engineers and entrepreneurs. The Zayed Future Energy Prize jury of leading international renewable-energy experts said Toyota had "set the global standard for fuel-efficiency and innovation". Since its launch in 1997, the Prius has prevented about seven million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) from entering the atmosphere. Toyota's entry was the only one centred on hybrid-vehicle technology.
The new Prius can achieve 38 kilometres per litre, better than other fuel-efficient vehicles. Toyota is looking at incorporating the technology into all of its vehicles. Kazuo Okamoto, the motor company's vice chairman, said last night that Toyota did not expect to win the award, and has "no idea" how it would spend the money but hoped that the prize would help to build awareness of greener cars. In particular, it was Toyota's third-generation Prius, the latest model of the world's best-selling hybrid car, that distinguished the motor company from more than 300 entries.
Mr Okamoto said Toyota has plans to introduce the car in the region, though he would not commit to a time frame. Runners-up this year for the Sheikh Zayed prize were Shi Zhengrong, the founder and chief executive of Suntech Power Holdings of China; and Amitabha Sadangi, the head of International Development Enterprises India (IDEI). Each were awarded $350,000. Reporting by Jonathan Gornall, Loveday Morris, Vesela Todorova and Georgia Lewis