ABU DHABI // The winners of the US$4 million Zayed Future Energy Prize for 2014 have been chosen – but they will stay a closely guarded secret for another two months.
The finalists, announced on Sunday from 552 submissions from 88 countries, include three global corporations, small and medium enterprises from India, the United States and Belgium, three non-governmental organisations and 10 high schools.
The winners will be announced on January 20 to coincide with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. There will also be lifetime achievement awards for outstanding individuals.
The prize is “an instrument of change in the world”, said Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, president of Iceland and chairman of the prize jury. By rewarding innovation in clean energy and energy efficiency, it helps humanity to avert the most dangerous consequences of climate change, he said.
Mr Grimsson reminded his audience on Sunday of the devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. He also touched upon “extreme weather patterns in China, they were not covered very much by the media in Europe and the United States but it was one of the worst weather experiences that China has had … for many decades”.
“The major cause of that extreme weather was the melting of the Arctic sea ice in my country,” said Mr Grimsson. “So we now all face a future where what happens to the Arctic sea ice, to the glaciers in my country, and in Greenland and in Antarctica, will have major consequences for the people in China, in the Philippines, in the US and all of the world.
“This prize is not just about giving the honour to those who will receive it on January 20, it is also about galvanising this global community in countries on every continent, and highlighting how they are helping others to achieve a more secure future.”
Launched and managed by Abu Dhabi clean energy company, Masdar, the award honours the founding father of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed.
Now in its sixth year, the award looks to recognise organisations, scientists and advocates working in the fields of energy efficiency and other technologies that reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, such as solar and wind power, energy-efficient building design, smart grids and biofuels.
Among the 2014 finalists competing in the large corporation segment are Switzerland’s robotics company ABB, the American technology company GE and the retailer Walmart. The winner in this category does not receive a monetary award.
Two Indian companies – Abellon CleanEnergy, a bio energy company, and Selco, a solar for-profit social enterprise – are competing in the small and medium enterprise category, with $1.5 million at stake. Clean Power Finance in San Francisco and EcoNation in Belgium are the two other finalists in this category.
With a prize for the winner of another $1.5 million, the non-government organisation category also has three finalists – the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany, Practical Action from the United Kingdom and the World Resources Institute from the US.
For the second year in a row, the award is also praising schools for outstanding environmental work. Schools compete in five geographical regions with $100,000 given to the winner in each region.
In the Americas, there are three finalists – the Bronx Design & Construction Academy and Comprehensive Development in the US and Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Peru.
Gh Rosca Codreanu National College in Romania and Queen Elizabeth II High School in the UK are the two finalists from Europe.
In Africa, a school in Somalia – Abaarso School of Science and Technology - and the Nkhata Bay School Authority in Malawi are the finalists.
The Kalkeri Sangeet Vidyalaya in India is the only finalist from the Asia region, and the Tonga High School in Tonga and Urrbrae Agricultural High School in Australia are from the Oceania region.
Entries go through several rounds of selection with the final word belonging to the jury. The 2014 judging panel also has Ahmed Al Sayegh, chairman of Masdar, Adnan Amin, director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, politicians from the Maldives, South Africa and South Korea, the entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and the Indian industrialist Ratan Tata.
vtodorova@thenational.ae
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
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The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
