On the 15th January 2013, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Commissioner Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, will be one of the key note speakers at the 6th World Future Energy Summit (WFES), which is one of the most important renewable energy gatherings in recent times.More than 30,000 delegates, from 150 countries, are expected to attend, among them world leaders, government ministers, official delegations, C-level business executives, academics, scientists, engineers, developers, global companies and entrepreneurs. Francoise Hollande, the French president, will deliver the keynote speech at the official inauguration of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which is taking place at the opening ceremony of the WFES, stressing the strong ties between both countries and the mutual interest in clean energy. Other keynote speakers at the opening ceremony will be HRH Queen Rania of Jordan and Argentine President Cristina Fernandez.

On the first day of the main conference a large number of international energy ministers are expected to participate in the Ministerial Panels and energy ministers from India, China, Australia, Peru, Morocco, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will be among the contributors to the debate after the gala Official Opening Ceremony. During the Ministerial Panels leaders from some of the world's most influential economic development and environment organizations will deliver keynote speeches among them Wu Hongbo (Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN)), Todd Stern, (USA's Special Envoy for Climate Change), Connie Hedegaard, (EU Commissioner Climate Action), and Jeffrey Sachs, (Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)).

The 6th WFES, running from 15th-17th January, is being hosted by Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, and Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Masdar will deliver the welcoming speech. The WFES is the main event of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and is being run in conjunction with the inaugural International Water Summit (IWS) which is also being hosted by Masdar. The IWS, launched on 18th January 2012 by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, is part of a far reaching sustainability vision aimed at ensuring the prosperity and welfare of mankind, not only in the United Arab Emirates, but across the world. It is planned that the 1st IWS will gather the leading minds from the global water community (in policy, business and science to accelerate the development of sustainable water solutions for arid regions) and offer a platform for delegates to network with global politicians, water experts and leaders from the public and private sectors. The organisers believe that managing the energy footprint of water and the water footprint of energy is a two-fold challenge as water and energy have a symbiotic relationship. For this reason the Water-Energy Nexus was introduced.

On the 16th January Commissioner Hedegaard will also give the welcome address at the 3rd Annual Conference of the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (EU-GCC) Renewable Energy Cooperation, a satellite meeting at the WFES, which has been organised by the EU-GCC Clean Energy Network, in co-operation with the Sharaka EU funded project and the MASDAR Institute. (Sharaka is a two-year research project co-funded by the European Commission that aims to enhance understanding and cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).) The aim of this meeting is to promote EU-GCC cooperation, in the field of clean energy, by enhancing inter-regional knowledge dissemination and information exchange on clean energy topics, including research, technology and policy aspects. Masdar, the company hosting the meetings at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, was "launched by the Abu Dhabi leadership in 2006 with the mission to "advance renewable energy and sustainable technologies through education, R&D, investment and commercialization". Masdar, "a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Government-owned Mubadala Development Company, aims to be a global leader in commercially-viable clean energy and sustainable technologies and to secure the Emirate's continued leadership in the evolving global energy market." (Masdar)

During her visit Commissioner Hedegaard "will have meetings with, among others, UAE Minister of Environment and Water Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, the Director of the International Renewable Energy Agency, Adnan Z. Amin, and Dr Sultan bin Al Jaber, UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Envoy for Energy and Climate Change and CEO of the renewable energy and sustainable technologies company Masdar. Commissioner Hedegaard will have a guided tour of Masdar City, which is being developed as a model for sustainable urban development and aims to become a global hub for renewable energy and sustainable technologies. She will also give an address to Young Future Energy Leaders at the Masdar Institute." (MEX/13/0114)

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week opened on 13th January with the 3rd session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), addressed by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO and MD of Masdar, which saw the launch of the world's first atlas on clean energy which will offer open-access information on countries' renewable energy potential. "The Global Atlas is the largest ever initiative to help countries assess their renewable energy potential, and companies bringing together data and maps from leading technical institutes and private companies worldwide." (IRENA)

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