Masdar this week led talks on renewable energy and clean technology in Singapore. The Asia Future Energy Forum and Exhibition, in association with Masdar, addressed the Asian market’s latest energy-related challenges and solutions. The event provided a forum for government and business leaders across the world to collaborate on opportunities for sustainable development.

"The Asia Future Energy Forum is an extension of the World Future Energy Summit, the annual meeting in Abu Dhabi that we hold to enable government and business leaders to discuss ways of advancing clean technology and sustainable development," said Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, chief executive officer of Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multifaceted renewable energy company.

Dr. Al Jaber added, "Asia’s abundant wind and solar resources can provide economic opportunities for the region’s developing nations. Masdar is well equipped to export our knowledge and expertise in the clean-energy sector to help meet the rising demand for electricity in the fast-growing Asian market."

The summit is the latest in a series of energy forums across the world that Masdar has organised. The first was in Bilbao, Spain in 2009. The company has also held forums in London and Geneva.

Backed by the Abu Dhabi Government, Masdar is committed to ushering in the new energy economy - a future where hydrocarbons, renewables and clean technologies complement each other to balance the global supply of energy. The forums have acted as platforms to encourage collaboration and investment in advancing the new energy economy.

"In Singapore, we can see the link between economic development and energy demand," said Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, Masdar’s director of sustainability, addressing the Singapore Energy Summit, part of the week’s events alongside the Asia Future Energy Forum and Exhibition (AFEF), on Monday.

"As populations grow and prosper, the need for new sources of energy to fuel that growth must grow as well. But we can no longer look only to conventional energy sources to power our future growth. To avoid the most serious impacts of climate change, renewable energy and other low-carbon sources must play a central role in diversifying the energy mix," he added.

Masdar organised and participated in a number of panels in Singapore focused on energy investment, energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change and green architecture. AFEF is part of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW), an annual weeklong energy conference.

During a panel titled ’Keeping the Door to 2°C Open’ at SIEW on Monday, Dr. Al-Hosany and other experts examined the social and environmental impact of climate change. Scientists are cautioning against the irreversible consequences of allowing global temperatures to rise above 2°C, and are identifying ways to mitigate and adapt to changing climate conditions due to the rising concentration of carbon in the atmosphere.

Other guests on the panel with Dr. Al-Hosany included Jose Maria Figueres, President of the Carbon War Room and Former President of Costa Rica; HH Eileen Claussen, President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions; and Yoshiyuki Miyabe, Managing Director and Member of the Board of Panasonic Corporation.

At AFEF on Wednesday, Dr. Al-Hosany moderated a panel concerning the impact of innovation in renewable energy.

"It’s critical that we view the major energy challenges of today as an opportunity," Dr. Al-Hosany said. "And though overcoming these challenges won’t be easy, tackling them together is our best opportunity to bring about social, economic and environmental prosperity for our collective future," he added.

Also at AFEF, faculty from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology - an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies - discussed policies that would reduce poverty through improved access to energy and technology.

Dr. Steve Griffiths, Executive Director, Institute Initiatives, and Professor of Practice, Masdar Institute, offered an overview of sustainable energy innovation opportunities in the clean energy and advanced technology areas. Dr. Scott Kennedy, Dean of Research at Masdar Institute, shared his expertise during the panel titled ’Bioenergy - Success and Outlook in Asia’.

A delegation of 15 members of the Young Future Energy Leaders (YFEL) programme, an outreach initiative by Masdar Institute, also attended various sessions and events during AFEF. The YFEL members visited the Nanyang Technological University, which grooms young people to become leaders in the energy and environment sectors; and the National University of Singapore, the country’s oldest and largest university. YFEL members also visited Visenti, a startup company that helps businesses reduce energy costs and conserve water.

Serving as a key pillar of innovation and human capital, Masdar Institute remains fundamental to Masdar’s core objectives of developing Abu Dhabi’s knowledge economy and finding solutions to humanity’s toughest challenges such as climate change.

At AFEF, Masdar showcased its clean energy projects and investments through its exhibition stand. Dignitaries such as HRH Fadzilah Bolkiah, daughter of the Sultan of Brunei, and Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency, visited the Masdar stand.

This week’s Singapore conferences helped set the tone for the upcoming Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, taking place January 13-17, 2013. The collection of conferences and events under one umbrella will attract an anticipated 30,000 participants from 150 countries to Abu Dhabi for what will be the largest gathering on sustainability in the history of the Middle East.

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