The World Future Energy Summit was hosted by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates and the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, January 18 – 21, 2010, with the theme “Turning Energy Challenges into Business Opportunities”.  The Opening Ceremony speaker panel included Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Crown Princes from the Hellenic Republic, Republic of Maldives, Republic of Turkey, Malaysia, Spain, and Denmark.  The summit addressed how clean energy technologies and renewable resource requirements encourage investment in this sector which is necessary to combat global warming.

Abu Dhabi is quickly becoming a global focal point on clean energy and renewable resource technology research and development.  Masdar, an Abu Dhabi future energy company is building Masdar City, the world’s first zero carbon, zero waste city, in conjunction with Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in the UAE.  Abu Dhabi is also the host country for the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), established in Bonn Germany in 2009.  The dedication of investment capital to this region is another clear sign that clean energy and renewable resources investment opportunities continue to grow as global markets recognize and accept the availability and requirement of better energy management.

During the Opening Ceremony, a common theme from the panel of speakers was the failure of the Climate Change Conference, held the previous month in Denmark and organized by the Copenhagen Climate Council and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), to accomplish any of its stated goals, specifically a global treaty addressing global climate change.  Unable to even define global warming or lay the groundwork for developed and developing nations to follow, the Climate Change Conference has since been called a fiasco and a failure, the frustration of which was clearly communicated in the opening remarks of the WEFS speakers.

While this frustration was apparent, the prevailing mood was optimism in global citizens’ ability to develop technology and renewable resources that make both economic and environmental sense.  The WFES summit provided a forum for more than 23,000 people from 130 countries, a 25% increase from the previous year’s summit, to bring their ideas together and present positive solutions to climate change.

Exhibitors from 118 countries demonstrated the latest innovations in solar, wind, hydro and other clean energy production.  Energy efficiency was also a key component with displays highlighting better power grid efficiency, innovations in personal conveyance, technology to capture more pollutants, better stores of energy, and improved architectural designs.  As more and more resources are committed to each of these areas, costs decrease and demand increases, attracting more consumers and more innovation.


The summit also featured forums chaired by industry leaders addressing the growing global interest in investments in green technology, such as Future Climate Investment Structures chaired by Richard Jones, Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency ( IEA) and Private Sector Success Criteria for Project Finance in Sustainable Energy, chaired by Christopher Burnham, the Vice Chairman and Director at Deutsche Bank.  Other forums addressed Energy Evolution, Policy and Regulatory Frameworks, and into the New Electricity Age with smart grids.


Overall, the summit was deemed successful in raising awareness of current innovations in clean energy technology, the need for more global integration of renewable resources, developing more diverse sources of energy, and strengthening policy frameworks for both developed and developing nations.  The long term investment potential of clean energy and other renewables continues to improve and attract additional capital resources to this sector.  More capital invested in both public and private research and development will result in lower costs, new and better products, and greater global interest.  With common goals, hard work and focus on results, the World Energy Future Summit may have succeeded where Copenhagen failed. -MICHAEL DAVIS