International Water Summit 2015 - Dailies DAY 2

Page 1

S01 IWS Dailies 2015 DAY 2 _Layout 1 19/01/2015 15:54 Page 1

Y DA 2

OPEN FOR ONE EXTRA DAY TO DO BUSINESS

DAILY NEWS 20th January 2015

Innovative water technologies on show as IWS 2015 opens HE Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and CEO of Masdar, rejected claims that the sudden drop in oil prices would affect the development of renewable energies, during the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2015 yesterday. As part of ADSW, the International Water Summit (IWS) also got underway at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre (ADNEC) yesterday with a ceremony that highlighted the progress that the clean energies landscape has made in recent years. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Masdar's CEO drew attention to the recent drop in global oil prices. "This has prompted some to believe that low oil prices will result in a drop in renewable energy, but today our interconnected energy landscape has evolved beyond the point where the price of oil determines the fate of clean energy," he said. "Renewable energy has graduated from an expensive alternative to a competitive technology of choice." Reportedly, the last 12 months have seen a rise of 16 per cent in clean energy investments, reaching US$310bn. While installations of solar and wind resources have increased by 26 per cent to 100,000MW.

#IWS15

HE Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and CEO of Masdar, speaking at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week opening ceremony

The World Future Energy Summit (WFES), IWS and EcoWaste are co-located events all taking place during ADSW, which is expected to attract more than 32,000 visitors from approximately 170 countries this year. The three exhibitions are showcasing the latest in technological innovations to provide commercial solutions to the interconnected challenge of clean energy generation, water security and waste management. Among the technologies and innovations on display at IWS 2015 is a vending machine capable of producing 1,800 litres per day of pure water from air; a fully-automated technology that reuses resources in the degradation process to treat contaminated soils through calculating the injections necessary to perform an optimal degradation of organic pollution in soil or groundwater; as well as a water-retention product which is said to reduce water irrigation by 40 per cent. This year's opening ceremony also saw Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi deliver a keynote speech, in which he discussed plans to expand Egypt's reliance on renewable energies to 20 per cent by the year 2020. As part of his historic visit to the UAE, el-Sisi also shone a light on the ties between Egypt and the UAE, and stressed the importance of tackling the international misconceptions of the Middle East. www.internationalwatersummit.com 20th January 2015

WHAT’S INSIDE... 2

4

NEWS: Ecoplage presents its beach drainage technology at IWS FEATURE: UN-Water adds new life to global water plans with its 'Post2015' initiative

6

Q&A: Dr. Abdullah AlAlshaikh, president of the International Desalination Association, discusses innovation in the desalination industry and regional challenges to the waterenergy nexus

7

NEWS: FCC Aqualia takes on US$355mn sewerage system project in Qatar

7

NEWS: A UAE rain enhancement programme set to launch today

INTERNATIONAL WATER SUMMIT

1


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.