Farooq Abdullah to attend World Future Energy Summit

Dubai: Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah is among the leaders and government officials from key renewable energy markets scheduled to attend the sixth World Future Energy Summit (WFES), to be held in Abu Dhabi from January 15-17. WFES is a leading platform for renewable energy innovation and investment and is part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

WFES2013 will also be the host venue for the biennial International Renewable Energy Conference. The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will open with the third session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The conference programme includes four high-level Ministerial Panels.

The first, 'Sustainable Energy For All', continues the United Nations' theme for 2012 which was launched by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at last year's WFES and will be moderated by Kandeh Yumkella, Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.

Other Ministerial Panels will discuss 'Sustainable Development', 'Renewable Energy Policy Revolution in Economically Challenging Times' and the 'Water-Energy Nexus'. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO and MD of Masdar, host of the WFES and the International Water Summit said: "The global strength and importance of the World Future Energy Summit as a platform for discussion, investment and innovation in the renewable energy sector is demonstrated by the high-level participation of leaders from the public and private sector".

Liu Qi, Vice Minister and Deputy Administrator of the National Energy Administration, China; Richard Marles MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Australia and Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) are among others scheduled to attend the event.

Keynote speeches of the Ministerial Panels include Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General, Todd Stern, USA's Special Envoy for Climate Change; Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner Climate Action in the European Commission; and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University.