'Innovation key to tackling climate change: UAE at COP 21

Paris - Innovative projects at Masdar and the Masdar Institute include a pilot programme to test energy-efficient ways of producing drinking water.

As more than 190 nations finalise an agreement to tackle climate change in Paris, the UAE is continuing to demonstrate how it is fostering innovation and new business models that spur a new age of sustainable growth.
"Innovation and technological breakthroughs are critical to addressing climate, and also to ensuring the sustainable development and of the UAE economy," said Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Permanent Representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
 

Examples of cutting edge clean energy initiatives in the UAE include the 100 MW Shams 1 concentrated solar power plant and the 5000 MW Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The UAE is also close to completing the Middle East's first commercial-scale project for carbon, capture, usage and storage.
Innovative projects at Masdar and the Masdar Institute include a pilot programme to test energy-efficient ways of producing drinking water.
The pilot couples solar power with cutting-edge seawater reverse osmosis desalination, which could solve the critical challenge of water security in the UAE. Research is also underway on how to produce sustainable, viable biofuels derived from desert plants irrigated with seawater through other partners like Boeing and Etihad.
The new global climate agreement is expected to encourage innovation globally as countries commit to finding sustainable solutions to climate change in the context of their own national circumstances, as the UAE has done.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com