Masdar Launches 4th Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week

The Abu Dhabi government and clean energy corporation Masdar launched the largest sustainability conference in the Middle East region — The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) — on 19 January. The event is likely to attract tens of thousands of visitors, exhibitors, and innovators coming in from almost every country in the world. Actually, this week full of events is reportedly the largest clean energy and sustainability event of its kind in the world.

As part of ADSW 2015, the World Future Energy Summit (WFES), International Water Summit (IWS), and EcoWaste will also take place. An estimated 32,000 people from 170 countries, representing leading players in industry, government, finance, and research are expected to take part in numerous high-level panel discussions, workshops, and trade-floor product exhibitions, with an impressive array of ground-breaking technologies on display.

ADSW 2015 also coincides with the 5th General Assembly session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Just before the assembly session, IRENA announced that it would launch REsource — an online data and statistics repository that can be used effectively for analysis of renewable energy trends across various regions and countries.

The Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge is also be a part of ADSW 2015. Just completed, it was the first time that the Solar Car Challenge was organised in the Middle East. The event involves several top universities from around the world competing in a race of solar-powered cars. Teams from 15 countries participated this year. We will share the update on the winner of the challenge soon.

Solar Impulse 2 will also start its journey around the world during ADSW2015. The Solar Impulse 2 plane has been reassembled in Abu Dhabi and is ready for its 50-day journey starting January 20, 2015.

*Disclosure: My trip to the UAE for Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week was covered by Masdar. However, we retain full editorial control over the articles we publish.