Originally published on Sustainnovate.
To kick off this year’s World Future Energy Summit, International Water Summit (IWS), EcoWaste Exhibition, and other Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week events, inspiring opening remarks were made by Dr Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, the UAE’s Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar; Mexico’s President, Enrique Pena Nieto; the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.
To enjoy these yourself, as well as other opening ceremony highlights (live music, the Zayed Future Energy Prize awards ceremony, and more), check out the video below.
Key lines I loved from these opening remarks were:
Dr Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber
* “We are gathered here in an effort to turn political ambitions into transformative actions.”
* “For over two decades we have been saying we must, we can, and we should. But last month in Paris, we did.”
* “The economic case [for climate action] for everyone concerned has now become an undeniable opportunity.”
* A clear push for “all of the above” energy….
Enrique Pena Nieto
* With a big increase in clean energy and subsequent drop in the use of fossil fuels, electricity costs have come down in Mexico. (paraphrased from the live translation)
Ban Ki-moon
* Clean, sustainable energy will not only help save the future of our planet, it will also save an estimated 4.3 million lives every year.
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