Zayed Future Energy Prize

The Zayed Future Energy Prize will be awarded at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, 16-19 January 2012.

‘Through the prize, we honour the legacy of environmental protection and concern for conservation established by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late ruler of Abu Dhabi and the Founding Father of the United Arab Emirates. By honouring and rewarding those people who are tackling the energy crisis today, we hope to educate and inspire future leaders and innovators. Creating a sustainable energy future is the surest way to combat the impending threat of climate change and global warming, and to ensure a clean, liveable environment for future generations.’

This prize is a fitting legacy for a good man. Sheikh Zayed was the founding father of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and President until his death in 2004. It was rumoured that he was the world’s richest man with control of something like 10% of the world’s oil reserves. Despite great wealth he lived a pious life and ruled with compassion and tolerance. He shared the wealth with his people and was a champion of conserving the biodiversity of the desert environment. This legacy of environmental sensitivity and concern for the conservation is the driving force behind Abu Dhabi's focus on clean energy.

The extreme wealth of the oil nations of the Middle East is a temporary aberration which will last as long as there remains oil to pump, or as long as the world remains addicted to oil. Which will come first, the end of oil or the end of the world’s craving? Either way the rulers of the Middle East have to plan a sustainable future for their people beyond the era of oil; and the rulers of Abu Dhabi are leading attempts to find a way.

Zayed Future Energy Prize is a small part of Abu Dhabi’s search for a sustainable future. The main investment into a more sustainable future is the Masdar project, reflecting Abu Dhabi’s vision for 2030. It comprises a number of elements including a research institute, a renewable power company, investment fund and the iconic centre piece, Masdar City. Aspiring to be one of the most sustainable cities in the world, situated close to Abu Dhabi, Masdar City is a ‘high-density, pedestrian-friendly development where current and future renewable energy and clean technologies are showcased, marketed, researched, developed, tested and implemented’.

‘The city, which at full build out will house 40,000 residents and hundreds of businesses, will integrate the full range of renewable energy and sustainability technologies, across a living and working community.’

Abu Dhabi has bold ambitions and massive oil wealth to be able to deliver the vision but it will still be a huge challenge. Whilst oil revenue flows, Masdar will grow and expand but it will have to be sustainable beyond the era of oil. Abu Dhabi has the potential to be an oasis of high-tech, high quality green living in the deserts of the Middle East. Each country will have to find its own route to sustainable living and it is perhaps fitting that the winner of the Zayed Future Energy Prize will be decided by a jury chaired by a world leader with a different challenge: Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson President of the Republic of Iceland.