Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week draws presidents, energy CEOs

Environmentalists and energy companies are pouring into Abu Dhabi as a week of events focused on battling climate change kicks off.

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week will draw 13 heads of state and at least 140 government ministers and senior officials from around the world when it starts on Monday with the annual assembly of IRENA, the U.N.’s International Renewable Energy Agency, which is based in the emirate.

With the week’s centerpiece ADSW Summit slated for Wednesday, other notable gatherings include the Global Climate Finance Annual Meeting, the World Future Energy Summit, the Green Energy Summit, the WiSER Forum for Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy, and the ceremony to award the annual Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards.

Choreographing all the activities is Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Group CEO of ADNOC and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi-based Masdar sustainable energy company. Al Jaber was President of COP28, the annual U.N. climate conference held in Dubai two years ago.

Among the national leaders joining the coming week’s events are Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, Azerbaijani President, Kenyan President William Ruto, Rwandan President Paul Kagame. ADSW is conducted under the patronage of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.

”By bringing together leaders in policy, business and technology, ADSW Summit 2025 will unite the global community to deliver interconnected solutions for energy, economies, and the environment,” Masdar CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Sustainability Week’s official host, said in a statement.

Topping the list of ADSW speakers will be Mohamed Al Hammadi, Managing Director and CEO of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Company; Catherine MacGregor, CEO of Paris-based Engie; Greg Jackson, CEO of the U.K.’s Octopus Energy; Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the international Energy Transitions Commission; Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Special Envoy for Financing the U.N.’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, United Nations; Musabbeh Al Kaabi, CEO of ADNOC’s Upstream division; and Himanshu Gupta, CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based ClimateAi.

World Future Energy Summit brings industry, investors to UAE

Corporate executives and investors are gathering in Abu Dhabi this week for the World Future Energy Summit, where the global response to climate change will top the agenda.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and President of COP28, called the conference, which starts on Tuesday, a “crucial platform” for governments and the private sector. Dr. Al Jaber, who is also Chairman of alternative energy company Masdar and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., or ADNOC, said he hopes the conference will drive investments into the world energy transition from carbon-based fuels. 

The UAE is set to put its green bona fides forward as it aims to triple its renewable energy capacity to 30% by 2030 and establish a hub for hydrogen fuel production and distribution in the coming decades.

TAQA, the energy company backed by sovereign wealth fund ADQ, is an anchor partner of the Abu Dhabi summit and will be joined by speakers including Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminum; Ali Tahir Jaffery, Director of Standard Chartered Bank; and Amy Lehoczky, Director of ESG at Abu Dhabi’s AI firm G42. Also appearing will be executives from German giant Siemens and Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power.

Masdar, which last month bought a 50% stake in Terra-Gen, one of the largest private renewable energy producers in the U.S., is also set to host a parallel conference focused on hydrogen.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to address the conference amid increasing cooperation between the UAE and the UK on developing alternative energies. Masdar is looking to develop or acquire an energy portfolio of at least 100 GW capacity by 2030.