The 10th edition of the EcoWaste Exhibition and Conference took place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) as part of the World Future Energy Summit hosted by Masdar from April 16 to 18.  Despite the bad weather condition and its after-effects, the World Future Energy Summit witnessed enthusiasm from visitors from across the world.  

At the 2024 edition of the Exhibition, more than 40 countries participated, an increase from previous years, in addition to more exhibitors, a wider range of discussions topics, and much more. Throughout the Exhibition and Conference, experts and thought leaders discussed potential solutions for focused topics in the sustainability, energy and waste industries. 

Ali Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tadweer Group, said: "We are honoured to stand as a Strategic Partner of the 10th ECOWASTE Exhibition and Conference. This event symbolises our commitment to fostering collaboration and driving innovation within the waste management industry. By convening  leaders in waste management and showcasing advanced technologies, we can pave the way for a waste-free and sustainable future. At Tadweer Group, we understand the urgency of our mission—to implement lasting solutions that safeguard our environment for generations to come. As we embark on this journey together, let us harness the power of collective knowledge and commitment to forge a path towards a greener tomorrow."

 Tadweer Group’s participation also included two stands, with the first within the Ecowaste Exhibition and the second within the Energy section. Tadweer Group signed multiple strategic agreements with local and international entities, including Nadeera, ADNEC Group, and Levidian as it expands its portfolio. As part of the agreement with Nadeera, Tadwer Group announced the purchase and rollout of 25 Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) as well as Tadweer Rewards, a mobile application. The RVMs are also placed throughout ADNEC. The partnership signed with ADNEC Group focuses on the introduction of expanded waste management systems and solutions, with the joint venture with Levidian harnessing research and development in advanced technology and decarbonisation. 

***

Collective call for collaboration on ‘Pathway to 1.5°C’

Earlier, the 16th edition of the World Future Energy Summit, hosted by Masdar, opened in Abu Dhabi on April 16 with calls for collaborative action to ensure average global temperatures do not exceed that of preindustrial times by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Delivering a keynote speech to open the three-day event, Her Highness Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President and CEO of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), commended the recent collaborative launch of the Roadmap to 1.5°C by the COP Presidencies Troika, which consists of the UAE and the next two COP hosts, Azerbaijan and Brazil. Sheikha Shamma warned, however, that limiting global climate change to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels will “require unprecedented finance”. 

“We know that effective climate action cannot take place if we work in silos,” said Sheikha Shamma. “Instead, we believe in the power of convening diverse voices to promote dialogue, knowledge exchange, and creative problem-solving. Forums such as World Future Energy Summit offer crucial opportunities for actors from different sectors to exchange views, sparking ideas and collaborative action.

“The UAE prides itself on building bridges to everywhere and I’m so pleased to hear of the COP Presidencies Troika. I am full of confidence that this new coalition will be an important steward on our collective pathway to keeping global warming below the 1.5°C threshold… [yet it] will require unprecedented climate finance.”

As a solution, Sheikha Shamma highlighted the potential of “Blended Finance”, which can be broadly defined as a combination of public concessional finance with public or private capital. The model is being increasingly recognised as a key mechanism to deliver the financial resources needed to fight climate change. A new analysis by UICCA in cooperation with Convergence and HSBC into Blended Finance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) found the financial model to be in its infancy, with a total committed financing of US$14.2 billion dollars. Such a figure represents seven per cent of global blended transactions, while climate-related blended transactions amount to roughly US$7bn. 

Also speaking as part of the opening keynote programme was Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). According to La Camera, priorities for the energy transition and immediate steps to accelerate progress towards tripling renewable power capacity to at least 11 terawatts (TW) by 2030 need to be explored.

Despite 2023 marking the largest surge in renewable power generation to date, IRENA’s latest capacity data shows the world is still falling short with last year’s record 473 gigawatts (GW) some distance off the almost 1,100GW required annually. 

“The energy transition is accelerating rapidly, but it clearly remains off track, with an unacceptable and uneven distribution of renewable growth that disproportionately affects the Global South,” said La Camera. “We need an urgent global course-correction to address this growing disparity, or we risk our collective climate goal to triple renewable power capacity by 2030 becoming simply unattainable.” 

Boris Johnson at the Green Hydrogen Summit

Meanwhile, addressing the opening of the Green Hydrogen Summit, a Masdar-hosted event running as part of the World Future Energy Summit, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, praised the UAE as “one of the world’s great centres of technological innovation”, before citing the country’s hosting of COP28 last year as a “triumph” for reversing net-zero sceptics.

Following Johnson’s keynote, Swiss explorer and clean technology pioneer Dr Bertrand Piccard, Chairman of Climate Impulse, revealed his latest renewables-fuelled globetrotting expedition: Circumnavigating the globe in an aircraft powered by green hydrogen. The new flight, which Piccard hopes to complete in 2028, follows his historic 23-day journey around the world in a solar-powered aircraft in 2015 that started and concluded in Abu Dhabi.

While Dr Piccard stressed his renewable-powered flying machine is not yet complete, he reiterated the importance of ambitious projects to curtail reluctancy surrounding what he dubbed the “limitless potential” of green hydrogen.

“We are at the edge of a new energy revolution,” said Dr Piccard. “People say we will never be able to produce enough clean energy, but the impossible does not exist in reality; it exists only in the mindset of people who believe the future is an extrapolation of the past. The future requires us to be disruptive and invent completely new ways to think. We need solutions and flagship projects that show what we can do. This is why the Green Hydrogen Summit is important, we must show what is possible.”