Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week opening and Zayed Sustainability Prize awards set for Expo

All other Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week events will take place in Abu Dhabi or will be hosted online

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week's opening ceremony and the Zayed Sustainability Prize awards ceremony will take place at Expo 2020 Dubai. Courtesy Masdar

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), the global platform for accelerating sustainable development that is hosted by Masdar, announced a new collaboration that will bring some elements of the event to Expo 2020 Dubai.

The ADSW opening ceremony and the Zayed Sustainability Prize awards ceremony will take place at the Dubai Exhibition Centre on January 17, 2022, according to Masdar. Bringing ADSW’s platforms to Expo 2020 will further highlight the UAE’s role in driving action on climate change locally, in the region and globally, it said.

"Hosting the opening of ADSW together with the ZSP award ceremony at Expo 2020 Dubai will serve to reinforce the UAE’s commitment to climate action and sustainability, as key drivers of the UAE’s progressive model for economic growth," Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Special Envoy for Climate Change and chairman of Masdar, said. "The combination of ADSW’s experience as a convenor with Expo 2020 Dubai’s global reach will help expand partnerships, drive innovation and open up new economic opportunities."

Last week, the UAE unveiled an ambitious strategic initiative to reduce carbon emissions by 2050. The country will invest Dh600 billion ($163bn) in clean and renewable energy sources over the next three decades. It comes in a crucial year in the fight to protect the planet, with the UAE building momentum ahead of the Cop26 climate talks in the UK next month.

ADSW is one of the largest of gatherings of its kind, hosting more than 45,000 participants from more than 170 countries each year. The week will return between January 15 to January 22 next year and will feature a series of high-level in-person and virtual events.

The ADSW opening ceremony and the Zayed Sustainability Prize awards ceremony will bring together more than 600 VIPs from around the world, including heads of state, government ministers, industry leaders and country ambassadors. Dr Al Jaber is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech during the opening ceremony.

As a long-standing platform for sustainability, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week has a legacy of bringing together the global community, facilitating dialogue and accelerating sustainable development. These qualities align with the aims of the Programme for People and Planet at Expo and our goal of catalysing a one-of-a-kind movement to shape the legacy that Expo 2020 leaves the world," Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Co-operation and director general of Expo 2020 Dubai, said.

"Holding the opening of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards Ceremony at Expo 2020, when the world’s gaze is on the UAE, exemplifies how we can all work together to mitigate climate change," she added.

The 2022 programme will include the ADSW opening ceremony, Zayed Sustainability Prize awards ceremony, ADSW Summit, IRENA Assembly, Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum, Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) Forum, Youth 4 Sustainability Hub, and the World Future Energy Summit – Exhibitions and Forums.

More than 352 million people have been directly or indirectly impacted by the sustainability solutions and school projects of the 86 recipients of the Zayed Sustainability Prize winners since the first awards ceremony in 2009, Masdar said.

The prize’s $3 million annual fund rewards winners $600,000 in each category.

All ADSW events, other than its opening ceremony and the Zayed Sustainability Prize awards ceremony, will take place in Abu Dhabi or will be hosted online.

"As the UAE marks 50 years of progress, with the Principles of the Fifty, sustainability will remain a cornerstone of plans for future growth, creating new knowledge, new skills, new industries and new jobs," Dr Al Jaber said.

A cornerstone of the UAE's jubilee celebrations is the Projects of the 50 – a series of initiatives to boost economic growth and prepare for a rapidly changing future.