Masdar, TADWEER, the G20 and G7, the IEA, IRENA, Sustainable Energy for All, The Economist Intelligence Unit, and the Technology Innovation Institute – these are just a handful of the globally recognised and respected institutions who have generously contributed their time and knowledge. The breadth of their experience, bolstered by their ongoing work in each of the five sections covered in the following pages, makes this yearbook a timelier and more relevant snapshot of the broader strategic landscape. We are immensely grateful for their efforts. In each section, however, you can expect much more than just a status update. While providing accurate analysis of where we currently stand on the more critical sustainability issues, challenges and implementation of solutions, our contributors also look at where we are headed. Referencing key projects that they and their peers are undertaking, these contributors are able to make viable predictions on what steps must be taken next, how feasible they are to implement, how quickly they can be scaled up. Whatever the technical brilliance of new and emerging solutions, these logistical realities cannot be ignored. Time and again in this yearbook, you will read about the importance of two factors: ambition and scalability. Both are needed to turn technologically impressive concepts into genuinely world-shaping solutions. Alongside the expert commentary from our contributors, you’ll also find two articles written by the World Future Energy Summit’s own team. Together, they both explore the evolving role of the summit itself in the ongoing climate struggle. They highlight its continuing importance as a platform for fostering collaboration, showcase technology and prompting concrete action at a time when instability can derail even the most tepid climate response. Together, these complementary sections of the yearbook represent a much-needed reminder of the size and scale of the task we face. While there are stark realities to manage, we hope that the strategies and projects outlined in these pages serve as a source of inspiration. As you will read for yourself, there are organisations and individuals
LEEN AL SEBAI GENERAL MANAGER RX GLOBAL – MIDDLE EAST / HEAD OF THE WORLD FUTURE ENERGY SUMMIT Leen Joined RX Global in 2014 as their CFO in the Middle East and Board Member of RX UAE. Her role currently expands to General Manager of RX Global in the Middle East overseeing the company’s operations, including managing day-today operations, managing budgets, resources and employees and driving performance towards business goals. Leen is also the Head of the World Future Energy Summit, where she is responsible for developing and driving the strategy, overseeing planning and operational management of the event, while leading the team to deliver on the event strategy. Leen is an accomplished C-level executive
KROGLQJD&3$DQGDQ0%$ZLWK\HDUVH[SHULHQFHLQFRUSRUDWHƓQDQFHDQG hands-on management working in challenging, goal-oriented environments. 6KHVWDUWHGKHUFDUHHULQWKH$XGLWƓHOGLQ(UQVWDQG<RXQJDIWHUZKLFKVKHVKLIWHG her career to academia at a Business faculty in the Higher Colleges of Technology LQ8$(WHDFKLQJJXLGLQJDQGGLUHFWLQJWKH(PLUDWL<RXWKWKURXJKRXWWKHLU journey to be ready to enter the business world. She then worked for the Alliance Française in Abu Dhabi, a cultural division of the French Embassy that aims to promote French culture in Abu Dhabi, where she held the post of Finance Director and Board member.
across the Middle East and the rest of the world who are straining every commercial, logistical, technological and intellectual muscle to deliver tangible progress on combatting climate change. They are forging ahead with solutions that not only impact their locality, but may pave the way for broader problem-solving, prompted by a deepening desire for cooperation and collective solutions to a series of collective challenges. Building momentum, however small at the start, is what takes a novel idea and allows it to deliver change on an industrial scale. So, please read, absorb and reflect on the following insights held within this yearbook. Remember that every disappointment and failed objective from past climate conferences still pushes the conversation forward, as we strive to find solutions that are both economically and technologically feasible. The groundswell of support for building a more sustainable world is inevitably rising, and the ‘hard no’ voices of previous years are steadily
softening as the severity of the threat to our very existence increases. Finally, remember that collaboration is the cornerstone of climate progress. No single person or institution, not even the most advanced of nations, possesses the influence and resources needed to tackle this threat alone. Crowd wisdom, cooperative solutions and collaborative action – these are the forces necessary to bring the collective will of our species to bear at this critical time. All that’s left for me to do is to wish you the best of luck in your current projects and climate efforts. As we look ahead to 2025, starting with the 17th edition of The World Future Energy Summit in January, there is every reason to be hopeful for our future, and every reason to strive to secure it. Warmest regards, Leen Alsebai Head of the World Future Energy Summit General Manager, RX Middle East
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THE FUTURE OF ENERGY
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