Mohammad bin Zayed Honours Zayed Future Energy Prize 2013 Winners

His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, reaffirmed today, that under the leadership of the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, sustainable development across all sectors has been placed at the forefront and the core of the national strategy and that, in the spirit of safeguarding the nation and its people, the leadership’s international collaborations are aimed at securing peace and prosperity for humankind.

His statements were made at the 2013 Zayed Future Energy Prize awards ceremony, held at the Emirates Palace today. Marking the fifth year of the Prize, the eight winners included Siemens, d.light design, Ceres, Dr. Jose Goldemberg, and four high schools representing various regions of the world.

The Zayed Future Energy Prize awards ceremony was attended by: His Excellency Mohammed Weld Abdul Aziz, President of Mauritania; Her Excellency Atifete Jahjaga, President of Kosovo; His Excellency Olafur Ragnar Gr’msson, President of Iceland; Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan; His Royal Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa; a representative of the King of Bahrain; His Excellency Jejomar Binay, Vice President of the Philippines; senior government officials attending the World Future Energy Summit from both the United Arab Emirates and abroad; and renewable energy experts.

His Highness General Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan emphasised that the Zayed Future Energy Prize underscores the UAE’s commitment to addressing the global energy challenge; adding "We believe that investing in people is the future of our collective prosperity. Through the Prize, we are not only recognising tremendous achievement, but also providing support to help accelerate promising technologies and fund organisations, schools and individuals committed to impacting communities around the world." His Highness congratulated Masdar on successfully managing the prize and commended each of the winners, saying "Through their innovative technologies and solutions, they are helping create a better future for all.

He added: "This is exactly what the Zayed Future Energy Prize set out to do through honouring a deep rooted legacy that the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, God rest his soul, instilled in us." Speaking at the awards ceremony; His Excellency the President of the Republic of Iceland and Chairman of the Zayed Future Energy Prize Jury, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said: Inspired by Sheikh Zayed, Abu Dhabi has become a centre for global dialogue on renewable energy and a sustainable future.

He added: "The winners tonight show that change is possible, that vision and innovative thinking hold great promise for us all through practical endeavours. These winner are indeed the true heirs to the legacy of Sheikh Zayed." In his opening remarks, Dr Sultan Ahmed AL Jaber, Director Gneral of the Zayed Future Energy Prize welcomed His Highness General Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed al Nahyan; thanking him for his direction and support which have been "instrumental and the leading force behind its success." Dr Sultan said: "Our wise leadership established this Prize in honour of our late founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul ... who laid the foundations for sustainable development in the UAE, through his efforts in the development of the UAE infrastructure, its economy, and the conservation of our natural resources for future generations.

"Today," he added, "Under the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the nation, may God protect him - the nation continues its drive for international collaboration - exerting every effort to address the world’s most impending challenges - from addressing energy, water and food security, health, women’s empowerment and as well as social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Dr Sultan emphasized that innovation is at the core of all efforts for addressing world challenges; emphasizing that the winners of the Zayed Future Energy Prize have played an instrumental role, through their innovation and commitment, in achieving great successes for energy usage. He said: "Our winners have collectively reduced the plight of 140,000 displaced persons, provided hundreds of thousands of jobs and provided clean water and electricity to over 8 million people in villages and rural parts of Africa and Asia." In closing, Dr Sultan extended his gratitude to the evaluation committee and the jury of the Zayed Future Energy Prize; emphasising that the success of the Prize is a culmination of the legacy left behind by the founding father of the nation." He said: We hope that through the prize, we demonstrate that we have listened, we have learned and we are inspired." The Zayed Future Energy Prize is a US$ 4 million prize awarded annually to companies, schools and individuals that have made significant contributions to the future of energy, sustainability and climate change.

The Prize was awarded in five distinct categories: Large Corporation, Life Achievement, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) and the newly-introduced Global High Schools Prize.

Siemens, the German multinational electronics and engineering company, was recognised in the Large Corporation category for its holistic and long-term approach to alternative energy and sustainability.

In the Small Medium Enterprise category, US-based d.light design was awarded $ 1.5 million for its pioneering solar-powered lighting solutions, which the company manufactures and distributes to the developing world.

Ceres, a US-based non-profit enterprise, was awarded $ 1.5 million as winner of the Non-Governmental Organisation prize category. The organization was honoured for its work on clean-energy advocacy and encouraging companies to reduce their carbon emissions.

Dr. Jose Goldemberg, professor of physics at the University of Sao Paulo and former Brazilian minister of environment, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, winning $ 500,000. A profound voice and environmental leader, Dr. Goldemberg’s achievements include introducing the Brazilian Energy Initiative, which called for 10 percent renewable energy worldwide by 2010, and co-authoring one of the first papers on the energy life-cycle analysis of sugarcane ethanol. He also coined the idea of ’technology leapfrogging’ in economic development.

This year also saw the introduction of the Global High School Prize category, launched to recognize and encourage young people to incorporate renewable energy and sustainability into their schools. Schools from four regions were honoured with US$100,000 each as funding for their proposed sustainability projects.

Emirate:  Abu Dhabi

Date: Jan 15, 2013

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