Atlantic Council president lauds UAE renewable energy policy

DUBAI, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Gulf state United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major oil supplier, is the "most visionary of the fossil fuel producing countries, thinking about renewables and planning for the future," said Frederick Kempe, President of the Atlantic Council on Friday, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

Kempe told WAM at the second annual Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi "I'm not sure there's another country in the world that's a global leader in fossil fuel production and renewable energy."

He added "We chose to base the forum here because, in some respects, the UAE is the 'model' of how to think about the energy mix while still having time to plan for it."

The summit seeks to draw global attention to the UAE's journey of progress in this field, "which in many ways embodies some of the smartest directions in dealing with the energy transition," said Kempe.

The UAE Energy Plan 2050 aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 70 percent, increase clean energy use by 50 percent and improve energy efficiency by 40 percent.

The UAE sheikhdom of Dubai announced in September 2017 it will implement the world's largest Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project valued at 14.2 billion dirham (3.87 billion U.S. dollars).

The CSP project as the planned largest single-site project will generate 700 megawatts (MW) of power when it is completed in the last quarter of 2020, parallel to the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. Enditem