Gala Dinner at the Emirates Palace…seriously.

I have to hand it to Alex and her networking skills. Moments after we entered the mindblowingly lavish hotel ($4 billion and the most gold in the world), she found a high-up in a VIP-like area that she had sat next to at the conference and consequently impressed with her questions. He in turn introduced us to some of the day’s financing panel speakers. The guy from Cleantech was amazing and talked to us for such a long time…he mentioned a company 20 mins from my house that deals with financing small/medium businesses to combat climate change and poverty while promoting clean energy. It was like…all my current focuses rolled into a nice package. Couldn’t make it up if I tried. He said some interesting things also about the disconnect between the macrolevel and microlevel – that people’s mindsets had changed, but that our institutional structure was not conducive to real change, since it was designed for a world of the 19th century. Later on I left my bag at the table and returned to find it gone. I was then contacted by – get this – a TUPD officer. The person who had my bag (a cool German guy at our table) found Officer Morales’ card in my wallet and contacted him. TUPD was so into solving a crime 9 time zones away, they emailed me, contacted my boyfriend through facebook, and called my house. I’m hoping no one at home picked up, or else I’ll be beheaded upon arrival back in New Jersey.

Can’t wait to show you guys the video of me, Alex, Jared and Jayson model-walking down the massive Emirates Palace lobby. Today’s speakers were mostly symbolic (though we could decode some interesting messages) but tomorrow should be more substantive! Also Shell gave us a goody bag containing crank cell phone chargers, solar flashlights (“torches”…whatever) and USB drives! Ridiculous, guys. RIDICULOUS.

Off to bed,

Renee

Dr. Sultan Jaber, CEO MASDAR

Wow.  Just…. Wow.  So we approach Dr. Jaber in the crowd, he’s already presented as one of the Keynote speakers, and he looks rather friendly, but super busy.  So I go up to one of the many people around him who seems to be “with” him, and ask if I can have a moment of his time.  I tell the guy I’m a student, and he says, “of course!” and introduces me to the Dr. right away. 

 First, the background…

U.S. Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman

After the United States Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman spoke on battling climate change and fostering future energy, Jayson, Jesse, and I (Jared) sped to the front of the conference room. Jayson exclaimed, “Mr. Bowman. . . Mr. Bowman!!!,” not knowing his actual name. Delegates in the front row eyed us curiously. Mr. Bodman’s security detail was ushering him to go and meet with Dr. Sultan, head of MASDAR, the Abu Dhabi renewable energy company that is responsible for building the world’s first zero emissions, zero energy, zero waste city in the desert nearby. Mr. Bodman stopped and shook our hands, since we were American students. He told us to look him up, “. . .the next time you’re in town!” (meaning D.C.) Mr. Bodman then went on to recommend us to Dr. Sultan. We soon met with Dr. Sultan. . .

I can’t describe the energy at this conference. It may be one of the most excited events I have ever attended!

Dubai

After the meeting with Ali bin Towaih, we hightailed it on over to the Executive Towers and rode up to the 37th floor to meet with a member of the Executive Council of Dubai. He said he was no energy expert, but he fielded our questions agreeably and gave us some thought-provoking answers. I – Renee – personally got a lot out of this meeting because he was really candid about some interesting topics. He gave me a lot of food for thought on my topic, which deals with the UAE’s development model – while Ali bin Towaih suggested that the reason for its success was the leadership of the Sheikh, and therefore wasn’t transferable to the other Gulf countries, Walid Tabanji suggested that it also had to do with the UAE’s tolerance for foreigners and moderate foreign policy, coupled with the drive for economic success (“That’s why we’re called Dubai, Inc.,” he said). What surprised me is that afterwards, he volunteered some information about the situation with the migrant laborers – I hadn’t been asking about it because I was under the impression that it was a sensitive subject. He said that basically, the government is really supportive of migrant laborer rights but that the companies often infringe upon them, and that there needs to be better enforcement. Okay, now Alex needs to use the comp before the wireless runs out!–Renee   

Mr. Ali bin Towaih interview at…

Internet City!  Mr. Ali is the Executive Director of EnPark, a free-zone which will focus on energy efficiency and a New Urbanist development model, which tends to include mixed-use (commercial and residential) construction, walkable neighborhoods, and a more traditional sense of community. Mr. Ali cites the lack of quality of life and community in Dubai as the motivation to pursue New Urban development principles. Dense and mixed-use development is more sustainable than sprawl development that has covered Dubai, and the other Emirates. Alternative energy, transit, and efficiency initiatives coupled with this development project, EnPark will become a standard model for other similar developments across the United Arab Emirates.

Finally in Abu Dhabi…

We made it! Check back soon…we’ll be posting over the next few days as we start our interviews – Jayson

Presenting to the World

Hello all, and thanks for reading. This little entry is sort of a time killer for me, as I’ve been working on writing my part of the presentation for the World Future Energy Summit (WFES). At a certain point, after hours of work, inspiration just sort of goes out the window. So instead I’m taking this time to talk a little about the opportunity.

Myself and Alex Wright have been given the opportunity to present for roughly 30 minutes during the conference. We are part of a larger, one and a half hour block that is being divided up between ourselves and two Swedish students. They’ll speak for 30 minutes as well, then the remaining 30 minutes will be a sort of ‘think-tank’ session where we involve all the students who are attending (around 16) and also the audience members (this part is still a bit up in the air, I think we’re meeting the day before the conference to discuss it further).

UAE Research Topics

The three research topics are:

1. Comparing the MASDAR approach to attaining zero footprint to the US grassroots approach – Jared Rodriguez, Jayson Uppal, Jacob Mandel, Jesse Gossett. This group will study the current and expected success of the UAE’s government-backed approach to incorporating renewables in its energy mix, and compare it to the very different market-based and grassroots approach of the US in creating a renewable energy sector. Which is most likely to lead to higher levels of renewable energy in the long-term? Which will attain these levels more quickly? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each approach?

UAE Trip Proposal 2008

The World Future Energy Summit (WFES), to be held in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in January 2008, is the largest conference of its kind. With $100 per barrel oil prices looming on the horizon, political and industry leaders from around the world will meet to discuss mankind’s energy future. Attendees include the Ministers of Energy of the UK, US, Kuwait, UAE, Morocco, and Algeria, as well as the President of Iceland, a country which obtains 99.9% of its electricity from renewable sources.

Destination: United Arab Emirates

The Tufts Energy Security Initiative will be traveling to Abu Dhabi  and Dubai between January 14th – January 24th 2008. We will be attending the World Future Energy Summit as well as meeting with leaders in the energy industry. Check back soon for more details!