19 January 2015: Former US Vice President Al Gore has received the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Zayed Future Energy Prize (ZFEP) for his “personal and political commitment to raise international awareness about the dangers of climate change, while reinforcing optimism that the global community can and will successfully tackle the challenge.” His Highness General Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, presented Gore with the award during a ceremony held during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2015.

Gore announced that he would donate the US$500,000 prize to the volunteers of his organization, ‘The Climate Reality Project,’ which trains activists to speak publicly about the effects of climate change and ways to address it.

Other ZFEP award recipients include: the Panasonic Corporation, which received the large corporation award for its use of renewables; and M-KOPA Solar, which received the small and medium enterprise (SME) award for providing ‘pay-as-you-go’ energy services for off-grid customers – combining mobile payments with GSM sensor technology to enable the leasing of solar power systems.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) MyShelter Foundation received the award for creating affordable and replicable technologies to empower grassroots entrepreneurs “to generate wealth through sustainable solutions to move out of poverty,” through the ‘Liter of Light’ open source energy programme, which charged evening solar lights. Recipients also include global high schools Munro Academy (Americas), Petru Rares National College (Europe), Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa (Africa), Addu High School (Asia), and Melbourne Girls’ College (Oceania).

The ZFEP is a US$4 million award that recognizes and rewards innovators and solutions that address renewable energy, sustainability, climate change, energy security, energy access and economic development.The ZFEP was launched in 2008 at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) and aims to inspire the next generation of global energy innovators and act as a a catalyst for innovation in sustainability. It is awarded annually to: a large corporation, a SME, a NGO, a lifetime achievement recipient, and up to five high schools from five regions of the world. [ZFEP Website] [ZFEP Press Release] [IISD RS Coverage of Fifth Session of the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) Assembly and Associated Events]