4 May 2015
World Green Economy Summit 2015 Issues Second Dubai Declaration
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The World Green Economy Summit (WGES) 2015, an initiative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), brought together local and international experts and stakeholders to discuss key topics on the green economy agenda, and concluded with the Second Dubai Declaration on the development of the green economy in Dubai and globally.

wges23 April 2015: The World Green Economy Summit (WGES) 2015, an initiative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), brought together local and international experts and stakeholders to discuss key topics on the green economy agenda, and concluded with the Second Dubai Declaration on the development of the green economy in Dubai and globally.

Held from 22-23 April 2015, in Dubai, the UAE, under the theme ‘Global Partnerships for a Sustainable Future,’ the second edition of the WGES comprised plenary and break-out sessions on: the green economy framework; greening cities; innovative green finance; green public-private partnerships; green development visionaries; South-South relations for a green economy; green consumption; youth and behavioral change; and smart cities. A closing plenary, titled ‘Dubai the Capital of the Green Economy and the Road to Paris,’ concluded the Summit.

In addition, parallel presentations and workshops around the theme of public-private partnerships were organized on both days on, inter alia: scaling up solar energy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA); energy service companies (ESCOs); and green finance. Summit participants included more than 2,000 local and international officials, academics and professionals in the field.

The Second Dubai Declaration, issued at the end of the Summit, outlines a path for “Dubai to become the capital of the world’s green economy,” including through a “Green Fund” that will aim to accelerate green investment and project implementation, and through encouraging public-private partnerships.

Closing the event, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), and DEWA Chief Executive Officer, who was recognized during the summit by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) as a Middle East Champion of Energy, said the WGES 2015 had generated “new partnerships, initiatives and projects to develop a green economy here in Dubai, across the region and worldwide.”

The WGES aims to become a key international platform for “strategic partnerships and innovative solutions” to accelerate the transition to the green economy. Among the key outcomes from the first WGES, organized from 15-16 April 2014, in Dubai, were: a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between DEWA and South Korean KEPCO on establishing an international centre of excellence for smart grid technologies; and the launch of the Arab Business Forum for Sustainable Development and Green Economy in the Arab Region by the UNDP and the Clean Energy Business Council. The WGES 2015 outcome documents will be published on the Summit website. [WGES Website] [WGES 2015 Programme] [WGES 2014 Outcomes Report] [Emirates News Agency Press Release]


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