The World Future Energy Summit, now in its third year and hosted by Masdar, opened with an outstanding Energy Ministers’ panel discussing their countries energy blueprints.

Ministers from developed and developing nations debated the need to develop alternative energy sources for sustainable supply and economic growth.

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H.E. Mohamed Bin Dhaen Al-Hamil, UAE Minister of Energy said: “Alternative energy development is a necessity – the world economy is growing and fossil fuel will not be enough to meet that growth. In the foreseen future, fossil fuel, nuclear and renewable energy will complement each other significantly.”

“IRENA is an agency that now has the participation of 142 countries and we are proud to announce that Saudi Arabia will join it very soon,” said Helene Pelosse, Interim Director General of IRENA in her opening remarks. “Cooperation on developing renewable resources for the common good is crucial and all countries need to devise a solution. We cannot rely on the energy of the past to power the future; there is untapped potential in every country”.

“To meet the current energy demand you have to diversify resources. To achieve this, in the future we need to bring technology from developed countries to the region. Once this is done, we can work on producing and exporting the same to other parts of the world,” said Hasan Younes, Egypt Minister of Electricity and Energy.

How can we better manage our natural resources? Is there a more viable short term solution? Both valid questions posed by H.E. Abdulla Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Qatar Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry.

It was evident from the discussion that governments are still torn between need to boost energy infrastructure to fuel economic growth and meet environmental goals. Diversification and global cooperation were considered key for security and sustainability; lack of time was a concern and all eyes are on the upcoming COP16 in Mexico City.

The World Future Energy Summit represents a global collaborative platform, promoting innovation and investment opportunities in renewable energy and the environment. The summit includes an extensive program of more than 20 plenary forums parallel breakout sessions that will discuss the needs of the public and private sectors, in renewable energy. Topics stretch from sustainable development to banking and investment, research and development, environmental planning and power generation and distribution.

More than 100 official delegations are present at the Summit. National pavilions will include Australia, Belgium, China, Italy, India, South Korea, Spain, Germany, USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Netherlands, Japan, Taiwan, Norway and France.

The Summit has attracted sponsorship from Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors, the principal sponsor for the 2010 event, as well as Emirates Aluminium as associate sponsor. Additional sponsors include BP Alternative Energy, Standard Chartered, Siemens, Schneider Electric, ExxonMobil, ABB, Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority, Oxy, Abu Dhabi Department of Municipality Affairs and Terna.