Rio de Janeiro – The United Arab Emirates invest approximately 1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in new sources of energy every year, not just to find an alternative to oil, of which the country is one of the world’s main producers, but because it aims to make money with it. This is one of the country’s targets, said to ANBA on Wednesday (20) the Environment Minister of the Emirates, Rashad Bin Fahad, after panel “Black gold and green energy”, promoted by the government of the Arab country and by Norway during the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
“We invest in renewable energy not only because we need a renewable alternative to oil, but because it will generate profits and revenues in future,” said Fahad. Currently, the country has over 30% of GDP coming from oil and gas resources. “In future we hope for this percentage to come from green energy,” he said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate is that the GDP of the Emirates was US$ 360 billion in 2011. “We invested about US$ 350 million in budget for the environment to help develop our company,” said the minister. The country is building solar energy plants and Masdar city, designed to cause the lowest possible environmental impact right from the start of works. “We are working to reach a leadership role in the development of renewable energies,” said Fahad.
While the future and renewable energy profits do not arrive, the Emirates and Norway, are investing to increase energy efficiency from oil, to reduce environmental damage and to seek clean energy sources. One of the challenges is removing from the atmosphere the carbon dioxide resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. According to the political consultant of the Ministry of Environment of Norway, Audun Garberg, the country has managed to increase the volume of carbon capture by 80% from 1999 to 2010.
The senior vice president for the Climate at Norwegian oil company Statoil, Hege Marie Norheim, said that the company is working to contribute less to global warning but added that for the time being there are still processes that depend on fossil fuels. “We need central heating and obtain most of the energy to heat our homes from natural gas. It is a cleaner option than coal,” he compared, during the event.
José Maria Figueres, the moderator of the panel, former president of Costa Rica and current president of non-governmental organisation Carbon War Room, said that events like this influence people to contribute to sustainable development. “Governments come here [to the Rio+20] to waste time. Panels like this one are more important,” he said.
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