One of the most effective ways of combating climate change would be to improve specific aspects of our everyday interaction with the environment, transportation is a case in point.

The transport sector globally is the single highest energy consumer (around 19%) producing around a quarter of the world’s CO2 emissions, this is probably not surprising given that much of the world depends on one form of motorised transport or another in their day-to-day lives.

Although road transport accounts for 75% of worldwide transport CO2 emissions according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), aviation and shipping are rapidly catching up. If we continue on the current path, the amount of energy we use and the associated CO2 emissions that are likely to be produced could increase by 50% by 2030, clearly an unsustainable prospect.

To mitigate this scenario, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommends that CO2 emissions be reduced by 50% by 2050, this may seem like a tall order particularly for the world’s governments, vehicle manufacturers, aircraft makers and ship builders but we are already seeing meaningful progress in these areas.

For example, the global aviation industry today contributes around 2.1% of CO2 emissions and initiatives in the use of alternative fuels for air transport are beginning to really take off!

Here in the Middle East, aviation is a particularly strong growing transport sector, as the region rapidly develops economically and emerges as the modern world’s crossroads between East and West. As transit hubs in the UAE and Qatar see their respective airline fleets rapidly swell, we could witness an increasing interest and investment in reducing their carbon footprints.

Indeed, we have seen real steps being taken in this direction, in my role as Assistant Professor at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology I have been fortunate enough to lead a unique study into jet fuel made from saltwater plants – which are abundant in this region – in partnership with Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airlines, Boeing and Honeywell’s oil and gas processing arm, UOP. Other international carriers such as KLM, Lufthansa and Continental Airlines have been testing various types of biofuels with Aeromexico launching the world’s first transcontinental flight powered partially by oil from the Jatropha Curcas oilseed plant.

Back on the ground, the world’s first carbon-neutral city, Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, began a year-long electric vehicle pilot project with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to look into the feasibility of having a point-to-point transport system. If successful, the scheme could not only have major implications for the future of road transport at Masdar City but for the Middle East region at large.

These are just the kinds of initiatives that have the potential to impact our daily lives but they also need the encouragement and support of the world community in order to make the journey from the drawing board or the testing stage into real world sustainable transportation solutions. Recognising this, the Zayed Future Energy Prize seeks to not only highlight but stimulate and inspire renewable energy and sustainable solutions every year by awarding innovative and deserving candidates in this field from all around the world.

This year once again, I have had the privilege to chair the Review Committee meeting which was held last week to shortlist the top 33 candidates for the $4 million 2012 Prize. Over the course of the two-day meeting, we had the chance to review some excellent submissions representing parts of the renewable energy and sustainability community that are either directly or indirectly related to transportation. In 2010 we saw Toyota awarded for bringing us all one major step closer to sustainable transport with its efforts in mass-producing the world’s first hybrid fuel, the Prius since 1997.

The Zayed Future Energy Prize represents the latest in a whole host of bold moves for the UAE in renewable energy and sustainability, with the increase in the number of candidates who have submitted their green initiatives for the 2012 Prize, it’s clear that there is a genuine hunger for clean and sustainable innovations.

Dr. Sgouris Sgouridis is Assistant Professor at the Masdar Institute of Science & Technology, sustainable transportation is one of his research areas.

The 2011 UNDP’s Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report says that global investments in renewable energy stood at $US211 billion for 2010, an increase of 30 percent year-on-year – with investment by developing countries outstripping that of the developed world for the first time. Investment in renewable in the Middle East hit US$5 billion in 2010 – an increase of 104 percent from the year before. These trends illustrate the potential of the MENA region to emerge as a hub of renewable expansion.

Partnerships and collaboration are key to building the businesses that can help fuel the renewable energy market, and the idea of the Project Village at World Future Energy Summit stemmed from the need of a platform to facilitate such partnerships.

Launched in 2011 in association with Ernst & Young and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the Project Village provides a platform to conduct business in the renewable energy and low carbon market by maximizing networking and business opportunities during the Summit.

At the Project Village, project developers from large multinational companies, rapid growth companies and start ups will be able to discuss their latest innovations and research and development projects with leading technology and finance solution providers. Developers will have dedicated booths to showcase their projects and a theatre room to conduct business presentations ensuring maximum exposure of budding projects during the exhibition.

The 2012 Project Village is hosting projects from the Middle East, India, Africa and beyond as part of this initiative.

If you are interested in being part of the Project Village for 2012, please have a look at the qualifying criteria and deadlines on the Summit website.

This urban transformation process will speed up tremendously within the next years. The increase of the population in Cities are also increasing the green house gas emissions and also new buildings, transport facilities etc. are needed. 

In China for example, according to a UNDP* report (in partnership with Renmin University of China) 350 million people are expected to move into Chinese cities by 2030. More than the entire population of the United States today.

The average energy consumption in cities is higher compared with rural areas. In 2007, everyday per capita energy use in urban areas in China was more than 2 times that of rural areas. 

These movements need housing and also transportation to be built. The report estimates that China will need to build 50,000 new high-rise buildings (according to Emporis, New York City has currently around 7.000) and 170 new mass transportation systems.

As living standards rise, the demand for larger living and working spaces will rise, too. New green buildings, or adopting existing ones (retrofit) and infrastructure is one solution, reducing energy consumption by each individual is another one. But might it be enough?

 Public transport would definitely reduce the green house gas emissions but on the other hand – during writing this article – Volkswagen (VW) announced that it has sold 1 million cars in China during the first seven month.

Since China is already a leading emitter of green house gases, the increase in the population of the major Chinese cities will also affect the world climate.

The Chinese government has already committed to develop a low carbon economy last year during the UN Climate Change Summit. So, the first step should be done. The question is, how this rapid development can be managed, financed and how a society on the way to more wealth fare can change?

What could be learned from other Cities? Chinese cities could cut private car use in favor of public transport systems as it has been the case for example in Tokyo. China could make the use of bicycles more attractive again like Copenhagen is doing.

Günter Theuermann

Managing Partner

www.save-more-energy.com

About save-more-energy.com – save-more-energy.com is an independent b2b platform for the Renewable Energy Industry, Real Estate Industry, Cities & Regions.

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Eco-cities are perhaps the much needed response to the environmental challenges of large scale developments and urbanization.  Middle East examples of such cities include the much publicized Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, Ziggurat and Xeritown in Dubai, Urjuan and Energy City in Qatar and ones in the outskirts of Amman, Libya and Kazakhstan.

The Middle East is rich in oil, but once the “oil boom” is over, “…all of us must get used to a different lifestyle” said Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah. “Peak oil” in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait is expected to occur in 2014 and 2013 respectively.

Due to the recession, green investments have been put in the back burner. However, that seems to be changing and investing in alternative energy projects is being considered a sure source of profit in the long-term; in the Middle East, solar-energy related endeavours are probably the key. 

All that in mind, Forbes poses a valid question: Can an oil-rich sheikhdom in the Middle East be a world leader in developing conservation policies and environment-friendly technologies?” We think it can. What do you think?

Ara Fernezian