WFES Day I: Kick-off after ADSW opening ceremony

The World Future Energy Summit 2026 - being held as part of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week - got underway with aplomb on Tuesday. 

Before formal proceedings began, the attendees including were treated to an opening ceremony marked by cultural performances. 

The performances were followed by a keynote address from Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of the country’s international renewable energy company Masdar, and CEO of ADNOC.

In his remarks, Al Jaber called for pragmatic thinking on the energy mix, innovation, harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and continued investments in renewable energy and cleantech. Here is your truly's latest Forbes missive touching on it. 

The morning's proceedings also included the Zayed Sustainability Prize awarding ceremony. The prizes were handed out in various categories. These included the energy category prize, which went to Switzerland's BASE. It is a specialized partner of the United Nations Environment Programme, that offers "Cooling as a Service" or CaaS in emerging markets.

BASE's innovative business model enables a diverse range of end users of cooling systems to base their decisions on life-cycle costs rather than on the purchase price of cooling equipment. (If interested, read more about them here.)

The conclusion of the awards ceremony marked the mid-morning start of the summit with a packed agenda. 

Two of the world's most pressing topics - AI and climate change  - took centerstage at the Envision Global Technology Day, with a discussion in how technology is reshaping the future of global energy systems.

Science Based Targets Initiative's pathways for low carbon cities were also widely discussed throughout the first morning. 

Among other things, the attendees got treated to a special screening of Ocean - the powerful new documentary by Sir David Attenborough. 

The documentary was a compelling call to action that explores the beauty, fragility, and future of our oceans. 

A full day's programme - including two panels hosted yours truly - gets underway on Day II. But that's all for now folks. More musings to follow throughout the week. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma, January 2026. Photo I: Signage of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. Photo II: Glimpses of the ADSW opening ceremony. Photo III: Energy Analyst Gaurav Sharma at the World Future Energy Summit 2026 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. © Gaurav Sharma, January 2026.