coverage of the Globe Conference provided by Allyson Clark
“We have to invest in Green”, says Frank Wouters, Chief Executive of Masdar Power in Abu Dhabi. The opening remarks from Mr. Wouters were supported by Vancouver’s mayor Gregor Robertson who welcomed all green businesses and investors to Vancouver for Globe 2010, the 11th biennial trade fair and conference on business and the environment. Mr. Robertson focused on Vancouver’s plan to become the greenest city and outlined what types of initiatives are being offered to companies to come to Vancouver and make the city a “green investment hub”. For example, a new partnership between ClimateSmart and the City of Vancouver to help businesses account for their GHG emissions, and reduce those emissions through a set of workshops.
Mr. Wouters continued his speech by outlining how important renewable energy and the green tech sector will be in the coming years. Governments will need to invest more into research and development, and companies and large VC firms will have to start growing these innovative industries. Sectors that will begin, and continue, to see growth are in sustainable construction and green building, clean technologies, and solar technologies, particularly solar PV.
Mr. Wouters and Masdar Power are dedicated to growing clean power in Abu Dhabi. The focus is on moving towards “what the earth already provides”, such as wind and solar, rather than using fossil fuels.
The focus will now be on “relationships” says James Suciu, President of Global Sales and Marketing for GE Energy. GE is making a significant commitment to clean technology and innovation, and it would seem that many other companies are following in their footsteps. The world can no longer focus on single companies within an industry; those companies need to come together to move innovation forward. This new green economy, one in which we will all see tremendous growth will be fueled by “worldwide partnerships” and innovative thinking.
The conference, which runs until Friday, will cover many topics, including SRI, sustainable supply chains and a large focus on clean technology and carbon. Carbon markets, carbon capture and storage as well as measuring sustainability through carbon will be at the forefront of this event.
Stay tuned for more updates.
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