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IRENA DG honors efforts of GWU under Sheikha Fatima for empowering UAE women |
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HE Ms Helene Pelosse, Interim Director-General of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), has lauded the efforts of General Women’s Union, under the leadership of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, to empower UAE women and expand their participation in areas of economic, social and environmental significance. Speaking at a Symposium on ’’Women and Renewable Energy : Future Alternatives ’’ in Abu Dhabi, she said that " I would like to congratulate the General Women’s Union on its effort, under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima, to empower UAE women and expand their participation in areas of economic, social and environmental significance. Today gives me the great opportunity to talk to you about a common thread that weaves through these three areas -renewable energy and the important role of women in its adoption". The event was hosted by the GWU under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima. She further said: "It also gives me the opportunity to tell you a story. It is a story that spans two generations; it is also about a dream that spans two generations. I would like to share with you a picture, it was taken in 1962. There is only one woman in this picture; she’s part of the Governing Council in a city in France. She studied physics, raised nine children and was active in politics, and she was an ecologist before anybody knew about green political parties". She was not unlike the Founding Father Sheik Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nayhan, whose love of nature and concern for conservation is legendary, she remarked. She illustrated another picture and said: "the place where we stand together today. It is 1962 in Abu Dhabi. It is the year that Abu Dhabi starts to export oil and triggers an incredible era of growth and development for this small state that continues today". Then she pointed out some other pictures and said that in June 2009 - almost two generations later, Abu Dhabi won the right to host the IRENA Headquarters. At the same time the woman in the picture of 1962 passed away at the age of 96 - just after I was elected Director-General of IRENA. The news reached me when I was still in Sharm El Sheick. "She was my grandmother", she added. Between those pictures there are two generations, she explained two generations to move from oil to Renewable Energy, Two generations to change a Vision, Two generations for the granddaughter to put her footprints into those of her grandmother. Two generations to see women take their place in molding society, commerce, industry and politics and to have here in Abu Dhabi the first international organization to achieve gender parity. She further stated that "Two generations, my sisters, is the time left to us to make energy transition happen. Every scenario - even the most conservative foresees 50% Renewable Energy in the world energy mix in 2050". "I had a dream my sisters. We are in 2050. I am 80 years old. And it’s my turn to be a grandmother. In my dream I am on a plane about to land in Abu Dhabi; from the window I can see the photovoltaic panels shimmering under the sun; the desert is covered with them. On the coast dozens of plants produce algae which grow very rapidly thanks to salted water and sun. Abu Dhabi has become a big exporter of them. They’re the raw material for the bio fuels which powers the plane in which I am flying. I am not alone on this plane, there is a little girl holding my hand - my granddaughter", she declared. "I promised to show her IRENA’s home at Masdar’s City, the first zero carbon city built in the world. Many things have changed since I first moved into IRENA’s first Headquarters 40 years ago. The energy positive building I knew has been expanded to accommodate the numerous working groups focused on the many renewable energy projects underway. And the United Nation campus has expanded in Masdar City where each country has now opened an embassy", she said in a confident tone. "Holding my granddaughter by the hand I take the subway to the City Center and the Corniche. It’s almost dusk and together we admire the setting sun. The sun that is cooling and powering this once small state of 1962, now a centerpiece for world energy solutions". In the end of her speech she said " My sisters, I have been blessed with three children. But I think of IRENA as my fourth child. This child has been born and like a proud parent, I am guiding, nurturing and watching it rise to take its first steps and make a difference to millions of people in many communities across the world. It has been an honor for me to share some of my past with you today, I hope you will also share the future". |
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