Third World Climate Summit (WCS 2012) Kicks Off

Doha, December 02 (QNA) - The Third World Climate Summit kicked off here on Sunday at the Ritz-Carlton hotel with the participation of HE Minister of Energy and Industry Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada and the Executive Director of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Christina Figueres. Senior officials and executives from around the world, will discuss during the Summit, held on the sidelines of the 18th UN Climate Change Conference (COP18), a range of issues related to UN Conference on Climate Change, including the Green Climate Fund, Public-Private Partnerships, Technology Transfer, and will try to reach bottom-up solutions. The 3rd World Climate Summit, concludes later today, will also address the Global Energy Mix, Resource Efficiency, Smart Infrastructure for cities and regions in the Middle East and Qatar in particular due to its effective role in the transition to a Green Economy, and promoting the development of various energy policies and technologies for the reduction of carbon emissions. Since 2010, this Summit is the largest business and finance conference during the COP18 bringing together a coalition of organisations representing hundreds of businesses and trillions of assets under management. The summit falls in line and complements the remit of the UNFCCC. In this context, the summit functions as a separate, independent and progressive platform, providing the premium medium through which the business, finance and political stakeholders can communicate solutions, engage in partnerships and complement the official UNFCCC COP 18 negotiations. List of speakers for this year summit includes a number of Qatari ministers together with Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action, and Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Director, in addition to many of top executives. The high-level conference includes more than 500 climate arena's leading decision-makers: CEOs, thought-leaders, business executives, investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropic figures, national, regional and city leaders from organisations such as Qatar Foundation, UNDP, The World Bank, Siemens, Iberdrola, PWC, Ernst and Young, KPMG, McKinsey and Company, European Investment Bank, The Climate Group, Global Wind Energy Council, Danish Energy Association, Carbon Disclosure Project, Philips, International Bank of Qatar, Commercial Bank, Pension Danmark, State of Green, GE, Qatar Investment Authority, Alstom, Deloitte, Doha Film Institute and others. The World Climate Summit 2012 is part of a 10-year process (2020), which started with the inaugural World Climate Summit in Cancun, Mexico in 2010. The annual World Climate Summit takes stock of the state of the world climate and the low-carbon economy, and identifies the industrial, financial, political and innovation drivers needed to accelerate progress in mitigating and adapting to climate change. It is the goal of the World Climate Summit to provide and communicate concrete deliverables to the global community: toolbox of best practice, disruptive innovations, new policies, initiatives and technologies. (MORE)