The “EU Hydrogen Online Forum in the UAE: Hydrogen, the Energy Carrier of the Future” took place yesterday Wednesday, 25 November 2020 and was joined by approximately 250 participants. The event was presented by the Delegation of the European Union to the United Arab Emirates and the EU-GCC Clean Energy Technology Network
Governments around the globe are realizing that hydrogen produced from renewable electricity will play an indispensable role in the effort to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Hydrogen is a versatile and climate-neutral energy carrier that can be used to drive down greenhouse gas emissions in sectors that are otherwise difficult to decarbonize.
During the opening, H.E. Andrea Matteo Fontana, Ambassador of the European Union to the United Arab Emirates, stated that “The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the vulnerabilities of our traditional economic model and changed the context for the clean energy transition worldwide.But we can turn the recovery into a once in a lifetime opportunity to build back better. Our European Green Deal guides EU green recovery dialogues and cooperation with our partners including the UAE. Through the recovery we can press fast forward to the green energy transition and jointly reach the goals of the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal”.
The Forum featured a high-level roundtable with the participation of H.E. Andrea Matteo Fontana, Ambassador of the European Union to the United Arab Emirates, H.E. Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy, H.E. Suhail Al Mazroui, Minister for Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates, Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Secretary-General of Hydrogen Europe. The round table was moderated by Frank Wouters, Director of the EU GCC Clean Energy Technology Network and was followed by two technical sessions.
“Hydrogen is an opportunity for our economy, for our climate but also for international cooperation.” noted H.E. Kadri Simson, EU Commissioner for Energy, during the roundtable. “Now, the EU is a leading oil and gas importer. If we scale up our hydrogen economy, as we intend to do, then that demand will by far outweigh our domestic production. And some EU Member States already intend to import green hydrogen to meet that demand.” “Connecting our hydrogen economies means we can advance supplies’ diversification and help develop stable and secure supply chains. What we are proposing is a global rules space market for hydrogen and at the heart of this market are harmonised safety and environmental standards.”
in the UAE.”
For more information, visit eugcc-cleanenergy.net