The conference is an opportunity for scientists, academicians, policy makers, and business people to debate the contribution of renewable energy to future development. It highlights the state of the art in renewable energy materials and systems. In recent decades, the debate about renewable energy has intensified reflecting the concern about the impact of pollution on sustainable development.
Due to rapid increase in population, urbanization, and globalization, the demand for energy consumption has increased sharply in recent years. As an input in production, energy is directly linked to economic growth and living standards worldwide. Currently, the global GDP stands at about US$100 trillion representing mainly goods and services produced worldwide.
Over the last 200 years, conventional energy resources, mainly oil, gas and coal, have become a major source of energy supply. Rapid consumption of these resources has inflated substantial damage to the natural environment by increasing pollution, and threatening future sustainability. These resources are nonrenewable and are expected
to be depleted in a given time period.
Renewable energy, on the other hand, is generated from natural processes that are continuously replenished. Renewable energy sources include sunlight, geothermal heat, wind, tides, nuclear fusion and various forms of biomass. This energy cannot be exhausted and is constantly renewed. Future sustainability will depend on the ability of nations to build capacity for renewable energy to reduce the risk of environmental degradation’s and foster economic growth. Energy from these sources is regarded as clean with little or no emission of greenhouse gasses that are damaging to the environment.
Currently, renewable energy contributes about 20% of the global energy consumption. Across the world, countries are investing heavily in alternative energies, not only to reduce dependence on traditional energy sources, but also to reduce the risk of pollution and sustain development. National governments, international organizations, nongovernmental agencies, individuals and groups are making substantial efforts to save the planet from the damage caused to the environment from energy consumption.
In this part of the world, especially in the Gulf region, the production and consumption of energy has been dominated by fossil fuels. Recent trends in oil prices have increased.
calls for reducing dependency on traditional energy sources by investing in renewable energy. In doing so, countries in the region should construct sound strategies that ensure sustainable development by developing energy alternative as well as managing the environment.
