Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week opens with inspiring address

At the opening of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2026, HE Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Masdar chairman, hailed a new era of human progress powered by computational power and digital capability, all underpinned by energy

“Artificial intelligence is rewiring every industry, reshaping every sector and resetting expectations for global growth,” HE Dr Al Jaber said. “While the world is changing around us, one constant remains. And that is energy. Every algorithm, every data centre, every breakthrough in advanced technology needs power to drive it. Simply put, there is no artificial intelligence without actual energy.”

“Meeting all this demand responsibly, reliably and affordably means coming to terms with reality,” HE Dr Al Jaber said. “Over 70% of this energy will still come from hydrocarbons.” This should be seen not as a constraint, he told the assembled audience, but rather as a catalyst. “Sustainable progress is not about slowing down growth, it is about designing a better engine.”

The UAE has structured its economy to meet this new reality, HE Dr Al Jaber said, stressing “the world still needs molecules to make electrons. That is why we have always invested in both and fused them into a single integrated system: from the carbon-efficient molecules of ADNOC to the clean gigawatts of Masdar; from the largest solar projects ever built, to the first solar plants that work around the clock; from nuclear energy to custom-tailored wind turbines that work at low speed.”

The UAE also applies technology “system-wide,” HE Dr Al Jaber said. “AI is no longer a tool we add at the margins; it has become the operating system of our industrial strategy. We are embedding AI across our energy and industrial base to optimise every barrel, every megawatt, every production line.”

HE Dr. Al Jaber highlighted the key role played by Masdar in developing renewable energy projects globally and driving renewable energy costs down, revealing that it is now more than two thirds of the way to its target of 100 gigawatts (GW) portfolio capacity. Through long-term partnerships, innovation, and US$45bn in investment, Masdar has contributed to reducing costs, increasing efficiency, and overcoming structural challenges such as intermittency, helping make renewables the cheapest and fastest way to deploy new electricity capacity globally.

HE Dr Al Jaber ended by highlighting the attractions of the UAE as a business destination.

“Bring your ambition, your ideas, your capital and your technology, and put them to work where progress is powered, opportunity is operationalised and partnerships are permanent. The future of sustainable human progress is waiting, and its address is Abu Dhabi.”

ADSW 2026 opened on 13 January under the theme “The Nexus of Next: All Systems Go,” convening global leaders to accelerate collaboration across interconnected systems including energy, finance, food, water, and nature. Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, ADSW 2026 is hosted by Masdar.

The opening ceremony gathered Heads of State, Ministers, senior government officials, business leaders, investors, and innovators, celebrating landmark achievements to date while mobilising momentum and investment for the critical decade ahead.