THE EcoCity World Summit, the biennial cross-disciplinary gathering of all involved in building sustainable cities, will come to Abu Dhabi, UAE, in 2015.
The summit’s organiser, the Ecocity Conference Series Relay Committee (ECRC), awarded the host status to the UAE capital after what it called a “clearly outstanding proposal” submitted by Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau in conjunction with the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD),and its Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI) and with the support of Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Company and Etihad Airways.
ECRC, a division of Ecocity Builders, the non-profit organisation dedicated to reshaping cities for the long-term health of human and natural systems, said several factors helped Abu Dhabi’s bid stand out, including its commitment to facing environmental challenges and supporting renewable energy as well as its interest in ‘blue carbon sequestration’, the absorption of carbon out of the atmosphere in mangroves and sea grasses.
“We are very interested in techniques for natural carbon sequestration and we feel that this strategy deserves much more focus and attention,” ECRC says in its host city award letter.
The summit is expected to attract upwards of 1,500 delegates and features an associated Ecocity exhibition.