WAM Dubai, Jun 15th, 2012 (WAM)--The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) has hosted recently here a regional policy dialogue among concerned parties from the Arab countries to prepare for the forthcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012, Rio De Janeiro.

The "Sustainable Arabia: Clean Energy" conference discussed the Green Economy and how it is linked to sustainable development. The forum came up with a set of important recommendations that should be taken into account to support the foundations of sustainable development driven in the Arab countries.

"These recommendations are of great importance and reflect the UAE's concern as being a global leading hub for research, development and sustainability. The UAE has made great strides and adopted several leading initiatives in this field. I'd like here to refer to the quote of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, "The UAE is striving to develop and boost its rich resources and expertise in the international energy markets and enhance its leading role as a world centre for renewable energy research and development.", and also the quote of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, �We recognise that preserving our energy resources will be one of the greatest challenges in our drive towards sustainable development. This, however, will not materialise unless the different facets of our society adopt energy conservation principles in their core values. The future generations will be the chief beneficiary of our achievements and the best judge of what we accomplish in this field," said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the DSCE.

"The recommendations also tackled all social and development facets and the importance of reconsidering the prioritisation of the development's and to notably give the social pillar greater attention in order to achieve social justice, create new job opportunities, and to reduce the brain drain, especially amongst the youth." "The recommendations also discussed the main regional challenges including poverty eradication, job creation, the right to development, social cohesion, women's rights, the right to access information and knowledge, the needs of youth, trade liberalization, the transfer and localization of appropriate technology, finance mechanisms and capacity building," he added.

They also tackled the emerging challenges facing the Arab countries and adaptation to climate change risks, the impacts of the global financial and economic crisis, and the unprecedented population growth and urbanization over the past years.

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