Abu Dhabi and Dubai '- 100 MW solar plant (REVE)

Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant

UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi said the UAE had made great progress in diversifying the base of economy, with oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP.

Addressing a session of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, which ended yesterday, Sheikha Lubna underlined UAE's commitment to sustainable development which shapes the country's domestic policy as well as international cooperation, both rooted deeply in the values of the country, shaped above all by the founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan.

Below is the full text of Sheikha Lubna's speech Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is an honor and a pleasure to address you here in Rio at this important event, which marks the 20th anniversary of the original Earth Summit, and which is likewise poised to influence the direction of sustainable development for our generation.

The United Arab Emirates is proud to be part of the global effort to enhance the sustainability of global development.

In many ways, the Rio process has marked important milestones in the UAE's development story.

When the first Earth Summit was held in Rio in 1992 the UAE as a country was just 20 years old.

Now, 20 years on, we have the opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made, and the challenges we still have ahead of us. I want to reflect on the UAE's progress on each of the pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental.

On economic development we have made great progress. Since the first Rio summit the UAE's economy has grown by over 400 percent.

Perhaps more importantly, we have made great progress in diversifying the base of our economy. Oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP. I will come back in a moment to the role that sustainability has played in this diversification.

On the social front, the UAE is now among the top 30 countries in the world as measured by the UNDP's Human Development Index. Great advances in health, education and prosperity underpin this progress.

I want especially to point to the active role that the UAE has taken in the empowerment of women. Twenty years ago women formed barely 10% of the workforce. Today, 77% of Emirati women continue to higher education from high school, and around 60% are in employment.

The UAE has 4 women cabinet ministers, and women are represented in government, the private sector, the judiciary and even the armed forces.

The environmental pillar has also long been important to us. Well before the first Rio summit the UAE had set aside significant areas for conservation.

But today that commitment to the environment is much further-reaching. Clean energy is a central plank of our development strategy. And we are innovating solutions in energy efficiency, water efficiency, building standards, and sustainable cities that we hope will have beneficial applications in our region and the world.

These ambitious activities have come together in the announcement this year by the UAE's Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, that the UAE is embarked upon a strategy of pursuing a Green Economy for Sustainable Development.

Today, this vision is driving a range of important initiatives across the UAE. Let me point to a few examples: - The UAE has adopted the first mandatory building efficiency codes in the region, and mandatory efficiency standards for cooling.

- Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant, one of the largest in the world.

- We are building Masdar City, a world-first low-carbon urban development powered by renewable energy and a test bed for cutting edge clean energy and efficiency technologies.

- The Masdar Institute, established together with the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, is the world's first postgraduate university solely dedicated to clean energy technology.

- The Emirati student body is roughly half women, and these students are already generating new clean energy technology and intellectual property today. Some of those students are with us here in Rio.

- Dubai has implemented the first light rail system in the region, which now carries more than 40 million passengers per year.

The UAE's commitment to sustainable development extends to international efforts too.

The UAE is a generous donor of international assistance.

Significant parts of our aid has driven progress on the Millennium Development Goals, particularly on issues such as health and education.

Increasingly, we are also putting our development assistance behind the wider deployment of renewable energy, with supported projects in Afghanistan, Tonga, Seychelles and others.

In addition, we are a major investor in clean energy internationally, for instance a new concentrating solar power plant in Spain opened last year as part of a joint venture between Masdar and Sener.

This commitment to international sustainable development efforts is underlined by our support for the International Renewable Energy Agency, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

This is part of a wider effort to help bring the world together on innovation and sustainability issues. Dubai hopes to be the host of the World Expo in 2020 under "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future" theme. Yesterday, we have announced " Abu Dhabi Sustainability week" that will take place Next January, bringing together the World Future Energy Summit, the International Water Summit, the International Renewable Energy Conference, IRENA's General Assembly and the Zayed Future Energy Prize Award Ceremony. We believe that such gatherings can help foster the deeper international cooperation essential for tackling the world's major challenges especially the Energy-Water Nexus.

So our commitment to sustainable development shapes both our domestic policy and our international cooperation. Both are rooted deeply in the values of our country, shaped above all by our founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan. These values include a respect for nature, an emphasis on education, a stress on rights and opportunities for women, and an open and tolerant society.

Much remains to be done. For instance, the UAE is working to reduce its' greenhouse gas emissions. This is challenging due to our cooling needs - a basic necessity in a hot arid environment - the need to desalinate water, and an energy intensive industrial base.

But we are committed to taking action to mitigate this effect, and the significant progress we have made in so many other areas of sustainable development gives me confidence that we can be an active contributor to the global solutions required here too.

We want the process beyond Rio to build on this kind of progress. I want to comment briefly on what I think has been achieved here in Rio, and where it take us next.

First, I welcome the launch of a process to develop Sustainable Development Goals, building on and complementing the existing MDGs. The UAE has been an enthusiastic supporter of this concept, and we intend to remain active in their further development.

It is no longer acceptable that more than 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity, or that over 780 million people still lack access to safe drinking water. Let us therefore agree to a set of priority areas, including energy, water, education and food security, to provide guidance to the SDG process. These themes are the corner stone in our global coordinated effort to eradicate poverty.

Second, we welcome the formal recognition of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, for which Masdar's CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber serves on the High Level Panel. These initiatives should generate a range of targeted and ambitious programs to drive clean energy and other sustainable sectors. We should build on the work of this initiative to drive access to energy around the world, using ever cleaner technologies.

Third, I am encouraged to see the Rio text recognize the central role that education and empowerment plays in any successful strategy to promote sustainable development. We should seek ways to enhance the empowerment of women, which has been such a central part of the UAE's success story.

Fourth, the recognition of the Eye on Earth network is an important endorsement of the important role played by high quality environmental information. We invite all countries to join us in this initiative, which helps deliver on goals set at the last Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002.

We also welcome the attention given to water issues in the text. It is clear to me that this raises questions about international governance of water that need further discussion. I would like to extend to you an invitation to participate in the next International Water Summit in Abu Dhabi next January as an important forum for taking what we have discussed and agreed upon in RIO into a concrete plan of action.

The scale of the sustainable development challenge ahead of us is undoubtedly large. But the experience of countries like the UAE provide practical, positive examples of what can be achieved in 20 years.

I look forward to meeting again in 2032 and sharing our experiences and hearing about yours. I have no doubt that we will still speak of formidable challenges ahead.

But I also believe that we will hear stories of human ingenuity creating a better world. 

Abu Dhabi and Dubai '- 100 MW solar plant (REVE)

Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant

UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi said the UAE had made great progress in diversifying the base of economy, with oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP.

Addressing a session of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, which ended yesterday, Sheikha Lubna underlined UAE's commitment to sustainable development which shapes the country's domestic policy as well as international cooperation, both rooted deeply in the values of the country, shaped above all by the founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan.

Below is the full text of Sheikha Lubna's speech Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is an honor and a pleasure to address you here in Rio at this important event, which marks the 20th anniversary of the original Earth Summit, and which is likewise poised to influence the direction of sustainable development for our generation.

The United Arab Emirates is proud to be part of the global effort to enhance the sustainability of global development.

In many ways, the Rio process has marked important milestones in the UAE's development story.

When the first Earth Summit was held in Rio in 1992 the UAE as a country was just 20 years old.

Now, 20 years on, we have the opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made, and the challenges we still have ahead of us. I want to reflect on the UAE's progress on each of the pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental.

On economic development we have made great progress. Since the first Rio summit the UAE's economy has grown by over 400 percent.

Perhaps more importantly, we have made great progress in diversifying the base of our economy. Oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP. I will come back in a moment to the role that sustainability has played in this diversification.

On the social front, the UAE is now among the top 30 countries in the world as measured by the UNDP's Human Development Index. Great advances in health, education and prosperity underpin this progress.

I want especially to point to the active role that the UAE has taken in the empowerment of women. Twenty years ago women formed barely 10% of the workforce. Today, 77% of Emirati women continue to higher education from high school, and around 60% are in employment.

The UAE has 4 women cabinet ministers, and women are represented in government, the private sector, the judiciary and even the armed forces.

The environmental pillar has also long been important to us. Well before the first Rio summit the UAE had set aside significant areas for conservation.

But today that commitment to the environment is much further-reaching. Clean energy is a central plank of our development strategy. And we are innovating solutions in energy efficiency, water efficiency, building standards, and sustainable cities that we hope will have beneficial applications in our region and the world.

These ambitious activities have come together in the announcement this year by the UAE's Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, that the UAE is embarked upon a strategy of pursuing a Green Economy for Sustainable Development.

Today, this vision is driving a range of important initiatives across the UAE. Let me point to a few examples: - The UAE has adopted the first mandatory building efficiency codes in the region, and mandatory efficiency standards for cooling.

- Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant, one of the largest in the world.

- We are building Masdar City, a world-first low-carbon urban development powered by renewable energy and a test bed for cutting edge clean energy and efficiency technologies.

- The Masdar Institute, established together with the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, is the world's first postgraduate university solely dedicated to clean energy technology.

- The Emirati student body is roughly half women, and these students are already generating new clean energy technology and intellectual property today. Some of those students are with us here in Rio.

- Dubai has implemented the first light rail system in the region, which now carries more than 40 million passengers per year.

The UAE's commitment to sustainable development extends to international efforts too.

The UAE is a generous donor of international assistance.

Significant parts of our aid has driven progress on the Millennium Development Goals, particularly on issues such as health and education.

Increasingly, we are also putting our development assistance behind the wider deployment of renewable energy, with supported projects in Afghanistan, Tonga, Seychelles and others.

In addition, we are a major investor in clean energy internationally, for instance a new concentrating solar power plant in Spain opened last year as part of a joint venture between Masdar and Sener.

This commitment to international sustainable development efforts is underlined by our support for the International Renewable Energy Agency, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

This is part of a wider effort to help bring the world together on innovation and sustainability issues. Dubai hopes to be the host of the World Expo in 2020 under "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future" theme. Yesterday, we have announced " Abu Dhabi Sustainability week" that will take place Next January, bringing together the World Future Energy Summit, the International Water Summit, the International Renewable Energy Conference, IRENA's General Assembly and the Zayed Future Energy Prize Award Ceremony. We believe that such gatherings can help foster the deeper international cooperation essential for tackling the world's major challenges especially the Energy-Water Nexus.

So our commitment to sustainable development shapes both our domestic policy and our international cooperation. Both are rooted deeply in the values of our country, shaped above all by our founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan. These values include a respect for nature, an emphasis on education, a stress on rights and opportunities for women, and an open and tolerant society.

Much remains to be done. For instance, the UAE is working to reduce its' greenhouse gas emissions. This is challenging due to our cooling needs - a basic necessity in a hot arid environment - the need to desalinate water, and an energy intensive industrial base.

But we are committed to taking action to mitigate this effect, and the significant progress we have made in so many other areas of sustainable development gives me confidence that we can be an active contributor to the global solutions required here too.

We want the process beyond Rio to build on this kind of progress. I want to comment briefly on what I think has been achieved here in Rio, and where it take us next.

First, I welcome the launch of a process to develop Sustainable Development Goals, building on and complementing the existing MDGs. The UAE has been an enthusiastic supporter of this concept, and we intend to remain active in their further development.

It is no longer acceptable that more than 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity, or that over 780 million people still lack access to safe drinking water. Let us therefore agree to a set of priority areas, including energy, water, education and food security, to provide guidance to the SDG process. These themes are the corner stone in our global coordinated effort to eradicate poverty.

Second, we welcome the formal recognition of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, for which Masdar's CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber serves on the High Level Panel. These initiatives should generate a range of targeted and ambitious programs to drive clean energy and other sustainable sectors. We should build on the work of this initiative to drive access to energy around the world, using ever cleaner technologies.

Third, I am encouraged to see the Rio text recognize the central role that education and empowerment plays in any successful strategy to promote sustainable development. We should seek ways to enhance the empowerment of women, which has been such a central part of the UAE's success story.

Fourth, the recognition of the Eye on Earth network is an important endorsement of the important role played by high quality environmental information. We invite all countries to join us in this initiative, which helps deliver on goals set at the last Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002.

We also welcome the attention given to water issues in the text. It is clear to me that this raises questions about international governance of water that need further discussion. I would like to extend to you an invitation to participate in the next International Water Summit in Abu Dhabi next January as an important forum for taking what we have discussed and agreed upon in RIO into a concrete plan of action.

The scale of the sustainable development challenge ahead of us is undoubtedly large. But the experience of countries like the UAE provide practical, positive examples of what can be achieved in 20 years.

I look forward to meeting again in 2032 and sharing our experiences and hearing about yours. I have no doubt that we will still speak of formidable challenges ahead.

But I also believe that we will hear stories of human ingenuity creating a better world. 

Abu Dhabi and Dubai '- 100 MW solar plant (REVE)

Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant

UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi said the UAE had made great progress in diversifying the base of economy, with oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP.

Addressing a session of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, which ended yesterday, Sheikha Lubna underlined UAE's commitment to sustainable development which shapes the country's domestic policy as well as international cooperation, both rooted deeply in the values of the country, shaped above all by the founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan.

Below is the full text of Sheikha Lubna's speech Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is an honor and a pleasure to address you here in Rio at this important event, which marks the 20th anniversary of the original Earth Summit, and which is likewise poised to influence the direction of sustainable development for our generation.

The United Arab Emirates is proud to be part of the global effort to enhance the sustainability of global development.

In many ways, the Rio process has marked important milestones in the UAE's development story.

When the first Earth Summit was held in Rio in 1992 the UAE as a country was just 20 years old.

Now, 20 years on, we have the opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made, and the challenges we still have ahead of us. I want to reflect on the UAE's progress on each of the pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental.

On economic development we have made great progress. Since the first Rio summit the UAE's economy has grown by over 400 percent.

Perhaps more importantly, we have made great progress in diversifying the base of our economy. Oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP. I will come back in a moment to the role that sustainability has played in this diversification.

On the social front, the UAE is now among the top 30 countries in the world as measured by the UNDP's Human Development Index. Great advances in health, education and prosperity underpin this progress.

I want especially to point to the active role that the UAE has taken in the empowerment of women. Twenty years ago women formed barely 10% of the workforce. Today, 77% of Emirati women continue to higher education from high school, and around 60% are in employment.

The UAE has 4 women cabinet ministers, and women are represented in government, the private sector, the judiciary and even the armed forces.

The environmental pillar has also long been important to us. Well before the first Rio summit the UAE had set aside significant areas for conservation.

But today that commitment to the environment is much further-reaching. Clean energy is a central plank of our development strategy. And we are innovating solutions in energy efficiency, water efficiency, building standards, and sustainable cities that we hope will have beneficial applications in our region and the world.

These ambitious activities have come together in the announcement this year by the UAE's Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, that the UAE is embarked upon a strategy of pursuing a Green Economy for Sustainable Development.

Today, this vision is driving a range of important initiatives across the UAE. Let me point to a few examples: - The UAE has adopted the first mandatory building efficiency codes in the region, and mandatory efficiency standards for cooling.

- Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant, one of the largest in the world.

- We are building Masdar City, a world-first low-carbon urban development powered by renewable energy and a test bed for cutting edge clean energy and efficiency technologies.

- The Masdar Institute, established together with the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, is the world's first postgraduate university solely dedicated to clean energy technology.

- The Emirati student body is roughly half women, and these students are already generating new clean energy technology and intellectual property today. Some of those students are with us here in Rio.

- Dubai has implemented the first light rail system in the region, which now carries more than 40 million passengers per year.

The UAE's commitment to sustainable development extends to international efforts too.

The UAE is a generous donor of international assistance.

Significant parts of our aid has driven progress on the Millennium Development Goals, particularly on issues such as health and education.

Increasingly, we are also putting our development assistance behind the wider deployment of renewable energy, with supported projects in Afghanistan, Tonga, Seychelles and others.

In addition, we are a major investor in clean energy internationally, for instance a new concentrating solar power plant in Spain opened last year as part of a joint venture between Masdar and Sener.

This commitment to international sustainable development efforts is underlined by our support for the International Renewable Energy Agency, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

This is part of a wider effort to help bring the world together on innovation and sustainability issues. Dubai hopes to be the host of the World Expo in 2020 under "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future" theme. Yesterday, we have announced " Abu Dhabi Sustainability week" that will take place Next January, bringing together the World Future Energy Summit, the International Water Summit, the International Renewable Energy Conference, IRENA's General Assembly and the Zayed Future Energy Prize Award Ceremony. We believe that such gatherings can help foster the deeper international cooperation essential for tackling the world's major challenges especially the Energy-Water Nexus.

So our commitment to sustainable development shapes both our domestic policy and our international cooperation. Both are rooted deeply in the values of our country, shaped above all by our founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan. These values include a respect for nature, an emphasis on education, a stress on rights and opportunities for women, and an open and tolerant society.

Much remains to be done. For instance, the UAE is working to reduce its' greenhouse gas emissions. This is challenging due to our cooling needs - a basic necessity in a hot arid environment - the need to desalinate water, and an energy intensive industrial base.

But we are committed to taking action to mitigate this effect, and the significant progress we have made in so many other areas of sustainable development gives me confidence that we can be an active contributor to the global solutions required here too.

We want the process beyond Rio to build on this kind of progress. I want to comment briefly on what I think has been achieved here in Rio, and where it take us next.

First, I welcome the launch of a process to develop Sustainable Development Goals, building on and complementing the existing MDGs. The UAE has been an enthusiastic supporter of this concept, and we intend to remain active in their further development.

It is no longer acceptable that more than 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity, or that over 780 million people still lack access to safe drinking water. Let us therefore agree to a set of priority areas, including energy, water, education and food security, to provide guidance to the SDG process. These themes are the corner stone in our global coordinated effort to eradicate poverty.

Second, we welcome the formal recognition of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, for which Masdar's CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber serves on the High Level Panel. These initiatives should generate a range of targeted and ambitious programs to drive clean energy and other sustainable sectors. We should build on the work of this initiative to drive access to energy around the world, using ever cleaner technologies.

Third, I am encouraged to see the Rio text recognize the central role that education and empowerment plays in any successful strategy to promote sustainable development. We should seek ways to enhance the empowerment of women, which has been such a central part of the UAE's success story.

Fourth, the recognition of the Eye on Earth network is an important endorsement of the important role played by high quality environmental information. We invite all countries to join us in this initiative, which helps deliver on goals set at the last Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002.

We also welcome the attention given to water issues in the text. It is clear to me that this raises questions about international governance of water that need further discussion. I would like to extend to you an invitation to participate in the next International Water Summit in Abu Dhabi next January as an important forum for taking what we have discussed and agreed upon in RIO into a concrete plan of action.

The scale of the sustainable development challenge ahead of us is undoubtedly large. But the experience of countries like the UAE provide practical, positive examples of what can be achieved in 20 years.

I look forward to meeting again in 2032 and sharing our experiences and hearing about yours. I have no doubt that we will still speak of formidable challenges ahead.

But I also believe that we will hear stories of human ingenuity creating a better world. 

Abu Dhabi and Dubai '- 100 MW solar plant (REVE)

Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant

UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi said the UAE had made great progress in diversifying the base of economy, with oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP.

Addressing a session of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, which ended yesterday, Sheikha Lubna underlined UAE's commitment to sustainable development which shapes the country's domestic policy as well as international cooperation, both rooted deeply in the values of the country, shaped above all by the founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan.

Below is the full text of Sheikha Lubna's speech Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is an honor and a pleasure to address you here in Rio at this important event, which marks the 20th anniversary of the original Earth Summit, and which is likewise poised to influence the direction of sustainable development for our generation.

The United Arab Emirates is proud to be part of the global effort to enhance the sustainability of global development.

In many ways, the Rio process has marked important milestones in the UAE's development story.

When the first Earth Summit was held in Rio in 1992 the UAE as a country was just 20 years old.

Now, 20 years on, we have the opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made, and the challenges we still have ahead of us. I want to reflect on the UAE's progress on each of the pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental.

On economic development we have made great progress. Since the first Rio summit the UAE's economy has grown by over 400 percent.

Perhaps more importantly, we have made great progress in diversifying the base of our economy. Oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP. I will come back in a moment to the role that sustainability has played in this diversification.

On the social front, the UAE is now among the top 30 countries in the world as measured by the UNDP's Human Development Index. Great advances in health, education and prosperity underpin this progress.

I want especially to point to the active role that the UAE has taken in the empowerment of women. Twenty years ago women formed barely 10% of the workforce. Today, 77% of Emirati women continue to higher education from high school, and around 60% are in employment.

The UAE has 4 women cabinet ministers, and women are represented in government, the private sector, the judiciary and even the armed forces.

The environmental pillar has also long been important to us. Well before the first Rio summit the UAE had set aside significant areas for conservation.

But today that commitment to the environment is much further-reaching. Clean energy is a central plank of our development strategy. And we are innovating solutions in energy efficiency, water efficiency, building standards, and sustainable cities that we hope will have beneficial applications in our region and the world.

These ambitious activities have come together in the announcement this year by the UAE's Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, that the UAE is embarked upon a strategy of pursuing a Green Economy for Sustainable Development.

Today, this vision is driving a range of important initiatives across the UAE. Let me point to a few examples: - The UAE has adopted the first mandatory building efficiency codes in the region, and mandatory efficiency standards for cooling.

- Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant, one of the largest in the world.

- We are building Masdar City, a world-first low-carbon urban development powered by renewable energy and a test bed for cutting edge clean energy and efficiency technologies.

- The Masdar Institute, established together with the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, is the world's first postgraduate university solely dedicated to clean energy technology.

- The Emirati student body is roughly half women, and these students are already generating new clean energy technology and intellectual property today. Some of those students are with us here in Rio.

- Dubai has implemented the first light rail system in the region, which now carries more than 40 million passengers per year.

The UAE's commitment to sustainable development extends to international efforts too.

The UAE is a generous donor of international assistance.

Significant parts of our aid has driven progress on the Millennium Development Goals, particularly on issues such as health and education.

Increasingly, we are also putting our development assistance behind the wider deployment of renewable energy, with supported projects in Afghanistan, Tonga, Seychelles and others.

In addition, we are a major investor in clean energy internationally, for instance a new concentrating solar power plant in Spain opened last year as part of a joint venture between Masdar and Sener.

This commitment to international sustainable development efforts is underlined by our support for the International Renewable Energy Agency, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

This is part of a wider effort to help bring the world together on innovation and sustainability issues. Dubai hopes to be the host of the World Expo in 2020 under "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future" theme. Yesterday, we have announced " Abu Dhabi Sustainability week" that will take place Next January, bringing together the World Future Energy Summit, the International Water Summit, the International Renewable Energy Conference, IRENA's General Assembly and the Zayed Future Energy Prize Award Ceremony. We believe that such gatherings can help foster the deeper international cooperation essential for tackling the world's major challenges especially the Energy-Water Nexus.

So our commitment to sustainable development shapes both our domestic policy and our international cooperation. Both are rooted deeply in the values of our country, shaped above all by our founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan. These values include a respect for nature, an emphasis on education, a stress on rights and opportunities for women, and an open and tolerant society.

Much remains to be done. For instance, the UAE is working to reduce its' greenhouse gas emissions. This is challenging due to our cooling needs - a basic necessity in a hot arid environment - the need to desalinate water, and an energy intensive industrial base.

But we are committed to taking action to mitigate this effect, and the significant progress we have made in so many other areas of sustainable development gives me confidence that we can be an active contributor to the global solutions required here too.

We want the process beyond Rio to build on this kind of progress. I want to comment briefly on what I think has been achieved here in Rio, and where it take us next.

First, I welcome the launch of a process to develop Sustainable Development Goals, building on and complementing the existing MDGs. The UAE has been an enthusiastic supporter of this concept, and we intend to remain active in their further development.

It is no longer acceptable that more than 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity, or that over 780 million people still lack access to safe drinking water. Let us therefore agree to a set of priority areas, including energy, water, education and food security, to provide guidance to the SDG process. These themes are the corner stone in our global coordinated effort to eradicate poverty.

Second, we welcome the formal recognition of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, for which Masdar's CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber serves on the High Level Panel. These initiatives should generate a range of targeted and ambitious programs to drive clean energy and other sustainable sectors. We should build on the work of this initiative to drive access to energy around the world, using ever cleaner technologies.

Third, I am encouraged to see the Rio text recognize the central role that education and empowerment plays in any successful strategy to promote sustainable development. We should seek ways to enhance the empowerment of women, which has been such a central part of the UAE's success story.

Fourth, the recognition of the Eye on Earth network is an important endorsement of the important role played by high quality environmental information. We invite all countries to join us in this initiative, which helps deliver on goals set at the last Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002.

We also welcome the attention given to water issues in the text. It is clear to me that this raises questions about international governance of water that need further discussion. I would like to extend to you an invitation to participate in the next International Water Summit in Abu Dhabi next January as an important forum for taking what we have discussed and agreed upon in RIO into a concrete plan of action.

The scale of the sustainable development challenge ahead of us is undoubtedly large. But the experience of countries like the UAE provide practical, positive examples of what can be achieved in 20 years.

I look forward to meeting again in 2032 and sharing our experiences and hearing about yours. I have no doubt that we will still speak of formidable challenges ahead.

But I also believe that we will hear stories of human ingenuity creating a better world. 

Abu Dhabi and Dubai '- 100 MW solar plant (REVE)

Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant

UAE Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi said the UAE had made great progress in diversifying the base of economy, with oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP.

Addressing a session of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, which ended yesterday, Sheikha Lubna underlined UAE's commitment to sustainable development which shapes the country's domestic policy as well as international cooperation, both rooted deeply in the values of the country, shaped above all by the founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan.

Below is the full text of Sheikha Lubna's speech Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is an honor and a pleasure to address you here in Rio at this important event, which marks the 20th anniversary of the original Earth Summit, and which is likewise poised to influence the direction of sustainable development for our generation.

The United Arab Emirates is proud to be part of the global effort to enhance the sustainability of global development.

In many ways, the Rio process has marked important milestones in the UAE's development story.

When the first Earth Summit was held in Rio in 1992 the UAE as a country was just 20 years old.

Now, 20 years on, we have the opportunity to reflect on the progress we have made, and the challenges we still have ahead of us. I want to reflect on the UAE's progress on each of the pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental.

On economic development we have made great progress. Since the first Rio summit the UAE's economy has grown by over 400 percent.

Perhaps more importantly, we have made great progress in diversifying the base of our economy. Oil and gas production, while still very important, now accounts for only about a third of GDP. I will come back in a moment to the role that sustainability has played in this diversification.

On the social front, the UAE is now among the top 30 countries in the world as measured by the UNDP's Human Development Index. Great advances in health, education and prosperity underpin this progress.

I want especially to point to the active role that the UAE has taken in the empowerment of women. Twenty years ago women formed barely 10% of the workforce. Today, 77% of Emirati women continue to higher education from high school, and around 60% are in employment.

The UAE has 4 women cabinet ministers, and women are represented in government, the private sector, the judiciary and even the armed forces.

The environmental pillar has also long been important to us. Well before the first Rio summit the UAE had set aside significant areas for conservation.

But today that commitment to the environment is much further-reaching. Clean energy is a central plank of our development strategy. And we are innovating solutions in energy efficiency, water efficiency, building standards, and sustainable cities that we hope will have beneficial applications in our region and the world.

These ambitious activities have come together in the announcement this year by the UAE's Prime Minister, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, that the UAE is embarked upon a strategy of pursuing a Green Economy for Sustainable Development.

Today, this vision is driving a range of important initiatives across the UAE. Let me point to a few examples: - The UAE has adopted the first mandatory building efficiency codes in the region, and mandatory efficiency standards for cooling.

- Abu Dhabi and Dubai have set the region's first renewable energy targets, and this year we are opening a 100MW concentrating solar plant, one of the largest in the world.

- We are building Masdar City, a world-first low-carbon urban development powered by renewable energy and a test bed for cutting edge clean energy and efficiency technologies.

- The Masdar Institute, established together with the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, is the world's first postgraduate university solely dedicated to clean energy technology.

- The Emirati student body is roughly half women, and these students are already generating new clean energy technology and intellectual property today. Some of those students are with us here in Rio.

- Dubai has implemented the first light rail system in the region, which now carries more than 40 million passengers per year.

The UAE's commitment to sustainable development extends to international efforts too.

The UAE is a generous donor of international assistance.

Significant parts of our aid has driven progress on the Millennium Development Goals, particularly on issues such as health and education.

Increasingly, we are also putting our development assistance behind the wider deployment of renewable energy, with supported projects in Afghanistan, Tonga, Seychelles and others.

In addition, we are a major investor in clean energy internationally, for instance a new concentrating solar power plant in Spain opened last year as part of a joint venture between Masdar and Sener.

This commitment to international sustainable development efforts is underlined by our support for the International Renewable Energy Agency, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

This is part of a wider effort to help bring the world together on innovation and sustainability issues. Dubai hopes to be the host of the World Expo in 2020 under "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future" theme. Yesterday, we have announced " Abu Dhabi Sustainability week" that will take place Next January, bringing together the World Future Energy Summit, the International Water Summit, the International Renewable Energy Conference, IRENA's General Assembly and the Zayed Future Energy Prize Award Ceremony. We believe that such gatherings can help foster the deeper international cooperation essential for tackling the world's major challenges especially the Energy-Water Nexus.

So our commitment to sustainable development shapes both our domestic policy and our international cooperation. Both are rooted deeply in the values of our country, shaped above all by our founding father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan. These values include a respect for nature, an emphasis on education, a stress on rights and opportunities for women, and an open and tolerant society.

Much remains to be done. For instance, the UAE is working to reduce its' greenhouse gas emissions. This is challenging due to our cooling needs - a basic necessity in a hot arid environment - the need to desalinate water, and an energy intensive industrial base.

But we are committed to taking action to mitigate this effect, and the significant progress we have made in so many other areas of sustainable development gives me confidence that we can be an active contributor to the global solutions required here too.

We want the process beyond Rio to build on this kind of progress. I want to comment briefly on what I think has been achieved here in Rio, and where it take us next.

First, I welcome the launch of a process to develop Sustainable Development Goals, building on and complementing the existing MDGs. The UAE has been an enthusiastic supporter of this concept, and we intend to remain active in their further development.

It is no longer acceptable that more than 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity, or that over 780 million people still lack access to safe drinking water. Let us therefore agree to a set of priority areas, including energy, water, education and food security, to provide guidance to the SDG process. These themes are the corner stone in our global coordinated effort to eradicate poverty.

Second, we welcome the formal recognition of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, for which Masdar's CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber serves on the High Level Panel. These initiatives should generate a range of targeted and ambitious programs to drive clean energy and other sustainable sectors. We should build on the work of this initiative to drive access to energy around the world, using ever cleaner technologies.

Third, I am encouraged to see the Rio text recognize the central role that education and empowerment plays in any successful strategy to promote sustainable development. We should seek ways to enhance the empowerment of women, which has been such a central part of the UAE's success story.

Fourth, the recognition of the Eye on Earth network is an important endorsement of the important role played by high quality environmental information. We invite all countries to join us in this initiative, which helps deliver on goals set at the last Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002.

We also welcome the attention given to water issues in the text. It is clear to me that this raises questions about international governance of water that need further discussion. I would like to extend to you an invitation to participate in the next International Water Summit in Abu Dhabi next January as an important forum for taking what we have discussed and agreed upon in RIO into a concrete plan of action.

The scale of the sustainable development challenge ahead of us is undoubtedly large. But the experience of countries like the UAE provide practical, positive examples of what can be achieved in 20 years.

I look forward to meeting again in 2032 and sharing our experiences and hearing about yours. I have no doubt that we will still speak of formidable challenges ahead.

But I also believe that we will hear stories of human ingenuity creating a better world. 

German economy appears to be successfully deying the downturn in Europe (Spiegel)

German companies are astonishingly optimistic about their outlook despite the euro crisis, according to the Ifo institute's monthly business climate index, one of the country's most important leading indicators, which rose in December for the second month in a row.

The index increased to 107.2 points from 106.6, Ifo said on Tuesday, surprising economists who had on average predicted a decline. "The German economy appears to be successfully defying the downturn in Western Europe," said Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn in a statement.
The current conditions component of the index remained unchanged at 116.7 from the previous two months, in a sign that the 7,000 corporate executives interviewed in the survey were as upbeat about the current state of their business as they had been in November and October.
The future expectations component, measuring the executives' assessment for the coming six months, improved to 98.4 points from 97.3.
There have been increasing signs that the euro zone as a whole, including France, its second largest economy, will slide into recession in 2012. But Germany, thanks to its broad industrial base and strong exports to countries outside the euro zone, especially emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, will weather the storm, economists said.
"The figures give rise to optimism that there won't be a big downturn in the German economy," said Rainer Sartorius of bank HSBC Trinkaus. "The first and second quarters of 2012 will definitely be weak but we expect the German economy to pick up steam again in the further course of the year."
The Ifo figures boosted German share prices, with the DAX index rising 0.7 percent to just under 5,700 points immediately after the data were released.
Consumer Sentiment Strong
Another positive surprise came earlier on Tuesday with the release of the December consumer climate index from market research institute GfK, which showed the first rise in economic expectations in five months.
"Despite rising economic risks and further escalation of the debt crisis, Germans are once again more optimistic about the future," GfK said in a statement. Consumers were anticipating higher incomes next year, it added. The institute's forward-looking indicator for January remained unchanged from December's.

"The economic indicator is defying the rising fears of recession and the most recent escalation in the debt crisis in the euro zone," GfK said. "Consumers are evidently more perceptive at present than they have been in previous months to the economic environment, which remains extremely favorable. With most German companies operating at above-average capacity, the labor market is very robust and unemployment figures continue to fall."
GfK said it remained to be seen whether the trend would continue, though. "The European debt crisis is increasingly likely to become a problem for Germany's export economy if a number of countries are forced to reduce imports due to consolidation pressures on government budgets. This would also affect future export prospects for Germany and is already evident in the growth forecasts for 2012."
But for many German economists the message of the latest indicators is clear -- any downturn next year will be mild, and there will be no repeat of the severe slump of 2009 when German GDP shrank by five percent.

cro -- with wires

German economy appears to be successfully deying the downturn in Europe (Spiegel)

German companies are astonishingly optimistic about their outlook despite the euro crisis, according to the Ifo institute's monthly business climate index, one of the country's most important leading indicators, which rose in December for the second month in a row.

The index increased to 107.2 points from 106.6, Ifo said on Tuesday, surprising economists who had on average predicted a decline. "The German economy appears to be successfully defying the downturn in Western Europe," said Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn in a statement.
The current conditions component of the index remained unchanged at 116.7 from the previous two months, in a sign that the 7,000 corporate executives interviewed in the survey were as upbeat about the current state of their business as they had been in November and October.
The future expectations component, measuring the executives' assessment for the coming six months, improved to 98.4 points from 97.3.
There have been increasing signs that the euro zone as a whole, including France, its second largest economy, will slide into recession in 2012. But Germany, thanks to its broad industrial base and strong exports to countries outside the euro zone, especially emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, will weather the storm, economists said.
"The figures give rise to optimism that there won't be a big downturn in the German economy," said Rainer Sartorius of bank HSBC Trinkaus. "The first and second quarters of 2012 will definitely be weak but we expect the German economy to pick up steam again in the further course of the year."
The Ifo figures boosted German share prices, with the DAX index rising 0.7 percent to just under 5,700 points immediately after the data were released.
Consumer Sentiment Strong
Another positive surprise came earlier on Tuesday with the release of the December consumer climate index from market research institute GfK, which showed the first rise in economic expectations in five months.
"Despite rising economic risks and further escalation of the debt crisis, Germans are once again more optimistic about the future," GfK said in a statement. Consumers were anticipating higher incomes next year, it added. The institute's forward-looking indicator for January remained unchanged from December's.

"The economic indicator is defying the rising fears of recession and the most recent escalation in the debt crisis in the euro zone," GfK said. "Consumers are evidently more perceptive at present than they have been in previous months to the economic environment, which remains extremely favorable. With most German companies operating at above-average capacity, the labor market is very robust and unemployment figures continue to fall."
GfK said it remained to be seen whether the trend would continue, though. "The European debt crisis is increasingly likely to become a problem for Germany's export economy if a number of countries are forced to reduce imports due to consolidation pressures on government budgets. This would also affect future export prospects for Germany and is already evident in the growth forecasts for 2012."
But for many German economists the message of the latest indicators is clear -- any downturn next year will be mild, and there will be no repeat of the severe slump of 2009 when German GDP shrank by five percent.

cro -- with wires

German economy appears to be successfully deying the downturn in Europe (Spiegel)

German companies are astonishingly optimistic about their outlook despite the euro crisis, according to the Ifo institute's monthly business climate index, one of the country's most important leading indicators, which rose in December for the second month in a row.

The index increased to 107.2 points from 106.6, Ifo said on Tuesday, surprising economists who had on average predicted a decline. "The German economy appears to be successfully defying the downturn in Western Europe," said Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn in a statement.
The current conditions component of the index remained unchanged at 116.7 from the previous two months, in a sign that the 7,000 corporate executives interviewed in the survey were as upbeat about the current state of their business as they had been in November and October.
The future expectations component, measuring the executives' assessment for the coming six months, improved to 98.4 points from 97.3.
There have been increasing signs that the euro zone as a whole, including France, its second largest economy, will slide into recession in 2012. But Germany, thanks to its broad industrial base and strong exports to countries outside the euro zone, especially emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, will weather the storm, economists said.
"The figures give rise to optimism that there won't be a big downturn in the German economy," said Rainer Sartorius of bank HSBC Trinkaus. "The first and second quarters of 2012 will definitely be weak but we expect the German economy to pick up steam again in the further course of the year."
The Ifo figures boosted German share prices, with the DAX index rising 0.7 percent to just under 5,700 points immediately after the data were released.
Consumer Sentiment Strong
Another positive surprise came earlier on Tuesday with the release of the December consumer climate index from market research institute GfK, which showed the first rise in economic expectations in five months.
"Despite rising economic risks and further escalation of the debt crisis, Germans are once again more optimistic about the future," GfK said in a statement. Consumers were anticipating higher incomes next year, it added. The institute's forward-looking indicator for January remained unchanged from December's.

"The economic indicator is defying the rising fears of recession and the most recent escalation in the debt crisis in the euro zone," GfK said. "Consumers are evidently more perceptive at present than they have been in previous months to the economic environment, which remains extremely favorable. With most German companies operating at above-average capacity, the labor market is very robust and unemployment figures continue to fall."
GfK said it remained to be seen whether the trend would continue, though. "The European debt crisis is increasingly likely to become a problem for Germany's export economy if a number of countries are forced to reduce imports due to consolidation pressures on government budgets. This would also affect future export prospects for Germany and is already evident in the growth forecasts for 2012."
But for many German economists the message of the latest indicators is clear -- any downturn next year will be mild, and there will be no repeat of the severe slump of 2009 when German GDP shrank by five percent.

cro -- with wires

German economy appears to be successfully deying the downturn in Europe (Spiegel)

German companies are astonishingly optimistic about their outlook despite the euro crisis, according to the Ifo institute's monthly business climate index, one of the country's most important leading indicators, which rose in December for the second month in a row.

The index increased to 107.2 points from 106.6, Ifo said on Tuesday, surprising economists who had on average predicted a decline. "The German economy appears to be successfully defying the downturn in Western Europe," said Ifo President Hans-Werner Sinn in a statement.
The current conditions component of the index remained unchanged at 116.7 from the previous two months, in a sign that the 7,000 corporate executives interviewed in the survey were as upbeat about the current state of their business as they had been in November and October.
The future expectations component, measuring the executives' assessment for the coming six months, improved to 98.4 points from 97.3.
There have been increasing signs that the euro zone as a whole, including France, its second largest economy, will slide into recession in 2012. But Germany, thanks to its broad industrial base and strong exports to countries outside the euro zone, especially emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, will weather the storm, economists said.
"The figures give rise to optimism that there won't be a big downturn in the German economy," said Rainer Sartorius of bank HSBC Trinkaus. "The first and second quarters of 2012 will definitely be weak but we expect the German economy to pick up steam again in the further course of the year."
The Ifo figures boosted German share prices, with the DAX index rising 0.7 percent to just under 5,700 points immediately after the data were released.
Consumer Sentiment Strong
Another positive surprise came earlier on Tuesday with the release of the December consumer climate index from market research institute GfK, which showed the first rise in economic expectations in five months.
"Despite rising economic risks and further escalation of the debt crisis, Germans are once again more optimistic about the future," GfK said in a statement. Consumers were anticipating higher incomes next year, it added. The institute's forward-looking indicator for January remained unchanged from December's.

"The economic indicator is defying the rising fears of recession and the most recent escalation in the debt crisis in the euro zone," GfK said. "Consumers are evidently more perceptive at present than they have been in previous months to the economic environment, which remains extremely favorable. With most German companies operating at above-average capacity, the labor market is very robust and unemployment figures continue to fall."
GfK said it remained to be seen whether the trend would continue, though. "The European debt crisis is increasingly likely to become a problem for Germany's export economy if a number of countries are forced to reduce imports due to consolidation pressures on government budgets. This would also affect future export prospects for Germany and is already evident in the growth forecasts for 2012."
But for many German economists the message of the latest indicators is clear -- any downturn next year will be mild, and there will be no repeat of the severe slump of 2009 when German GDP shrank by five percent.

cro -- with wires

Superávit Alemán en 2016 (Spiegel)

El Gobierno alemán estima que en 2016 logrará, por primera vez en cuatro décadas, acabar el año con superávit en las cuentas públicas, según han avanzado hoy fuentes del Ministerio de Finanzas.

El aumento de la recaudación fiscal y los intereses históricamente bajos que Alemania paga por colocar sus bonos han permitido al Ejecutivo acelerar el proceso de reducción de la abultada deuda estatal, superior al 80% de su Producto Interior Bruto (PIB) o 1,3 billones de euros.

El Gobierno de la canciller Angela Merkel prevé además que los presupuestos generales de 2013 ya cumplan con el nivel máximo de déficit del 0,35%, tres años antes de lo estipulado en la legislación germana.

Así, el nuevo endeudamiento de la primera economía europea en el próximo ejercicio alcanzará los 18.800 millones de euros, según los presupuestos generales alemanes para 2013 y las líneas financieras para el próximo lustro que el próximo miércoles sancionará el Consejo de Ministros.

Frente a esta cifra están los 32.100 millones de euros de déficit que Alemania prevé acumular en 2012 y los 19.600 millones de euros estimados en el primer borrador de presupuestos para el año que viene, realizado el pasado marzo.

Una gran coalición de cristianodemócratas y socialdemócratas encabezada por Merkel aprobó en 2009 una reforma constitucional que sancionaba el "freno de la deuda" que posteriormente la canciller abogó por implantar en toda la UE.

Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain may hog most of the negative press when it comes to debt in Europe. But Germany too has been in violation of European Union budget rules in recent years, posting a deficit of 4.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010, well above the 3 percent maximum imposed by the Maastricht Treaty.

On Friday, though, Germany's Federal Statistics Office announced that the country's deficit plunged in 2011 and, at 1 percent, is now well within EU limits. The healthy outcome was primarily the result of strong economic growth of 3 percent in 2011, which boosted tax revenues. Whereas the country's deficit was over €100 billion in 2010, it plunged to just €25.8 billion last year.
Still, there are concerns. The Statistics Office confirmed a preliminary announcement made earlier this month that the German economy had contracted by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. The drop was largely due to a 0.8 percent fall in exports following third quarter growth of 2.6 percent. Furthermore, it was announced earlier this week that German tax revenues had fallen in January for the first time since the summer of 2010.
The economic slowdown mirrors the difficulties facing the European Union. On Thursday, the European Commission forecasted that the euro-zone economy would contract by 0.3 percent in 2012 and expects eight of the zone's 17 member states to enter recession. Leading the way into the red will be Greece, with a forecast contraction of 4.4 percent. As recently as last November, the European Commission had forecast euro-zone growth of 0.5 percent.
Germany, however, is expected to buck the trend along with France. Growth in the two countries is to be 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, according to Commission forecasts. "The outlook for the German economy improved perceptibly," said the German central bank in a statement released earlier this week.
And despite the drop in demand for German exports in the euro zone, forward looking indicators are strong. A key business sentiment survey performed by the Munich-based Ifo Institute rose to its highest level in seven months in February.

cgh -- with wire reports

Superávit Alemán en 2016 (Spiegel)

El Gobierno alemán estima que en 2016 logrará, por primera vez en cuatro décadas, acabar el año con superávit en las cuentas públicas, según han avanzado hoy fuentes del Ministerio de Finanzas.

El aumento de la recaudación fiscal y los intereses históricamente bajos que Alemania paga por colocar sus bonos han permitido al Ejecutivo acelerar el proceso de reducción de la abultada deuda estatal, superior al 80% de su Producto Interior Bruto (PIB) o 1,3 billones de euros.

El Gobierno de la canciller Angela Merkel prevé además que los presupuestos generales de 2013 ya cumplan con el nivel máximo de déficit del 0,35%, tres años antes de lo estipulado en la legislación germana.

Así, el nuevo endeudamiento de la primera economía europea en el próximo ejercicio alcanzará los 18.800 millones de euros, según los presupuestos generales alemanes para 2013 y las líneas financieras para el próximo lustro que el próximo miércoles sancionará el Consejo de Ministros.

Frente a esta cifra están los 32.100 millones de euros de déficit que Alemania prevé acumular en 2012 y los 19.600 millones de euros estimados en el primer borrador de presupuestos para el año que viene, realizado el pasado marzo.

Una gran coalición de cristianodemócratas y socialdemócratas encabezada por Merkel aprobó en 2009 una reforma constitucional que sancionaba el "freno de la deuda" que posteriormente la canciller abogó por implantar en toda la UE.

Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain may hog most of the negative press when it comes to debt in Europe. But Germany too has been in violation of European Union budget rules in recent years, posting a deficit of 4.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010, well above the 3 percent maximum imposed by the Maastricht Treaty.

On Friday, though, Germany's Federal Statistics Office announced that the country's deficit plunged in 2011 and, at 1 percent, is now well within EU limits. The healthy outcome was primarily the result of strong economic growth of 3 percent in 2011, which boosted tax revenues. Whereas the country's deficit was over €100 billion in 2010, it plunged to just €25.8 billion last year.
Still, there are concerns. The Statistics Office confirmed a preliminary announcement made earlier this month that the German economy had contracted by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. The drop was largely due to a 0.8 percent fall in exports following third quarter growth of 2.6 percent. Furthermore, it was announced earlier this week that German tax revenues had fallen in January for the first time since the summer of 2010.
The economic slowdown mirrors the difficulties facing the European Union. On Thursday, the European Commission forecasted that the euro-zone economy would contract by 0.3 percent in 2012 and expects eight of the zone's 17 member states to enter recession. Leading the way into the red will be Greece, with a forecast contraction of 4.4 percent. As recently as last November, the European Commission had forecast euro-zone growth of 0.5 percent.
Germany, however, is expected to buck the trend along with France. Growth in the two countries is to be 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, according to Commission forecasts. "The outlook for the German economy improved perceptibly," said the German central bank in a statement released earlier this week.
And despite the drop in demand for German exports in the euro zone, forward looking indicators are strong. A key business sentiment survey performed by the Munich-based Ifo Institute rose to its highest level in seven months in February.

cgh -- with wire reports

Superávit Alemán en 2016 (Spiegel)

El Gobierno alemán estima que en 2016 logrará, por primera vez en cuatro décadas, acabar el año con superávit en las cuentas públicas, según han avanzado hoy fuentes del Ministerio de Finanzas.

El aumento de la recaudación fiscal y los intereses históricamente bajos que Alemania paga por colocar sus bonos han permitido al Ejecutivo acelerar el proceso de reducción de la abultada deuda estatal, superior al 80% de su Producto Interior Bruto (PIB) o 1,3 billones de euros.

El Gobierno de la canciller Angela Merkel prevé además que los presupuestos generales de 2013 ya cumplan con el nivel máximo de déficit del 0,35%, tres años antes de lo estipulado en la legislación germana.

Así, el nuevo endeudamiento de la primera economía europea en el próximo ejercicio alcanzará los 18.800 millones de euros, según los presupuestos generales alemanes para 2013 y las líneas financieras para el próximo lustro que el próximo miércoles sancionará el Consejo de Ministros.

Frente a esta cifra están los 32.100 millones de euros de déficit que Alemania prevé acumular en 2012 y los 19.600 millones de euros estimados en el primer borrador de presupuestos para el año que viene, realizado el pasado marzo.

Una gran coalición de cristianodemócratas y socialdemócratas encabezada por Merkel aprobó en 2009 una reforma constitucional que sancionaba el "freno de la deuda" que posteriormente la canciller abogó por implantar en toda la UE.

Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain may hog most of the negative press when it comes to debt in Europe. But Germany too has been in violation of European Union budget rules in recent years, posting a deficit of 4.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010, well above the 3 percent maximum imposed by the Maastricht Treaty.

On Friday, though, Germany's Federal Statistics Office announced that the country's deficit plunged in 2011 and, at 1 percent, is now well within EU limits. The healthy outcome was primarily the result of strong economic growth of 3 percent in 2011, which boosted tax revenues. Whereas the country's deficit was over €100 billion in 2010, it plunged to just €25.8 billion last year.
Still, there are concerns. The Statistics Office confirmed a preliminary announcement made earlier this month that the German economy had contracted by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. The drop was largely due to a 0.8 percent fall in exports following third quarter growth of 2.6 percent. Furthermore, it was announced earlier this week that German tax revenues had fallen in January for the first time since the summer of 2010.
The economic slowdown mirrors the difficulties facing the European Union. On Thursday, the European Commission forecasted that the euro-zone economy would contract by 0.3 percent in 2012 and expects eight of the zone's 17 member states to enter recession. Leading the way into the red will be Greece, with a forecast contraction of 4.4 percent. As recently as last November, the European Commission had forecast euro-zone growth of 0.5 percent.
Germany, however, is expected to buck the trend along with France. Growth in the two countries is to be 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, according to Commission forecasts. "The outlook for the German economy improved perceptibly," said the German central bank in a statement released earlier this week.
And despite the drop in demand for German exports in the euro zone, forward looking indicators are strong. A key business sentiment survey performed by the Munich-based Ifo Institute rose to its highest level in seven months in February.

cgh -- with wire reports

Superávit Alemán en 2016 (Spiegel)

El Gobierno alemán estima que en 2016 logrará, por primera vez en cuatro décadas, acabar el año con superávit en las cuentas públicas, según han avanzado hoy fuentes del Ministerio de Finanzas.

El aumento de la recaudación fiscal y los intereses históricamente bajos que Alemania paga por colocar sus bonos han permitido al Ejecutivo acelerar el proceso de reducción de la abultada deuda estatal, superior al 80% de su Producto Interior Bruto (PIB) o 1,3 billones de euros.

El Gobierno de la canciller Angela Merkel prevé además que los presupuestos generales de 2013 ya cumplan con el nivel máximo de déficit del 0,35%, tres años antes de lo estipulado en la legislación germana.

Así, el nuevo endeudamiento de la primera economía europea en el próximo ejercicio alcanzará los 18.800 millones de euros, según los presupuestos generales alemanes para 2013 y las líneas financieras para el próximo lustro que el próximo miércoles sancionará el Consejo de Ministros.

Frente a esta cifra están los 32.100 millones de euros de déficit que Alemania prevé acumular en 2012 y los 19.600 millones de euros estimados en el primer borrador de presupuestos para el año que viene, realizado el pasado marzo.

Una gran coalición de cristianodemócratas y socialdemócratas encabezada por Merkel aprobó en 2009 una reforma constitucional que sancionaba el "freno de la deuda" que posteriormente la canciller abogó por implantar en toda la UE.

Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain may hog most of the negative press when it comes to debt in Europe. But Germany too has been in violation of European Union budget rules in recent years, posting a deficit of 4.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010, well above the 3 percent maximum imposed by the Maastricht Treaty.

On Friday, though, Germany's Federal Statistics Office announced that the country's deficit plunged in 2011 and, at 1 percent, is now well within EU limits. The healthy outcome was primarily the result of strong economic growth of 3 percent in 2011, which boosted tax revenues. Whereas the country's deficit was over €100 billion in 2010, it plunged to just €25.8 billion last year.
Still, there are concerns. The Statistics Office confirmed a preliminary announcement made earlier this month that the German economy had contracted by 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. The drop was largely due to a 0.8 percent fall in exports following third quarter growth of 2.6 percent. Furthermore, it was announced earlier this week that German tax revenues had fallen in January for the first time since the summer of 2010.
The economic slowdown mirrors the difficulties facing the European Union. On Thursday, the European Commission forecasted that the euro-zone economy would contract by 0.3 percent in 2012 and expects eight of the zone's 17 member states to enter recession. Leading the way into the red will be Greece, with a forecast contraction of 4.4 percent. As recently as last November, the European Commission had forecast euro-zone growth of 0.5 percent.
Germany, however, is expected to buck the trend along with France. Growth in the two countries is to be 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, according to Commission forecasts. "The outlook for the German economy improved perceptibly," said the German central bank in a statement released earlier this week.
And despite the drop in demand for German exports in the euro zone, forward looking indicators are strong. A key business sentiment survey performed by the Munich-based Ifo Institute rose to its highest level in seven months in February.

cgh -- with wire reports

Alberto Quirós Corradi sobre los esquistos (Junio 2012)

La reciente explotación de los esquistos para extraer gas amenaza con crear un nuevo equilibrio energético en Estados Unidos. El uso más general del gas natural como insumo de energía limpia reemplazará las importaciones de gas natural licuado y, con el tiempo, desplazará también a los hidrocarburos líquidos importados especialmente en el mercado del consumo industrial. Teóricamente se puede presumir también de que el gas podría sustituir a la gasolina en el mercado del transporte, aunque esto requeriría modificaciones importantes tanto en la planta automotriz como en los sistemas de distribución. 

Lo importante a destacar es que se ha descubierto una fuente alterna de energía que, por primera vez, ofrece un real sustituto energético a las importaciones de petróleo por parte de Estados Unidos. Hay, además, dos factores adicionales que pueden ayudar a convertir a Estados Unidos en autosuficiente energético y, con el tiempo, en un exportador neto. Uno, es el ahorro energético. Hace años el mundo industrializado impuso las restricciones necesarias para el ahorro energético fácil. 

Básicamente en dos frentes: el consumo industrial y doméstico, mediante técnicas modernas de construcción y uso de materiales adecuados para reducir la pérdida de energía, y en un mayor rendimiento de la gasolina por kilómetro recorrido. Pero hecho lo anterior es poco lo que se ha adelantado y estamos todavía a décadas de que nuevas tecnologías de ahorro energético se materialicen en una reducción importante del consumo. 

El otro desarrollo potencial importante es el de construir oleoductos desde Canadá para llevar petróleo extrapesado a las refinerías del Golfo de México. Aunque posible, tiene por lo menos dos problemas. Uno es el de los ambientalistas que se oponen al proyecto, entre ellos, el presidente Obama. El otro es técnico. Transportar por oleoducto el petróleo extrapesado requiere estaciones de calentamiento en la ruta o la reducción de la viscosidad mediante el uso de diluyentes. Tanto en uno como en el otro caso el costo será elevado. Salvo que se desarrolle algo como la orimulsión que permita, mediante un catalizador, estabilizar una emulsión de petróleo y agua. 

Lo que significa lo anterior es que Estados Unidos, por primera vez desde que el presidente Nixon diseñó un programa de reducción de importaciones, pudiera estar en la ruta de lograr la autosuficiencia energética mediante: 1. Uso abundante de nueva energía doméstica (gas de esquistos). 2. Nuevo impulso a la conservación y al ahorro energético. 

3. Desarrollo acelerado de energías alternas. 4. Incremento de las importaciones de petróleo extrapesado de Canadá (las cuales se consideran como domésticas). 

Sin embargo, hay la real posibilidad de una reducción de la demanda global por una continuación de la crisis económica mundial tanto en Europa como en países emergentes, como China y la India. 

Durante este régimen Venezuela ha intentado reducir su dependencia de exportaciones energéticas a Estados Unidos. De seguir por ese camino, en algunos años ya no tendremos que hacer mayores esfuerzos. El mercado del país del norte se habrá cerrado, salvo que nuestra política energética nos ponga a la par de Canadá y nuestra seguridad de suministro nos lleve a ser un mercado energético integrado al de Estados Unidos. 

Corremos, pues, el riesgo de pasar de una era desaprovechada de mercados abiertos, sin producción adecuada de petróleo, a uno donde tengamos petróleo abundante sin mercados naturales disponibles.