Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
As part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026 (ADSW 2026), the World Future Energy Summit convened government leaders, industry experts and innovators to explore how data, AI and digital platforms are accelerating the UAE's journey from climate ambition to measurable action.
From smart cities and transport to water systems and logistics, speakers and industry leaders discussed how emerging technologies are being applied across public and private sectors to make operations more efficient and environmentally responsible.
Oliver Kallenborn, Senior Director – Data and Technology Solutions at AtkinsRéalis, said that cities in the UAE are making measurable progress through digital transformation.
"In Abu Dhabi and Dubai, we are seeing data used to optimise everything from energy consumption to public transport," he told Aletihad, noting that real-time insights help reduce waste, improve air quality and enhance public services.
He pointed to the Abu Dhabi Smart City Strategy 2030, where platforms such as TAMM have consolidated hundreds of government services and cut paper usage by more than 90%, describing it as a shift towards human-centric digital governance.
Kallenborn also highlighted Masdar City as a global reference, calling it "one of the world's most sustainable cities", designed as a pedestrian-first, compact urban district long before sustainability became mainstream.
Kallenborn pointed to the Etihad Rail project as a standout example of the UAE's sustainable mobility vision, saying it would "revolutionise travel and freight transport" across the country. Set to launch later this year, the network will connect 11 cities across the country through an integrated passenger and freight rail system.
Dr Bipin Chandra, Founder and Group CEO of Esyasoft Holding, said that sustainability in the UAE is moving decisively from vision to execution, and that ADSW 2026 is an important piece of the puzzle.
"Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week plays a critical role in converting ambition into execution," he told Aletihad, pointing to deployable, investment-ready solutions across energy and water systems.
He described the broader trend as a move towards intelligent, adaptive systems.
"When energy and water systems become data-driven and capable of real-time optimisation, sustainability becomes embedded in everyday operations," Dr Al Chandra added.
May Youssef, Senior Director of Public Affairs at talabat, echoed the sentiment, stressing that once sustainability is built into system operations, it scales automatically.
"That is the future," she told Aletihad.
"When we change how the system works, we shift emissions across millions of daily transactions."
Waleed El Kalash, Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa at Smartenergy, believes that "the future will combine energy and intelligence, with AI embedded across the system to drive efficient, resilient growth".
He said that ADSW 2026 serves as a valuable mechanism for turning future goals into practical outcomes.
"Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week brings policymakers, investors, innovators, and business leaders together to move from vision to delivery," El Kalash told Aletihad, noting that it aligns "regulation, technology, and capital so ideas become real projects."
