A group of young Emirati women showed how they can lead the way on energy and climate change in the UAE at the 2012 World Future Energy Summit held in the UAE recently. Alice Marsden, an attorney at Latham & Watkins, moderated a panel discussion on clean energy and climate change. The four women panelists, who come from diverse education and career backgrounds, shared their experiences and perspectives with conference attendees at the Young Future Energy Leaders Theater. The panel was organized by the Directorate of Energy and Climate (DECC) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), in collaboration with Latham & Watkins' Women Enriching Business (WEB) initiative and the Masdar Institute's Young Future Energy Leaders (YFEL) Program. “WFES truly brought together leaders from around the world to discuss some very serious issues,” said Mariam Al Mutawa from DECC, the organizer of the forum. “This panel was an obvious opportunity to highlight the work being done by women on future energy, clean energy and climate change issues in the UAE. “We were able to create a dialogue between women working in these fields, and students, on how they can lead the way on these important issues,” she said. Maryam Al Balooshi from UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), who is breaking gender barriers in her work, discussed how she has transitioned from working as a chemical engineer into a more political role in the aviation sector. She discussed her experiences as a recent graduate of Zayed University and shared thoughts on how UAE universities could increase the number of women in clean energy careers. Reem Al Thawadi from Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS-WWF) discussed the importance of effective communications in advancing awareness and action on issues related to the future of energy and climate change. She described how her diverse academic and professional background helped her career. Rouda Al Otaiba, also from DECC, rounded out the panel by sharing her experiences as a diplomat working in the task force to help bring the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to the UAE. She represents the UAE's interests in international multilateral negotiations related to climate and energy.
