As Prepared:
Chairman, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests – Friends
It is an honor to be here today and I was flattered to be invited, especially to find myself in such distinguished company.
Our world today is faced by many challenges; the most fundamental among them is energy need.
Living in cities and high rise buildings, it is easy to forget that nearly 1.5 billion people have no regular access to power.
As we look at glittering skylines, they live in darkness.
As the leaders of nations and industry, I believe it is our duty to focus the world’s attention on this challenge, and lead the way towards solutions.
To my mind – there are three critical components to addressing these challenges:
When we think of energy security, it is usually in a national context – where does my country’s energy come from and how can I secure it?
But is that what energy security really means?
To me, energy security means access to secure and sustainable, affordable energy for every human being.
Today in the US the average citizen consumes over 14,000 kilowatt-hours of power in a year. By comparison, an Indian consumes just 700 kilowatt-hours.
I ask you - is this sustainable?
I am not saying we should ask the developed world to lower their standard of living.
Nor can we deny the billions of people in the developing world the right to better lives.
So what is the solution? I believe part of the answer is new energy and energy efficiency.
The developed world must look at options to optimize energy consumption and look for new ways to have the same quality of life for its people – but with less energy consumption.
The developing world has a difficult task too.
Fuelled by new ideas and innovation, emerging economies are growing at a truly remarkable pace – and it is here that we have the opportunity to make radical changes.
We must find new ways for sustainable and inclusive development.
A big part of this vision of sustainability is renewable energy.
As we stand here today, the world has installed over 160 gigawatt of wind energy.
That is more than the total generation capacity of India! And there is much greater potential available to us.
I believe the wind energy sector alone could install 1,000 gigawatt of power in just over a decade, given the right level of support.
So where does the Middle East stand in the world energy matrix?
It is of course the energy supplier to the world, but how will the region maintain its leadership in the future?
In the future I see conventional fuels having an enormous role to play.
But fossil fuels are precious, and we have to ensure that we have energy supplies to power generations to come.
Just think, the world uses almost 10,000 cubic meters of natural gas and 1,000 barrels of oil every second.
And that is not all; climate change has grown to be a clear and present danger to all mankind – and, at the same time, we are running out of conventional resources.
Indeed, it is such a threat that scientists predict that an average increase of two degrees will be a disaster for our planet.
The main reason for global warming is carbon emissions, and the evidence is right here.
The world’s highest per capita emitters are here in the Middle East: Qatar, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait are the top four.
We must secure our future – and for this we need to build a new world, one that
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blends renewable and non-renewable power
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employs smart grid management and smart metering
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builds energy efficient infrastructure and transport facilities
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develops visionary and innovative policies
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holds each individual to account to use energy responsibly
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invest in green buildings.
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Yes, we face a major challenge - but where there are problems there are also opportunities.
We have the opportunity to do the right thing from an ecological perspective:
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invest in technologies to reduce the environmental impact
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invest in low carbon technology to use conventional fuel
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invest in technology to make conventional fuel more efficient
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invest in affordable renewable technologies
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develop business opportunities from what is a clear global need
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create decent, well paid and meaningful ‘green jobs’
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and lead the world in being truly progressive in terms of a sustainable economy
I speak from experience - my own company is one that was born in the face of challenge.
I turned to wind energy over 15 years ago when my business was hit by power scarcity and high cost.
Today Suzlon is the world’s third largest wind turbine group:
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with 15,000 employees
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operations in 25 countries
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an installed base of 14,500 MW
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and our subsidiary REpower in Germany - the leader in offshore wind turbine technology
Suzlon’s core mission is sustainable development, and we lead by example.
Our new corporate headquarters – One Earth – is certified by LEED Platinum as the greenest corporate headquarters in the world.
I see parallels here. As we look to the future, our energy supplies are depleting – and our needs are increasing.
Much progress has been made in recent years, and there are exciting initiatives right here in the Middle East.
Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, and the World Trade Center, right here in Bahrain, with the world’s first integrated wind turbines.
These are great examples.
But much more needs to be done.
Renewable energy is forecast to contribute barely one per cent of the region’s energy mix by 2020.
Why not 20 per cent by 2020?
But this can change.
The Middle East is blessed in many ways.
With its abundance of sunlight and wind, the region could build a sustainable energy future for the world.
From being the world’s leading oil producer to becoming the world’s leading developer of renewable energy technologies.
So where do we head from here?
We need to invest, to innovate, to educate both ourselves and our neighbours, and take bold positions of leadership.
For if we do this – and I believe we can – then we will save our planet, secure our way of life, maintain and even accelerate progress – but sustainably.
And, friends, we will pass the Earth onto our children – and generations to come - in a better place than we found it.
I see my company Suzlon as more than a business – we are a cause.
To me, shared values are as important as shareholder value.
And I believe you share this vision too.
We are running out of time.
But it is not too late.
I believe this region, the Middle East, has a critical role to play in all of this.
You are the world’s energy leaders today, and you can be the leaders of the low carbon energy economy of tomorrow.
Thank you for inviting me here today and for listening.
Thank you.
