Jordan to participate in Washington energy summit

Jordan will take part in an international summit in Washington to discuss the energy challenges, risks, and opportunities that lie ahead for the world’s communities - from small villages to modern mega-cities, a senior official said on Sunday. Minister of Public Works and Housing Yahya Kisbi left Amman yesterday to take part in the September 27-28 summit of global policy makers, experts and energy industry executives to acquaint them with the energy challenges faced by Jordan. He is scheduled to deliver a speech on the Jordanian experience in terms of measures and projects adopted by the government to conserve energy in buildings and the construction sector. Titled "Powering Cities of the Future - Sustainable Energy Solutions for the World’s Varied Communities", the summit gathers together senior public and private sector officials who help shape global energy policy, including US and foreign government leaders, members of Congress, energy industry executives, environmentalists, advocacy association leaders, academicians, and journalists. Kisbi noted that "80 per cent of our citizens now reside in urban areas and this proportion will only increase as our present population of six million will pass 7.5 million in 2020 and 12 million in 2040". "Jordan is already one of the world’s most water-stressed countries, with deserts accounting for 95 per cent of our land and much of the rest susceptible to desertification. Unlike other countries in our region, we have no conventional oil reserves and currently import 96 per cent of our energy requirements at a cost of 13 per cent of the gross domestic product," he added. "With the present energy demand of 2,500 megawatts (MW) predicted to grow to 4,550MW by 2020 and 6,000MW by 2030, we are left with no option but to adopt innovative, resource efficient and environmentally responsive development," Kisbi said. Existing residential properties consume 24 per cent of the country's energy, which is around the level of industrial consumption, while commercial activities use 14 per cent. Initiatives to reduce the amount of energy used in both the construction and operation of buildings will increasingly contribute to attaining the National Energy Strategy target of reducing total energy consumption by 20 per cent through improved efficiency, he added. "No longer can we afford to expand and operate our towns and cities according to the ways of the past," Kisbi said, indicating that the 30,000 students currently studying architecture and engineering at Jordanian universities will need to spend their careers pursuing a different set of environmental, geopolitical, social and cultural priorities from those of their forefathers.