

Currently released so far... 1446 / 251,287
Articles
Browse latest releases
2010/12/13
2010/12/12
2010/12/11
2010/12/10
2010/12/09
2010/12/08
2010/12/07
2010/12/06
2010/12/05
2010/12/04
2010/12/03
2010/12/02
2010/12/01
2010/11/30
2010/11/29
2010/11/28
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Paris
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
Secretary of State
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Browse by tag
CU
CH
CO
CI
COUNTERTERRORISM
CA
CY
CASC
CIA
CIS
CD
CV
CVIS
CF
CM
CE
CJAN
CLINTON
CMGT
CS
CACM
CDB
COUNTER
CG
CN
CDG
CBW
ECUN
EU
ETRD
EFIN
EAID
ES
ECON
EWWT
EINVEFIN
ELAB
ETTC
ENRG
EUN
EC
EG
EINV
EXTERNAL
EPET
EAGR
ENVR
EIND
EI
ECPS
EINT
ELTN
EFIS
EZ
EMIN
EAIR
EREL
ECIP
EINDETRD
ET
EN
ER
EUC
ELECTIONS
KDEM
KIRF
KISL
KJUS
KTFN
KNNP
KWBG
KPAL
KPKO
KSCA
KCRM
KR
KWMN
KN
KU
KV
KE
KPAO
KDRG
KCOR
KGCC
KDEMAF
KG
KZ
KTIP
KICC
KTIA
KIPR
KMDR
KSPR
KHIV
KHLS
KACT
KGHG
KS
KUNR
KAWK
KCIP
KBIO
KFRD
KSUM
KOLY
KSEC
KAWC
KPIN
KPRP
KGIC
KRAD
KPWR
KIFR
KNUC
KFIN
KCOM
KCFE
KMCA
KWAC
KDEV
KIRC
KNPP
MTCRE
MOPS
MARR
MO
MASS
MNUC
MY
MX
MCAP
MZ
MIL
MPOS
MU
ML
MR
MOPPS
MG
MASC
MAR
MP
MD
MA
MTCR
MEPP
MAPP
MCC
MK
PREL
PGOV
PTER
PHUM
PINR
PARM
PBTS
PHSA
PK
PINS
PSI
PA
PE
PINT
PL
PSOE
PU
POL
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PROP
PO
PBIO
PECON
PREF
PM
PGOF
PAK
PINL
POGOV
POLITICS
PEPR
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 09ABUDHABI329, U) WHY THE UAE IS PRESSING FOR IRENA HQ
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09ABUDHABI329.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
09ABUDHABI329 | 2009-04-01 12:12 | 2010-12-03 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Abu Dhabi |
VZCZCXRO6331
OO RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHAD #0329/01 0911235
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 011235Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2314
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0129
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0898
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000329
SIPDIS
FOR S/SECC TODD STERN AND DSECC JONATHAN PERSHING
ALSO FOR NEA/ARP AND EEB/ESC/IEC/ENR (MONOSSON, SECOR, THOMPSON), AND
S/SRAP HOLBROOKE
AMMAN FOR ESTH HUB OFFICER (BHALLA)
E.O. 12958 03/24/2019
TAGS SENV, ECON, PREL, PGOV, AE
SUBJECT: (U) WHY THE UAE IS PRESSING FOR IRENA HQ
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR RICHARD G. OLSON FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D
REFS: A) ABU DHABI 301 B) ABU DHABI 199 C) ABU DHABI 170 D) STATE 27497
¶1. (C) Summary. The UAE’s push (refs A-C) to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) complements its political and financial commitment to encouraging renewable energy production and consumption. Although the fourth largest oil producer in the world, the UAE is expanding its commitment to environmental protection, and more importantly, positioning itself for what it sees as a post-hydrocarbon based future. The UAE has launched a major effort to promote renewables by encouraging research, development and innovation in the UAE and abroad. This includes an ambitious effort to build the first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, Masdar City. The UAE has serious resources to put into the international search for alternative energy sources, and as such, UAE interest in these issues should be seen as an opportunity for the USG. Moreover, the UAE is clearly signaling that it wants United States to support its IRENA bid, given UAE support for many of our political, security and financial priorities and the Administration’s focus on environmental issues. End Summary.
¶2. (SBU) Since the creation of IRENA in January, the UAE has actively campaigned to host the headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Though the argument that an oil producer should host a renewable energy agency may seem counter-intuitive, Emiratis view IRENA as a natural complement to their efforts to protect the environment and reduce UAE dependence on fossil fuels. The founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed is widely known in the UAE as one of the Arab world’s first environmentalists, and the new generation of leaders is advancing his efforts through the application of modern environmental technology, policies and practices.
¶3. (SBU) The most prominent example of UAE commitment is Masdar (www.masdar.ae), the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, which was launched in 2006 as part of Abu Dhabi’s efforts to diversify its economy away from petroleum, while leveraging its historic expertise in global energy markets. Masdar has established the Masdar Institute for Science and Technology (MIST), in collaboration with MIT, to support graduate level research on advanced energy and sustainability, begun construction on the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste city (Masdar City), and launched the World Future Energy Summit and the Zayed Future Energy Prize. Putting UAE money where its mouth is, Masdar has also invested over USD 1 billion in foreign wind and solar technology projects, including Torresol Energy (Spain), WinWinD (Finland) and the London Array offshore wind farm (UK), among others. Domestically, Masdar is developing solar production capacity and working with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on carbon capture and reinjection into oil fields. Masdar’s efforts will help the Emirate of Abu Dhabi reach a target of 7 percent power generation from renewables by 2020.
¶4. (SBU) The UAEG wants Masdar City to be the host of IRENA, but its argument is based on more than just Masdar’s credentials. Officials note the important symbolism of putting an international renewable agency in an oil-producing country. They also highlight that no other international organizations are headquartered in the Arab World, with the exception of UNRWA, which they view as an aid organization more than a policy body (and one that they hope can eventually disappear as a two-state solution materializes). Further, the UAE is centrally located between developed and developing nations and bridges north-south, east-west divides.
¶5. (C) COMMENT: Whether the USG can support the IRENA candidacy of the UAE ultimately depends on USG policy toward IRENA itself, and we do not have the overall context for a policy recommendation on that issue. However, several points about the UAE position need to be factored into such a policy decision:
-- First: The UAE, unlike many supporters of renewables, has serious resources to put into the development of technology. This is a point that has not been lost on the US and other countries private sectors who have worn a deep path to Masdar’s door seeking participation in its projects.
-- Second: The UAE has been one of our most helpful security partners in the Middle East. UAE troops are in the fight in Afghanistan (in greater numbers and more dangerous places than many NATO Allies); the UAE has cancelled Saddam era debt in Iraq and opened an Embassy; it is perhaps the only Arab country to have fully paid up its dues to the Palestinian Authority; and it has taken a leading role in the Friends of Pakistan initiative. While the UAE
ABU DHABI 00000329 002 OF 002
has not expressed any direct linkage between any of these initiatives and IRENA, it has clearly signaled that, having been helpful to the USG on a number of issues important to us, it expects the USG to be helpful on an issue of importance to the UAE.
¶6. (C) UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayid Al-Nahyan (AbZ) will raise this issue with Secretary Clinton during their 7 April meeting. OLSON