Under the patronage of H.E. Mrs. Nada Boustani, Minister of Energy & Water, the EcOrient Sustainability Conference kickstarted yesterday during Project Lebanon at the Seaside Arena – Beirut New Waterfront, in the presence of Dr. Joseph Al Assad; Representative of H.E. Boustani, Ms. Francesca Zadro; Trade Commissioner at the Italian Embassy, Mr. Iakovos Kollaros; Commercial Counsellor at the Greek Embassy, Ms. Nisrine Obeid; Commercial Attaché at the Danish Embassy, Mr. Shadi Beiruti; Commercial Attaché at the Mexican Embassy, Mr. Pierre Khoury; General Director of LCEC, and Mr. Albert Aoun, Chairman of IFP Group.
Organized by IFP Group (International Fairs and Promotions), the two-day conference is held under the ‘Sustainable Energy and Environmental Management’ theme.
The conference initiated with a speech by Mr. Aoun saying:
“I would like to thank H.E. Mrs. Nada Boustani, Minister of Energy and Water, for supporting this conference that coincides with the 24th edition of Project Lebanon, the leading trade fair in Lebanon which continues to play a major role not just in the exhibitions industry but also in the environmental technology field through the EcOrient Conference.”
“The Middle East region is a primary source of solid and food waste, producing more than 600,000 tons of food waste that goes unutilized for energy production, as the latter relies on fossil fuels with a rate exceeding 75%”, he continued.
“Against that backdrop, the EcOrient Conference aims to play an important role in exploring sustainable energy and environmental management solutions by hosting six panel discussions led by experts from the public and private sectors, to discuss the problems and challenges that Lebanon faces in this regard”, he added.
Dr. Al Assad also addressed the attendees saying:
“I am pleased to be among you today at this national conference, which is a clear indication of our commitment to renewable energy and energy efficiency in Lebanon.”
“The Ministry of Energy and Water is fully focused on the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency in our country. This commitment dates back to 2010 when the Lebanese government approved the policy paper for the electricity sector prepared by the Minister Gebran Bassil, whose goal is to produce 12% of electricity generation and heating in 2020 from renewable energies. Today, we are more committed to achieving this goal and indications show that we are on the right track”, he continued.
“Last year, we signed the first PPA in Lebanon for three wind farms with a total capacity of more than 200 megawatts. The door is open for the private sector to build and install 12 photoelectric farms. All these initiatives are in line with the path defined in the National Renewable Energy Action Plan in Lebanon (NREAP) developed by the Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation (LCEC)”, he added.
EcOrient’s first-day discussions tackled numerous topics, including:
• Sustainable Development in Energy and Clean Water Preservation
• Alternative Energy on the Lebanese Electric Grid
• Water Management
The EcOrient Conference is held on June 19 and 20 at the Seaside Arena starting 4:30 pm. For more information, visit www.projectlebanon.com/ecorient
ifpinfo
20/06/2019
