Dubai, Apr 8: The emirate of Abu Dhabi in the UAE, although an oil producer, is considered to be one of the strong candidates for hosting the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) which was officially established in Bonn earlier this year.

The United Arab Emirates have been actively promoting renewable energy, and Abu Dhabi in particular has launched the innovative Masdar initiative - a pioneering project which will be the world''s first carbon - neutral, zero waste city.

The statutes of IRENA, the aim of which is to promote dynamically the sustainable use of renewable energy on a global scale, have been signed so far by more than 70 countries. The Agency is expected to play a key role in the world-wide effort to prevent further climate warming.

The UAE officials say that despite strong competition, the emirates possess both the resources and the experienced manpower, which could facilitate the work IRENA.

They also point out that it is high time a major global organization was based in the Middle East.

The Masdar initiative driven by the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mubadala Development Company, is a global cooperative platform for the open engagement in the search for solutions to some of mankind''s most pressing issues: energy security, climate change and the development of human expertise in sustainability.

Abu Dhabi is leveraging its substantial resources and experience in global energy markets into the technologies of the future.

One key objective of Masdar is to position Abu Dhabi as a world-class research and development hub for new energy technologies, effectively balancing its strong position in an evolving world energy market. (ANI)