Government ministers from North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Africa will lead the first plenary session of the World Future Energy Summit, where they will discuss the actions necessary to balance the world’s growing demand for energy with environmental considerations and sustainability.

Participants at the plenary forum one at the ministers roundtable discussion, will be:

• The Honourable Ed Stelmach, Premier of Alberta, Canada
• H.E. Mohamed bin Dha'en Al Hamili, UAE Minister of Energy
• H.E. Dr Farooq Abdullah, Minister of New and Renewable Energy, India
• H.E. Hany Sherry Ayittey, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ghana
• H.E. Federal Counsellor Moritz Leuenberger, Minister of Energy, Environment and Communication in Switzerland
• H.E. Maria van der Hoeven, Minister of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands
• H.E. Mauri Pekkarinen, Minister of Economic Affairs, Finland
• H.E. Jesca Eriyo, Minister of State for the Environment, Uganda
• H.E. Ola Alterå, Secretary of State for Energy, Sweden
• H.E. Tadahiro Matsushita, Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan
• H.E. Kim Young Hak, Vice Minister for Trade and Energy, South Korea
• H.E. Helene Pelosse, Director General of IRENA

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that 70% of the increased energy demand to 2030 will come from developing countries. The other 30% of this growth will be from developed economies, which will continue to witness growing demand.

The growth rates of developing countries’ emissions currently outstrip the rates of the developed world. Nevertheless, developing countries claim they bear less historical responsibility for the emissions already in the atmosphere, and that their emissions per capita are far less than that of the developed world. This ongoing debate will be brought to the World Future Energy Summit’s energy ministers’ roundtable.