02 November 2017, Abu Dhabi This year marks the first joint conference of the International Solar Energy Society Solar World Congress and the International Conference on Solar Heating and Cooling for Buildings and Industry. This conference has successfully joined together the long history of the biennial Solar World Congresses, which gather representatives throughout the renewable energy community to share the latest technology advances and research results, and the International Energy Agency’s  Solar Heating and Cooling Programme’s conferences, which draws upon its vast network of solar thermal experts, to further solidify the role of solar technologies for meeting energy demands in the three end-use sectors:  power, heating and cooling, and transport. 

With the support of Masdar Institute, part of the Khalifa University for Science and Technology, nearly 500 renewable energy practitioners, researchers, project developers, academics, decision makers and advocates representing 58 countries have gathered at this joint conference in Abu Dhabi during the week of 29 October – 2 November 2017 to share the latest in technology advances, best practices, and case studies that reflect the remarkable global renewable energy transformation taking place today.   As the world moves toward a total decarbonization of its energy supply, this conference has highlighted the diverse technologies that are already cost effective and commercially available to work together to achieve a 100% global renewable energy system.

Attendees at the joint conference are encouraged to take home and spread the word on their knowledge and insights gained through the numerous oral and poster technical sessions, plenary and keynote speeches and workshops, and their valuable networking experiences gained at the conference.  The three key take-away messages embraced by attendees at the joint conference are:

1. Community action:  Actions at the community and grassroots levels are occurring around the world, representing perhaps the strongest stimulant for advancing the renewable energy transformation.  The conference has provided important insights on how local actions can be encouraged; these actions can then lead to even stronger national incentives and global renewable energy growth.
2. Partnership engagements:  No single organization can accomplish all of the necessary outreach needed to achieve a 100% renewable energy future.  Besides the partnership established between ISES and the IEA SHC, both organizations also partner with many other regional and global organizations to create a large, global voice in support of the renewable energy transformation.
3. Renewables working together:  It is not the purpose of our joint conference to pick winners and losers; we recognize that all renewable energy technologies will be necessary to move aggressively towards 100% renewable energy use in the power, heating and cooling, and transport sectors. 

This proclamation confirms the commitment of all the attendees at this joint conference to focus their efforts to achieve 100% renewable energy globally.