Abu Dhabi invests in Finland

Abu Dhabi's Masdar Initiative has invested 120 million euros in shares in the Finnish wind energy company WinWinD. In the daily Helsingin Sanomat, Mari Luomi of the Finnish Institute for International Affairs examines why oil states are showing increased interest in renewable energies. "For WinWinD the deal represents [among other things] ... an opportunity to expand its business to the Middle East. But why would the world's seventh largest oil reserve want to promote renewable energies? For the simple reason that Abu Dhabi can afford it. ... The countries [in the Persian Gulf] have long since realised that the oil business is not a long-term solution for their budgets and that they need to move away from oil dependency. ... Abu Dhabi has now decided to become a pioneer of alternative energy and turn the Middle East into a Silicon Valley for green technologies. ... Climate change is a multi-million-euro business. The growth potential in regions which so far have paid little attention to environmental issues is therefore enormous."   

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