UAE’s moves to check climate change impact

The UAE has been scoring high in several areas and not just business. It has made its mark in a field that many have heard of but are reportedly just paying lip service to: stemming the impact of climate change.

These include an increase in its solar power capacity from 10 MW in 2009 to 2,400 MW in 2020, with an additional 6,000 MW either under development or planned until 2030, and the launch of the first reactor of the 5,600 Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant that will supply up to 25 per cent of the country’s electricity needs once fully operational. Moreover, the UAE is developing the region’s first commercial-scale carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) network.

Globally, the country has helped advance the deployment of renewables through the $350 million International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) / Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) Project Facility, and the UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund and the UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund, valued at US$50 million each.

The country’s flagship renewables company Masdar has invested in clean energy projects with a total capacity of 10.7 GW in over 30 countries.

Over the past years, the UAE has become an international centre for countries wishing to discuss climate change and environmental issues, as it continues to host a wide variety of leading international conferences, exhibitions and meetings that deal with topics related to a global issue that is expected to significantly impact our future.

Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said that, over the past decades, the UAE has supported and bolstered global efforts to address and resolve environmental challenges.

The UAE is prepared to offer all that it can to ensure the success of all the action taken against climate change. Its offer to host the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the UNFCCC in Abu Dhabi in 2023 is aimed at supporting and motivating collective action and achieving green recovery.

That’s not all. The UAE organises a number of relevant yearly events, including Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), the Climate Change Forum of the World Government Summit, the World Green Economy Summit, and the Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX), in addition to being home to the permanent headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

In 2021, ADSW welcomed over 37,000 attendees from over 175 countries, while its events received over 3.5 million views online.

Recently, Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, has reiterated the UAE’s commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 70 per cent and increase clean energy use by 50 per cent by 2050 during the inaugural Middle East Energy virtual event.

The UAE was among the first nations to ratify the Paris Agreement.

It is well-positioned to be one of the top producers of hydrogen in the world. The UAE is working with confidence to reduce the nationwide carbon footprint.

A UAE climate negotiation team, presided over by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, is participating in the virtual meetings of the parties to UNFCCC, launched on Monday and continues until June 17.

The meetings aim to pave the way for the most important discussions that will be presented during the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), set to take place in November in Glasgow, UK.

Efforts are on underscore the UAE’s commitment to achieving the goals set out in its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that was submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat in December 2020.