Minister affirms UAE’s move to adopt clean energy, support Paris Agreement

Suhail Bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, concluded a three-day visit to Goa, India, where he participated in multiple high-level events that aimed to drive the global energy transition agenda in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

The visit was part of the UAE’s collaborative approach to tackling global challenges and driving sustainable development. Al Mazrouei leveraged the trip to underscore the UAE’s steadfast commitment to a robust energy transition.

The highlight of the Minister’s visit was the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting which included the participation of energy ministers from the G20 and other invited countries to address energy transition challenges while advancing collective socioeconomic development.

In his speech, Al Mazrouei said, “The UAE aspires to be a role model for an ambitious yet pragmatic transition to clean energy sources. We continue to meet today’s global energy needs while investing heavily in the clean energy systems of tomorrow.”

He added, “The UAE energy sector has seen major developments to ensure we are on track to achieve our net-zero target and reflect more progressive climate action. Earlier this month, we updated the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, which sets ambitious targets for the year 2030, including tripling the contribution of renewable energy in our energy mix, increasing energy use efficiency of individuals and corporates up to 45%, increasing the contribution of clean energy generation to 32% of our energy mix, and achieving a grid emission factor of 0.27 kg Co2/kWh, making the UAE one of the lowest emitters, compared to the global average.”

On the sidelines of the G20 meetings, the 14th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and 8th Mission Innovation (MI) meetings were also held in Goa under the theme ‘Advancing Clean Energy Together’.

Al Mazrouei participated in the CEM/MI joint plenary and highlighted the UAE’s priorities for the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28).

He said, “As the host of COP28, the UAE perceives the global energy transition as a front-and-centre focus for its presidency and will work with all participants to help make a concerted push to triple renewable energy capacity and double the production of hydrogen by 2030, in line with the global priority of reducing emissions by 43% by 2030 to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.”

Furthermore, Al Mazrouei participated in a closed-door Roundtable on Green Hydrogen that aimed to identify near- and long-term goals and actions to scale up the contribution of green hydrogen in the transition to net-zero emissions and set strategies to augment supply and demand for green hydrogen.

The Minister underscored that accelerating the global hydrogen economy has become a top priority on the world’s agenda and outlined the goals of the recently announced National Hydrogen Strategy.

He said, “The UAE launched the National Hydrogen Strategy with an aspiration to become a leading producer and supplier of low-carbon hydrogen by 2031. The strategy targets the production of 1.4 million tons of low-emission hydrogen per annum by 2031, out of which 71.4% will be green hydrogen. By 2050, we aim to increase production tenfold to reach 15 million tons per annum.”

In an additional development that reaffirms the UAE’s commitment to a low-carbon future, the Minister announced that the country had joined the Global Biofuels Alliance, founded by India, the UK, and the USA, to develop and promote sustainable and advanced biofuels.

He said, “The UAE has been investing heavily in biofuels to diversify its energy mix and reduce its carbon footprint. We have multiple waste-to-energy plants, either operational or under-development, providing clean energy, reducing emissions, and diverting waste from landfills.

We are also taking serious steps in utilising biofuels as a clean, alternative fuel for aviation. By joining the Alliance, we are confident we will benefit greatly from its technical expertise and assistance and the valuable opportunities for best practice sharing and effective partnerships amongst members.”

On the sidelines of his visit, Al Mazrouei held bilateral meetings with multiple ministers, including Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, and Raj Kumar Singh, India’s Minister of Power, New and Renewable.

The Minister’s visit to India builds on the long-standing relations between the two nations, backed by government and people-to-people interactions. The UAE and India are keen advocates of a shift to clean energy to fuel sustainable development and mitigate climate change.

Meanwhile, at the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting held last week, China proposed strategies aimed at resolving the debt problems of developing countries, with the end goal of enhancing their economic development capacities.