UAE launches ‘Global Energy Efficiency Alliance’ at COP29

The UAE has announced the launch of an initiative to establish the “Global Energy Efficiency Alliance” at COP29, aiming to double annual global energy efficiency rates by 2030 and reduce emissions.

This initiative aligns with the UAE’s historic ‘UAE Consensus’ from COP28, where countries, organisations, and companies committed to reducing carbon emissions and minimising natural resource consumption.

Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MoEI), said in statements to WAM on the sidelines of the UAE’s national pavilion events at COP29 in Azerbaijan.

He added that the UAE’s initiative to establish the Global Energy Efficiency Alliance came as a result of a global desire to increase energy efficiency, and discussions were held with many countries around the world who welcomed the establishment of the Alliance.

Al Olama emphasised that the UAE will play a leading role in this alliance by providing best practices in the fields of energy efficiency, knowledge transfer and partnership models with the private sector.

He called on governments, organisations and leaders to join the alliance and unite efforts to set ambitious goals that encourage investments in energy efficiency projects and develop the policies and technologies needed to achieve sustainability goals.

He added that the alliance aims to reduce carbon emissions and minimise the consumption of natural resources by promoting knowledge sharing, capacity building, public-private partnerships, and standardisation. This will also encourage investments in energy efficiency projects and develop the necessary policies and technologies to achieve sustainability goals.

Women pose for a picture as people pass by the logo of the COP29 in Baku. Reuters

He noted that the alliance seeks to compile and share best practices for promoting energy efficiency from its member countries, particularly with African nations. This includes initiatives related to financing and technological solutions, which are crucial for Africa.

At the COP29 World Leaders Climate Action Summit, the Agriculture Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) unveiled its first-ever, groundbreaking Innovation Package, aimed at providing weather information to help farmers adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Future Innovation Packages will expand efforts to scale additional solutions addressing the interconnected challenges of climate change, food security, and agriculture. A coalition of global partners has pledged to mobilise significant investments of more than $1 billion over the next three years to support the implementation of the AIM for Scale Weather Package.

The launch of this groundbreaking initiative sets the stage for a series of future Innovation Packages that will scale solutions addressing the interconnected challenges of climate change, food security, and agriculture.

Also during the day, past, present and future COP Presidencies endorsed the COP29 Baku Initiative for Climate Finance, Investment and Trade (BICFIT) Dialogue.

In creating BICFIT, the COP29 Presidency has also brought together UNCTAD, the UNDP, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), International Trade Centre (ITC), multilateral development banks and multilateral climate funds.

BICFIT will guarantee Finance, Investment, and Trade sit at the centre of the climate-change agenda by ensuring alignment, continuity and delivery across discussions, actions and initiatives between previous and future COPs in support of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

The BICFIT Dialogue will incorporate existing global initiatives such as the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate, the Climate FDI Coalition, and the newly initiated Baku Global Coalition for SMEs Green Transition, to align climate finance, investment, and trade with sustainable development priorities.

COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev said, “The COP29 Presidency’s plan is based on two pillars. To enhance ambition and enable action. This means setting out clear climate plans and delivering the finance we need. As we mobilise climate finance, we allow for higher ambitions and as we signal higher ambition, we build trust to unlock greater financial commitments...”

WAM