The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has officially announced that the UAE will host the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in 2023.
The UNFCCC confirmation followed unanimous endorsement by the Asia Pacific Group of nations during COP26, where nearly 200 countries have gathered to take concerted action to cap global greenhouse gas emissions and unite against climate change.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation welcomed the decision. “We are pleased and honored by the UNFCCC decision to select the United Arab Emirates to host the UN Climate Change Conference in 2023 and commit ourselves as a nation to supporting the entire international community in accelerating our combined efforts to overcome the very real threat of climate change,” he said.
“The UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, announced earlier this year, shows our own unwavering commitment to promoting climate action. Further, through new investment commitments and partnerships, we are illustrating our determination to support the world in addressing climate change,” Zayed Al Nahyan added.
USE Vice-President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai, took to Twitter to extend a congratulatory message on the achievement.
Read his tweet here:
نبارك لدولة الإمارات فوزها باستضافة أهم مؤتمر عالمي للمناخ COP28 في عام 2023 .. اختيار مستحق لدولتنا .. وسنضع كل إمكانياتنا لإنجاح المؤتمر .. وستبقى دولة الإمارات ملتزمة تجاه العمل المناخي العالمي لحماية كوكب الأرض.
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) November 11, 2021
Path-breaking initiatives at COP-26 At COP26, the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) – a major new initiative led by the UAE and United States (US) with the support of over 30 governments – was officially launched. AIM for Climate announced an “early harvest” of US$4 billion of increased investment to accelerate innovation for climate-smart agriculture and food systems over the next five years.
The UAE has pledged US$1 billion of increased investment as part of this initiative, which aims to increase and accelerate agricultural and food systems innovation in support of climate action. AIM for Climate is focused on leveraging high-potential economic returns and job creation from innovation investment in a sector that employs over 2 billion people and feeds the world’s growing population.
The UAE also joined the Global Methane Pledge building on its position as one of the least methane intense nations in the world. The nation will share its capabilities and experience in best-in-class methane performance with signatories to the EU-US led initiative that aims to cut global methane emissions by 30 per cent by the end of the decade. The UAE has long acted as a regional leader in methane reduction.
Over five decades, the country has reduced the volume of natural gas flared in the domestic energy sector by more than 90 percent. In turn, the UAE’s hydrocarbon industry today holds one of the world’s lowest methane intensities of 0.01 percent. The UAE will build on this foundation of ultra-low methane intensity in the energy sector to further improve its methane performance.
Further, IRENA and the UAE announced the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform, a new global climate finance facility to accelerate the transition to renewable energy in developing countries. The UAE committed US$400 million in funding provided by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) toward the platform’s goal of securing a minimum of US$1 billion in total funding.
The UAE has also announced the Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap, a comprehensive national blueprint to support domestic, low-carbon industries, contribute to the country’s net-zero ambition and establish the country as a competitive exporter of hydrogen.
The Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap comprises three core objectives: unlocking new sources of value creation through exports of low carbon hydrogen, derivatives and products to key importing regions, fostering new hydrogen derivative opportunities through low-carbon steel, sustainable kerosene as well as other priority UAE industries and contributing to the UAE’s 2050 net zero commitments.
Moreover, the UAE has raised the mangrove-planting target in its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement from 30 million to 100 million by 2030. The move consolidates the nation’s position as a global leader in nature-based climate change solutions, and will expand local mangrove forests to cover 483 square kilometers, sequestering nearly 115,000 tons of CO2 per year.
The UAE was the first country in the Middle East & North Africa to ratify the Paris Agreement and commit to lowering its carbon emissions. It was also a pioneer in setting the region’s first renewable energy and biodiversity conservation targets to match its climate ambitions.
Among many sustainability achievements, the UAE has brought the cost of solar energy below that of all other electricity sources and built one of the world’s first large-scale carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) facilities. It has invested close to US$17 billion in solar, wind and battery storage projects across six continents worldwide, including in 27 climate-vulnerable island nations.
The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, which started commercial operations in April this year, will eliminate almost a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions of the UAE’s power sector once its four reactors are operational. The UAE was the first country in the Middle East & North Africa to announce a Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative – a national drive to make the country carbon-neutral by mid-century.
Following the Strategic Initiative’s launch, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) vowed to decarbonise its electrical grid at scale, starting January 2022. This bold move makes ADNOC the first oil & gas company to source up to 100 per cent of its grid power requirements from solar and nuclear energy.
In 1989 the UAE first ratified the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone layer. Since then, it has joined the UNFCCC (1995) and ratified the Kyoto Protocol (2005). Two years ago, the UAE hosted the Abu Dhabi Climate Meeting, attended by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.