UAE president, Biden meet virtually to discuss energy transition

Abu Dhabi, UAE –  The UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met virtually on Wednesday with United States President Joe Biden to discuss global challenges including energy security.

In the meeting, the two leaders highlighted the just announced comprehensive UAE-US initiative to accelerate the energy transition, advance shared climate goals and strengthen global energy security. 

The meeting came a day after the UAE-US signed a partnership agreement to catalyse $100 billion of investment in renewable energies and clean technologies. 

The agreement called UAE-US Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) was signed by the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy for Climate Change Dr. Sultan Al Jaber and Special Presidential Coordinator Amos Hochstein, in front of the UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The initiative aims to produce 100 new gigawatts (GW) of clean energy in the two countries and emerging economies around the world by 2035.

Welcoming the PACE initiative, Sheikh Mohamed and Biden reaffirmed their shared commitment to enhancing climate ambition and climate action, in line with their net zero 2050 goals. 

Looking ahead to COP27 being held later this month in Egypt and to COP28 in the UAE next year, both countries recognized PACE as a significant catalyst to reach net zero by accelerating investment in clean energy projects, technologies, and resources. They noted the importance of a rapid and well-managed energy transition and its potential to create expanded economic opportunities and drive more sustainable growth.

Both leaders also shared their common interests in stabilizing the global energy market and in increasing their investments in renewable energy.  

President Sheikh Mohamed outlined the UAE’s significant ongoing investments to lower carbon impact on the energy sectors of both conventional and renewable energy.

He also expressed the UAE’s long-standing concern about the impacts of global warming, particularly on countries like the UAE with long coast lines and severe climates. He noted the UAE’s role in the energy transition, expanding its own renewable energy capacity 200-fold over the last ten years which included building three of the largest and lowest-cost solar projects in the world. 

The UAE president also briefed Biden on his country’s funding and assistance for clean energy projects on six continents, including in 31 small island developing states in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean as well as a growing number of projects across the US.