DUBAI: HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court; H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance; and HH Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior.
HH Sheikh Mohammed said, “As a result of the accelerated economic growth, we approved the updated UAE National Energy Strategy, which aims to triple the contribution of the renewable energy over the next 7 years, and invest AED150 to AED200 billion during the same period to meet the country’s growing demand for energy.”
He stated: “We also approved the National Hydrogen Strategy, which has recently emerged as one of the most important types of clean energy. The strategy aims to promoting the UAE’s position as a producer and exporter of low-emission hydrogen over the next eight years through the development of supply chains, the establishment of hydrogen oases and a national research and development centre.”
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid also said, “We approved the National Electric Vehicles Policy which aims to build a national network of electric vehicle chargers, organising the market of electric vehicles, promoting associated industries to ensure lower emissions, lower energy consumption and maintain the quality of roads.”
He added, “We also adopted the first national preliminary approval for autonomous vehicle in the UAE for WeRide company. The company will begin testing all types of autonomous vehicles in the country, reflecting a change in the country’s future mobility patterns.”
UAE National Energy Strategy 2050
The Cabinet approved the updates on the UAE National Energy Strategy 2050, aiming at increasing reliance on renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and promoting the use of clean energy. The strategy will support research and development programmes in energy technologies, in addition to encouraging innovation and investment in energy sector.
The National Strategy will work on strengthening the country’s capacity to provide clean and sustainable energy, raising its global competitiveness in the energy sector and consolidating its position as one of the most countries attracting innovation and investment in the sector.
The strategy provides new investment opportunities in renewable energy, supports efforts to strengthen cooperation with international partners to achieve sustainability goals in the energy sector, and constitutes a long-term national programme to balance meeting energy needs with ensuring the sustainability of natural resources for future generations.
The strategy aims to triple the contribution of renewable energy by 2030, to reduce the effects of climate change and achieve climate neutrality. The strategy’s objective is to achieve up to AED100 billion financial savings by 2030, and increase national energy investments between AED150 – 200 billion until 2030, in addition to raising the share of clean energy in the total energy mix to 30 percent by 2031.
National Hydrogen Strategy
Within the UAE’s initiatives and projects to invest in new clean energy sources, and as part of the country’s preparations to host COP28, the UAE Cabinet approved the National Hydrogen Strategy to support low carbon local industries, contribute to achieving climate neutrality and enhance the UAE’s position enhance among the largest producers of hydrogen by 2031, through 10 main enablers.
The strategy aims at accelerating the growth of hydrogen economy and enhancing the global position of the UAE among the world’s largest producers of low-carbon hydrogen, through developing energy policies, and attracting investments in this sector.
National Electric Vehicles Policy
Also, the UAE Cabinet has approved a national policy on electric vehicles. It aims to develop cooperation with federal and local partners as well as the private sector, to build a national network of electric vehicle chargers that supports the needs of owners of electric vehicles and regulates its market in the UAE.
The policy will contribute in reducing energy consumption in the transport sector by 20 percent, through the Green Mobility Project, in addition to reducing carbon emissions by 2050, building a unified database of electric vehicle charging stations and contributing to raising road quality and maintaining the world’s first rank in this index.
During the meeting, the Cabinet also granted a preliminary approval to the autonomous vehicle project for WeRide company that develops autonomous vehicles. The approval comes to support technological developments in the sustainable transport sector and to reduce carbon emissions.
The ‘Third Update of the Second NDC’ under the Paris Agreement
As per The Third Update of the Second NDC, the UAE aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 182 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) by 2030, in a decrease of 19 percent compared to the level of base year 2019. The level of emission reduction will be 40 percent compared to the business-as-usual scenario for the year 2030.
NDC aligns the UAE’s Nationally Determined Contributions with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris agreement. It shows the UAE’s active contribute to reducing emissions and limiting the global temperature increase in this century to 2°C.
Despite its classification as a non-Annex I country, in the Third Update of the Second NDC, the UAE adheres to base-year targets and fixed-level targets, ensuring transparency and accountability.
SOURCE: WAM
Date: 3 July 2023
