Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) is the first major global sustainability event to take place since COP27, uniting climate action toward COP28, which takes place in November 2023 in Dubai.
Realizing The Paris Agreement
We all know we are at risk of not meeting the Paris Agreement targets. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), investment in renewable energy needs to reach $4 trillion by the end of this decade to meet net-zero emissions targets by 2050.
The IEA also projects that the global market for critical mass-manufactured clean energy technology will be worth about $650 billion a year by 2030 – more than three times the current level – if countries fully enact their Paris Agreement commitments. Carbon capture and many other technologies to decarbonize the earth are on the table.
At COP28, countries will face pressure to demonstrate they will take decisive action and “get it done” across a range of areas, including climate finance, food systems, the ocean, adaption and resilience and other areas.
The UAE: Squaring the Circle of Oil Production and Net Zero
In 2015, the UAE became the first in the GCC region to sign the Paris Agreement, subsequently launching its strategy to become Net Zero by 2050 and the first to be hosting a COP. The appointed COP28 president-designate is Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Chairman of Masdar, the Abu Dhabi future energy company, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technologies, CEO of the UAE state-owned oil company ADNOC, and a major leader of the country’s efforts in the energy transition.
Over the past 17 years, Dr Al Jaber has overseen Masdar’s growing global impact, which today sees it delivering clean energy projects in over 40 countries. He helped lead the UAE’s successful bid to host the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), was appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to his Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change and was awarded the ‘UN Champion of the Earth’ for his work on advancing clean energy technologies to mitigate the threats of climate change.
Dr Al Jaber’s appointment was endorsed by the US climate envoy John Kerry who said “that Dr Sultan Al Jaber is a terrific choice because he is the head of the company. That company knows it needs to transition”, referring to ADNOC.
However, Abu Dhabi also plans to increase its crude oil production from 4m barrels a day to 5m. It remains difficult to assess how this can be reconciled with its aspirations for Net Zero. These concerns are justified. And while increasing crude oil production cannot be the answer in the long run, there are positive developments in the crucial area of clean energy development and transition.
The UAE has anchored part of its Net Zero path on renewable energy deployment at home and abroad. According to their official sources, the UAE has invested $16.8 billion in renewable energy projects in 70 countries and targets a 50% share of clean energy in its domestic energy mix by 2050. The clean energy company, Masdar, leads UAE’s renewable strategy and implementation, and it is a major player in the global arena for decarbonization.
UAE-US Partnership: Clean Energy Ambitions
Last November, the UAE and the US signed an agreement to invest $100 billion to produce 100 gigawatts of clean energy globally by 2035. The partnership seeks to invest in new energy technologies in both countries and emerging economies. The agreement follows the current climate goals of the US Presidency, which have made technology to lower fossil fuel emissions a priority.
The two countries will focus on developing new technology for carbon capture, use and storage, and measuring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the hydrocarbon value chain. The partnership sees methane abatement as a global “fast mitigation strategy” for this decade.
Plans for the first $20 billion were announced on 15th January 2023. Investments would be led by UAE’s Masdar and a consortium of US private investors and financed through $7 billion in private sector cash equity and $13 billion in US debt financing and other instruments.
Masdar has made it clear that they see the development of green hydrogen as one of their main strategies to cater for the needs of industries labelled as ‘hard to decarbonize’, such as aviation, steelmaking, shipping and cement. Abu Dhabi plans to become an international hub for producing and exporting green hydrogen and its derivatives.
In November 2022, the UAE signed an MoU with four Dutch companies – Port of Amsterdam, SkyNRG, Evos Amsterdam, and Zenith Energy – to work on the development of a green hydrogen supply chain through Amsterdam.
ETAF: Accelerating the Renewable Energy Transition
The war in Ukraine spotlighted the importance of a renewables-based energy transition as the most feasible road to energy security, national resilience and climate mitigation.
In recent years, Masdar and the UAE government have sought to provide leadership in the energy transition. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a lead global intergovernmental agency for energy transformation, is headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Irena has launched ETAF, an energy transition accelerator financing platform geared to invest approximately USD 1 billion in capital resources to support the energy transition by 2030.
Alongside Masdar, the ETAF funding partners are the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank, and Swiss Re, one of the worlds leading reinsurance and insurance companies. ETAF plans to expand its partners in the coming two years.
Kaj Embren
The article was written for Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week