Question

What's the progress in the UAE green agenda?

Answer 1

It shall be noted that UAE green agenda 2015-30 covers the key aspects required for the UAE to transition to a green economy — including technology, human capital, regulatory environment, green financing, international trade, intellectual property, consumer awareness, and integrated national planning and cooperation across the emirates.

The progress in the UAE green agenda 2015-30 are as follows:

1) UAE set up UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in 2016 for monitoring the progress of the UAE Green Agenda 2030 and coordinating the planning and implementation of Agenda projects

2) UAE developed a National Climate Change Plan 2017-2050 and the institutionalized country planning framework (CPF) outlines four strategic outcomes that will guide GGGI’s interventions in the UAE during the period 2018-2022. The CPF will help fulfill national objectives, the Nationally Determined Contribution and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and contribute to achieving the UAE’s goal of a diversified and climate-resilient economy for the future.

3) UAE has launched projects that will contribute to achieving national and local sector-specific objectives in maximizing waste recovery, improving air quality, growing the environmental goods and services sector, improving water resource management, and thus reducing the overall ecological footprint. It will also help meet several SDG targets, including decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation (SDG 8), and sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources (SDG 12).

4) Expanding on the UAE Green Agenda 2015-2030, the National Climate Change Plan 2050 marks the first comprehensive framework in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region that consolidates the country’s climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives and sets a clear roadmap for fulfilling its commitment to the Paris Agreement.

5) The UAE Energy Plan 2050, announced in January 2017, aims to increase the share of clean energy in the national energy mix to 50% by 2050, with 44% generated from renewable sources. It also plans to cut down the country’s power generation carbon footprint by 70% and reduce residential energy consumption by 40% over the next three decades.

6) UAE encouraged private-sector investment flows, especially in energy, transport, food, and waste, as policies become better designed and risk is better understood and minimized (SDG 9)

7) UAE set up Green Growth MENA Network that includes an online platform targeting green growth professionals from government, academia, and the private sector to stimulate knowledge exchange and transfer.