The actions will be accompanied by strategies to unlock capital flows in support of clean energy transition to ensure affordability and reliability
Over the next decade, the UAE will focus on driving clean electrification through solar and nuclear, along with the implementation of transparent policies, improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon and methane emissions, and turbocharging innovation to commercialise hydrogen technology.
These actions will be accompanied by strategies to unlock capital flows in support of clean energy transition to ensure affordability and reliability, the assistant undersecretary for the Electricity, Water, and Future Energy Sector at the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Yousif Al Ali, said during the opening session of the Global Energy & Utilities Forum.
The forum is being held at the Middle East Energy 2022 event, and will run from 7 March to 9 March at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Yousif Al Ali reiterated the UAE’s commitment to supporting the energy transition through domestic and foreign investment with an investment of $163 billion to diversify the country’s energy mix.
He said: “With IRENA forecasting that energy transition investments will have to increase by 30% over planned investment to a total of $131 trillion between now and 2050, the UAE is committed to supporting this transition through domestic and foreign investment. To achieve our ambition, we plan to invest $163 billion to diversify our energy mix.”
“Hydrogen has a key role to play in the energy transition and the UAE’s future energy system and will be crucial to decoarbonise our industries, transportation sector, and the fossil fuel sector.”
Al Ali added: “The UAE is determined to lead the decarbonisation and sustainability of the fossil fuel sector. Our national oil company ADNOC aims to decrease greenhouse emissions intensity by around 25 percent by 2030 and expand their carbon capture capacity by almost 500 percent, reinforcing ADNOC’s position as one of the least carbon-intensive producers globally.”
In addition, the acting assistant undersecretary for Green Development & Climate Change, Ministry of Climate Change & Environment, Aisha Al Abdooli, discussed the UAE’s roadmap to green development and net-zero goals and highlighted that the Ministry of Climate Change & Environment is guided by various national plans and strategies such as the UAE Clean Agenda 2030, and the UAE National Climate Change Plan 2050, which support efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change and support the achievement of net zero emissions by 2050.
With the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimating that energy transition technologies will require investments of around $131 trillion by 2050, the Global Energy & Utilities Forum continues on Tuesday, 8 March, with a keynote discussion highlighting where the capital will come from to deliver on ambitious renewable energy projects and energy efficiency programmes.
On the forum’s final day, Wednesday, 9 March, delegates at the keynote panel session will learn about the strategies and technologies for reducing CO2 within carbon-intensive industries.
More than 18,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors from 131 countries are expected during the three-day energy showcase hosted by the UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure.
SOURCE: arabianbusiness.com