Over the past decade and a half, the UAE has taken several salient measures to establish its position as a regional leader on its path to becoming the international catalyst in climate action. It has consistently topped the states in the MENA region in the Environmental Performance Index.
The United Arab Emirates will be hosting the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held at the Expo City Dubai between 30th November and 12th December 2023. Touted as the most important event of the year by the Emirates, COP28 marks the culmination of the country’s pioneering efforts to further the cause of environmental sustainability and climate action.
The UAE kickstarted 2023 by organising its annual Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week between the 14th and 19th of January, setting the stage for the conference scheduled for later this year. The country aims to harness its fifteen years of expertise in hosting such global sustainability events to bring public and private stakeholders like governments, corporates, NGOs, scientists, and other experts onto a forum and lead constructive dialogue for effective climate action. This year’s COP is decisive, for it will deliver the first Global Stocktake of the Paris Climate Agreement 2015 to assess the world’s collective performance in limiting global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial levels.
The UAE has recently appointed Dr Sultan bin Ahmad Al-Jaber, the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and chairperson of Masdar, UAE’s flagship renewable energy initiative, as the President-Designate for the two-week-long event. As a leader of diverse organisations, he will bring his multifarious leadership experiences to spearhead the deliberations into finding an ambitious, inclusive, and pragmatic solution to climate change. Besides, the country has closely aligned itself with the sustainable cooling agenda of the conference, launching a water management policy to reduce the dependence of its district cooling mechanism on desalinated water. President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has recognised the country’s efforts towards making COP28 a success and aptly declared the year 2023 as the “Year of Sustainability”.
UAE’s Climate Action
Over the past decade and a half, the UAE has taken several salient measures to establish its position as a regional leader on its path to becoming the international catalyst in climate action. It has consistently topped the states in the MENA region in the Environmental Performance Index, maintaining the highest score of 100 in categories like marine reserves, ecosystem services, and reduction in wetland shrinkage, carbon dioxide emission, and black carbon growth. In 2006, it founded Masdar Renewables, one of the leading clean energy developers, laying the foundation for the world’s first sustainable city in Abu Dhabi in 2008. Since then, the country has invested over $40 billion in developing clean energy sources and has become the permanent host of the IRENA headquarters. UAE’s ambition for environmental stewardship was also reflected in its readiness to ratify the Paris Agreement, making it the first country in the region to do so and, subsequently, launching a national drive to reach net zero emissions by the year 2050.
Despite being the seventh largest oil producer, the UAE has recognised the need for a fossil-fuel-free future to combat global warming. While it acknowledges the centrality of hydrocarbons in the ongoing transitional phase, it has been driven to diversify its energy profile to include green, renewable, and nuclear energy, aiming to expand the share of clean sources in the generation mix to 50 per cent by 2050. Moreover, it believes that economic growth does not have to be antagonistic to environmental sustainability and aims to create a symbiotic relationship between the two seemingly inimical goals. Therefore, treating green technologies as potential drivers of growth for the post-oil era.
India-UAE Bilateral Cooperation
Although the UAE shares historical ties with India, the unprecedented momentum between their relations in recent years, have brought the countries closer than ever before. The multidimensional friendship has also steered them towards collaborating in environmental conservation. India is among the top five renewable energy producers, with 40 per cent of its total installed capacity coming from clean energy sources. In its endeavours to meet 50 per cent of its power needs through renewables and achieve the larger vision of reaching net zero emissions by 2070, India has found a natural friend in the UAE.
Following the monumental Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the two countries concluded an MoU to enhance cooperation in climate action in May 2022. As a co-member of the West Asian Quad, I2U2, the UAE pledged an investment of $2 billion to develop food parks across the country, to tackle food insecurity through sustainable technologies and renewable energy that would reduce food waste, save fresh water and maximise the yield. India has also appreciated the UAE’s initiative to expand carbon sinks and plant 100 million mangroves by 2030. Home to the world’s largest mangrove forest, it has joined hands with the UAE and Indonesia in their joint venture, Mangrove Alliance for Climate, launched at last year’s COP27.
India, along with other populous developing countries like Brazil, China and South Africa, has actively pushed for climate financing and technology transfer from the developed nations during United Nations Climate Conferences. It has utilised the global forum to demand clear definitions and scope of financing and the pace at which it is expected to be delivered. In COP27, held in Sherm El-Sheikh, Egypt, these states achieved a breakthrough with the establishment of a loss and damage fund to provide technical and financial assistance for developing and environmentally vulnerable nations.
India, which ranks 7th in the Global Climate Risk Index, seeks to benefit from the arrangement in meeting its climate goals. Therefore, this year’s COP28 is crucial for the country, as it would decide the nature of the fund and a framework for its operationalisation in the coming years. Besides, the UAE, as the host country, has also guaranteed an inclusive platform that would bridge the chasm between Global North and South. Their thriving bilateral relationship, hence, will prove to be advantageous for India to better assert its position on equity in climate mitigation in line with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.
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