The UAE on Thursday pledged to invest AED600 billion ($163 billion) in clean and renewable energy by 2050.
The investment is part of the UAE’s efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in a tweet.
“Our development model will take into account this goal and all institutions will work as one team to achieve it,” he said, adding that the country will play “its global role in combating climate change”.
The move was praised by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday who tweeted: “Fantastic news that the UAE has become the first Gulf country to commit to Net Zero emissions by 2050. This is a significant step in tackling climate change and I hope more countries commit to Net Zero ahead of @COP26.”
The announcement comes just weeks after Sheikh Mohammed inaugurated the 300 megawatt (MW) first stage of the 900MW fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (pictured below).
Implemented by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), the solar park is the largest single-site solar park in the world with a planned total capacity of 5,000MW by 2030.
Its projects constitute one of the key pillars of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to provide 75 percent of Dubai’s total power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.
Last week, Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, announced that Moody’s Investor Services and Fitch Ratings assigned it first-time credit ratings.
In what the Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company described as a “significant milestone”, the ratings place Masdar firmly in the investment grade category.
Masdar, also known as Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, is one of the world’s fastest growing companies in the sphere of sustainability. Masdar City is an innovation hub and free zone that hosts more than 900 commercial tenants and thousands of employees and residents.
The new target aligns the UAE with most major economies and the deadline scientists say gives the world some chance of avoiding the worst effects of global warming.
The commitment is the latest from countries ahead of United Nations-sponsored climate talks starting later this month in Glasgow, Scotland, and known as COP26.
Follow us on
