Working hand in hand, the UAE and COP28 members will aim to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity and double hydrogen production by 2030. The global energy transition is a significant aspect for the UAE and will help further boost clean energy capacity on a global scale, noted Suhail Al Mazrouei, the country’s Minister of Energy. 

“We’re calling for a tripling of renewable energy, a doubling of energy efficiency, and a dramatic expansion of clean hydrogen by 2030, and we are calling on the oil and gas and industry partners to help us decarbonize existing operations,” said Majid Al Suwaidi, director general and special representative of the UAE for the COP28 presidency. 

He added, “We want our partners to help us remove red tape and prohibitive policies to ease investments and to make the Global South a prime destination for foreign investors.”

Several initiatives have been announced to push the net-zero emissions goal by 2050 in the UAE. For one, the cabinet launched the updated version of the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, which states that the country will invest $54 billion towards securing energy demand by 2030 while sustaining economic growth. 

The UAE has also developed its National Hydrogen Strategy to position it among the world’s largest producers of low-carbon hydrogen. The strategies come to reduce carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. 

“We recognize that the only sensible and practical route to reducing emissions is building the energy system of tomorrow,” said Al Suwaidi, adding, “The clear answer, therefore, must be to urgently and dramatically invest in clean energy and that is precisely what we are trying to achieve.”

To reach this goal, the UAE has clean energy projects in development, such as the Barakah nuclear plant, a two-gigawatt solar plant in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region, as well as the five-gigawatt Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.

Renewable energy capacity must see an average of 1,100 gigawatts annually by 2030 to align with the Paris Agreement goals, notes the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA.) For this to happen, global investments in energy transition technology must quadruple to $35 trillion by 2030.