His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, called on legislators to fast-track and increase their countries’ adoption of renewable solutions.
Addressing the 2019 Legislators Forum, held today ahead of the ninth session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to take place from 11 - 13 January 2019 in Abu Dhabi, His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi said: “You - as legislators - can play a significant role in supporting the advancement and fast-track deployment of renewable energy technologies, by contributing to the development of policy frameworks and institutional capacity, as well as by encouraging public-private partnerships.”
He pointed out in his speech that renewable energy has been witnessing remarkable growth, outperforming conventional energy sources in the past few years. He said: “IRENA’s latest statistics show that the renewable energy generation worldwide increased by 6.7 percent in 2016. The majority of the newly installed capacity now comes from renewable energy, which is an important step in meeting our climate objectives under the Paris Agreement and in realizing sustainable development.”
His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi added: “The UN Sustainable Development Goal on Energy – SDG 7 – calls for universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030. Achieving SDG 7 requires greater policy commitment and increased funding, and a willingness to embrace new technologies and innovation on a much wider scale.”
Speaking on the UAE’s commitment to advancing clean energy adoption, His Excellency Dr Al Zeyoudi said: “Here in the UAE, we are strongly committed to transforming our economy into a low-carbon green economy under the UAE Green Agenda 2030 and the National Climate Change Plan 2050. Furthermore, in 2017, the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 was launched. The strategy targets an energy mix in 2050 consisting of 44 percent renewable energy, 38 percent gas, 12 percent clean coal, and 6 percent nuclear, while reducing the country’s carbon footprint from power generation by 70 percent, and reducing residential energy consumption by 40 percent. To meet these ambitious targets, the country aims to invest as much as US$ 163 billion.
“Furthermore, we are sending a clear message to potential investors of the importance of their engagement in the low-carbon development path as partners of our Green Agenda. The opportunities that arise from green growth make a good business sense. The 27 billion US dollar Dubai Green Fund offers loans to companies in the clean energy and is expected to further accelerate green projects. As many as 32 leading UAE financial firms have also signed the Dubai Declaration on Sustainable Finance, indicating their commitment to supporting the UAE’s transition to a climate-resilient, green economy.”
Elaborating on the UAE’s contribution to renewable energy deployment beyond its borders, he said: “In order to bridge the gap of energy access, the UAE has been financing renewable energy projects in Africa and elsewhere through the 350-million US dollar IRENA/ADFD Project Facility. Since 2014, 21 renewable energy projects have been selected for funding in 20 different countries, including solar PV, geothermal and small-scale hydropower projects. Furthermore, the UAE supports Pacific and Caribbean island countries through the 50-million US dollar UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund as well as the 50-million UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund. These funds have created multiple benefits and helped countries increase energy security, access to education and healthcare, job creation and reduce harmful emissions.”
The 2019 IRENA Legislators Forum focused on the overall theme of parliamentary actions to accelerate the energy transformation in reaching the SDG 7 as set forth in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Legislators conducted an in-depth discussion on the topic, and IRENA, as one of the custodian agencies for SDG7, shared its expertise and policy recommendations in this regard.