Minister seeks to rally govt, private sector bodies around climate efforts

The Emirates Climate Change Council which was presided over by Mariam Bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, reviewed the progress of national climate initiatives and discussed the next steps, during its second meeting of 2022.   

The UAE has presented a leading model of tackling the existential threat of climate change by way of its climate action over the past three decades, the Minister said, adding that in line with the vision of its wise leadership, the country will continue to scale up its climate efforts with the aim of achieving net zero by 2050.

“Through the meetings of the Emirates Climate Change Council, we seek to step up the cooperation between the government and the private sector entities to spur an all-inclusive participation in our climate efforts,” she added.

The council discussed the action plan for 2022-2025 that comprises two parts. The short-term plan, running for three to six months, will feature multiple projects, including the second phase of the National System for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification and the UAE’s third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that should be completed and approved ahead of submitting it to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The medium-term plan will run for a period of one to three years and entails boosting cross-sectoral collaboration in preparation of the UAE’s hosting of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), activating the UAE Climate Change Research Network (CCRN), and enhancing the quality of life by implementing the National Strategy for Net Zero 2050.

Moreover, the meeting agenda featured an overview of the National Net Zero by 2050 Pathway, launched at COP27, held in the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh last November.

The pathway sets the time-frame and identifies the mechanisms of implementing the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative. It also defines the country’s climate ambition with an absolute emission reduction target of 18 per cent by 2030, 60 per cent by 2040, and 100 per cent by 2050, compared to 2019.

The meeting explored the next steps for the National Dialogue for Climate Ambition (NDCA). The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) launched the initiative in May 2022 as a series of sector-specific assemblies aimed at exploring sectoral requirements, priorities, and future direction to scale up the private sector’s contribution to the country’s decarbonisation drive to reach net zero by 2050. To this date, seven NDCAs have taken place, engaging key sectors, such as energy, waste, cement, insurance, finance, and hospitality.

As part of NDCA, MOCCAE has launched the UAE Climate-Responsible Companies Pledge that seeks to increase the engagement of the private sector in the country’s emission reduction efforts in line with the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative. So far, 52 companies from various sectors have signed the pledge.

WAM