“Let me thank the UAE and Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, who has shown great merit as our envoy and partner over the past months,” said John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Affairs. “The UAE hosted the first climate dialogue in the Middle East with the participation of four or five oil and gas companies that They all joined the Climate Neutrality Initiative and demonstrated their commitment to the COP and to the responsible conduct of their activities in all sectors, and I thank them for that and extend my congratulations to them on the UAE Flag Day.”
For his part, Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, commented on the positive role of the UAE in climate action through the “Agri-Climate Innovation” initiative.
In his speech, Gates said: “I thank the Emirati and American leaderships for launching this initiative, in which about 30 countries participated, all of which committed to raising the level of research and development to improve agricultural systems, whether in terms of seed and livestock quality, or even digital planning to help farmers and provide digital advice to them.” According to the Emirates News Agency, WAM.
On Wednesday, the UAE called for a comprehensive climate approach that opens up prospects for economic opportunities, stressing that it will support progress towards finding practical solutions that are widely applicable when it hosts the 28th session of the COP28 conference in 2023.
This came during the participation of Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Special Envoy of the UAE for Climate Change, in a discussion session of the Atlantic Council within the work of the Conference of the Parties “COP26”, in which Kerry, Gates and Rachel Our Omamo, Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs also participated.
Al Jaber stressed the need for a comprehensive approach that combines all the ingredients necessary to succeed in limiting the repercussions of climate change, saying: “The UAE has established itself as a global center for economy, science and innovation, a pioneer in the energy and renewable energy sector, and a model for strategic partnerships. The country follows an integrated approach to growth. We will continue to follow this approach in line with the principles of the fiftieth document, of which sustainable economic and social growth is one of its most important features, and we are firmly convinced of the need to continue focusing on the growth of the economy. be financially sustainable.
He explained that the UAE was a pioneer in investing in renewable energy sources, adding: “We started our investments in the renewable energy sector 15 years ago and focused on science and innovation, and provided work centers and capital to transform ideas into world-class projects. The value of our investments in renewable energy projects today To $70 billion in 70 countries… We will work to consolidate our position in this sector, and we are already planning to quadruple the production capacity of renewable energy to reach about 9 gigawatts by the end of 2025.”
The UAE is one of the first countries to adopt renewable energy technologies, as it hosts the largest solar energy complex in the world and an advanced peaceful nuclear power plant.
The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant is planned to provide up to a quarter of the country’s electricity needs when operating at full capacity, avoiding up to 21 million tons of carbon emissions annually.
.