Tue, Nov 19, 2024 | Jumada al-Awwal 17, 1446 | DXB ktweather icon0°C

COP28 in the UAE will benefit all humanity

For the foreseeable future, fossil fuels, especially lower-carbon sources such as natural gas, must exist alongside the large-scale electrification of our economy

Published: Wed 1 Feb 2023, 4:53 PM

  • By
  • Dalya Al Muthanna/Green Future

Top Stories

Dr. Dalya Al Muthanna is President of GE in the UAE and the global Chief of Strategy & Operations for GE International Markets. - Supplied photo

Dr. Dalya Al Muthanna is President of GE in the UAE and the global Chief of Strategy & Operations for GE International Markets. - Supplied photo

Three years into this “decade of action” on climate change, the crucial challenge we face is translating big ambitions into meaningful action with players from across the ecosystem. Living and working in the UAE, it is clear that the world can learn much from the country’s experience: combine planning and partnership with implementation and inclusivity, grounded by a clear vision.

This approach will be on full display this year in the UAE, where two global events – Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and COP28 – are taking place. Many of us working to address decarbonisation and climate change have spent the past few days at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), discussing ways to deliver on a roadmap for our collective net-zero future. An even larger group of climate-focused decision makers will meet again in November and December for the UN Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai.

One powerful example of the country’s ability to combine forward-looking vision with action and true progress is Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company.

It was all the way back in 2006 that UAE leadership established Masdar, the UAE-based global renewable energy company. In a short period, Masdar has grown from a 10-megawatt solar PV plant in Abu Dhabi to a global renewable energy project developer with 20 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity and a goal to reach 100 GW by 2030. Masdar also launched ADSW and built the low-carbon Masdar City, which then became home to the permanent headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

This focus on the energy transition was ahead of its time, and we are reaping the benefits of it today. For example, Dubai announced that the share of renewables in its total energy production capacity was 14 per cent in 2022, well on the way to 25 per cent by 2030. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Water & Electricity Company (EWEC) reported in December that more than 60 per cent of total system power demand was supplied by nuclear and renewable energy.

The UAE understands where the global energy system has been and where it needs to go. Although it is a country with significant oil reserves, it understands the need for an inclusive and collaborative approach to deliver the vision of the future. We know that progress can only be made when everyone has a seat at the table, and when vision and interests are aligned across the energy ecosystem. This is why it is an important setting for the make-or-break discussions and agreements set to take place at COP28.

No country is immune to the impact of climate change, including the UAE. It goes without saying that we, as a country located in an arid climate and with most of our major cities surrounded by sea, well understand the costs of inaction.

The reality is that while rapid and significant steps must be taken to decarbonise global energy systems, for the foreseeable future, fossil fuels, especially lower-carbon sources such as natural gas, must exist alongside the large-scale electrification of our economy and growing reliance on clean power sources, such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, and nuclear.

The UAE has experience across a range of these technologies – from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant to Dewa’s hydroelectric power plant in Hatta and SEWA’s Hamriyah combined-cycle power plant, as well as through breakthrough projects by companies such as Masdar, Adnoc and Emirates Global Aluminium. Even in new fields such as hydrogen and carbon capture, the country is pushing technology development and deployment forward.

The UAE has always been a crossroads. Initially, it was in the exchange of goods; more recently, also in the exchange of ideas and innovation. What’s more, we are in the vicinity of countries with diverse needs when it comes to the energy transition: large oil importers and oil exporters; developed and developing countries; countries with large populations and small; island nations and those that are landlocked.

In hosting COP28, the UAE will bring these varied and diverse understandings to the discussion – providing a gameplan of sorts to enable real progress to be made on core issues that will move us meaningfully along the path toward a low-carbon future.

The writer is President – UAE and Global Head of Strategy & Operations, GE International Markets



Next Story