UAE, Israel, Jordan move forward with clean energy and water desalination projects

The UAE, Jordan and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance the clean energy and sustainable water desalination projects announced last year.

The MoU was signed at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in the presence of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change; and John Kerry, United States’ Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

The agreement was signed by Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment; Mohammad Al Najjar, Jordan’s Minister of Water and Irrigation, and Esawi Frej, Israel’s Minister of Regional Cooperation.

The MoU relates to Project Prosperity, which has two components: Prosperity Green and Prosperity Blue. Prosperity Green includes a 600-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic plant, complemented with electric storage, which will be built in Jordan and produce clean energy for export to Israel. Prosperity Blue is a sustainable water desalination programme, located in Israel, to export to Jordan 200 million cubic metres of potable water per annum.

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Project Prosperity was proposed to help address some of the challenges posed by climate change on water and energy security in the Middle East, and to promote renewable energy, sustainable water supply, and stability in the region.