National Efforts to Deal with Climate Change in the UAE
Early Attention
Corporate Framework for Dealing with Climate Change
Climate Change and the UAE Vision 2021 National Efforts to Deal with Climate Change Adoption of Renewable and Clean Energy Green Economy
Sustainable Transport
UAE Strategy for the Future Government Accelerators
Emissions Elimination Projects National Climate Change Plan
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Early Attention
Global concerns about climate change are being actively addressed by the UAE. The country participated in the preparatory meetings that led to the signing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. It ratified the Convention shortly after its entry into force in 1994 under Federal Decree No. (61) of 1995. It also ratified the Kyoto Protocol immediately upon its enforcement in 2004 under Federal Decree No. (75) of 2004. The UAE was the first country in the region to ratify the Paris Agreement and to submit the instruments of ratification at the ceremony held by the United Nations for this purpose in its New York headquarters in September 2016.
The U.A.E. has taken a series of measures related to the Convention and the Agreement, namely:
• The Permanent National Committee for the Preparation of the National Communication of the United Arab Emirates, which was formed pursuant to Cabinet Resolution No.
(114/1) of 2005. This committee has supervised the preparation of national emission reports and has submitted them to the United Nations Secretariat Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• The formation of the Permanent National Committee of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), pursuant to Cabinet Resolution No. (11) of 2004. This committee is deemed to be a national linking point for the mechanism.
• The formation of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Executive Committee to ensure that the CDM projects lead to the transfer of technology, the contribution to sustainable development in the country, the examination and approval of the projects proposed to be implemented within the Clean Development Mechanism and their submission to the CDM Permanent High Committee for endorsement.
• The formation of the National Committee for Climate Change pursuant to Cabinet Resolution No. 23 of 2010.
• Submission to the Convention Secretariat of the National Document of Contributions at the national level, which includes, inter alia, increasing the percentage of clean energy contribution in the national energy mix to 24% by 2021, and then raising it to 27% during that same year.
Corporate Framework for Dealing with Climate Change Moreover, concerns about climate change has also increased at the corporate level. A Department of Climate Change was created in the Ministry of Environment and Water in May 2009 and a Department of Climate Change and Energy Affairs was also created at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was entrusted with the climate change file at both regional and global levels.
In 2016 the name of the Ministry of Environment and Water was changed to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment.
This indicated the level of importance of climate change to the UAE government. It should be noted that the inclusion of the climate change file under the Ministry of Environment is not merely a transfer of the climate change file from one authority to another, but rather pro-active vision by the country’s leadership. It recognizes the importance of climate change as a central issue in the future development of the UAE and the world, and the importance of enhancing efforts aiming at addressing it most effectively. This directive was reinforced by selecting climate change as one of the vital issues in the UAE’s visionary strategy.
Climate Change and the UAE Vision 2021
Climate change has been one of the key issues in the UAE considering it as the main challenge for development in the country and in the world. This was clearly reflected in UAE Vision 2021, which affirmed the commitment of the UAE to participate in the development and execution of innovative solutions to protect and sustain the environment.
The vision also underscores the UAE's commitment to mitigate the impact of climate change to protect our environment for the current and future generation. Hence, we preserve our rich natural environment from the dangers of human activities globally and locally by adopting preventive measures such as reducing carbon emissions and regulatory measures that protect the ecosystems from civil expansion.
In addition, the vision’s national agenda includes a range of national targets related to climate change, such as air quality, waste recycling, clean energy contribution to the national energy mix…etc.
National Efforts to Deal with Climate Change
With more scientific evidence on the economic, social and environmental impacts of climate change at the global and local levels, the UAE has begun to focus more on responding to this change through mitigation and adaptation efforts. Our efforts at early stage focused on improving the oil industry, reducing emissions in the industrial sector using modern systems and technologies, using natural gas as fuel, adopting green architecture concepts, awareness and capacity building.
The country also has taken care of the forestry, establishment of artificial forests and protection of marine environment and adopted a series of measures to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts, including:
Embracing a Renewable and Clean Environment
The energy sector is one of the major contributors to climate change. Available data indicates that the energy sector, including electricity production, oil extraction, oil refinery, desalination, conversion industries and transport, accounts for about 80% of total emissions at the national level.
Considering these facts, the UAE has been keen to pay particular attention to this sector. The establishment of Abu
Dhabi Future Energy Company “Masdar” in 2006 marked a major turning point in the energy source diversification policy pursued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE (may Allah protect Him) and in UAE's handling of the issue of sustainability in general, and climate change in particular.
The global consensus to select Abu Dhabi as the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) reflects the global recognition of the UAE's efforts in the deployment of renewable energy technologies at the national and global levels.
Emirates Energy Strategy 2050
In the light of the UAE energy successes, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, launched in January 2017 the
“Emirates Energy Strategy 2050”, the first unified energy strategy in the country in terms of both production and consumption, thus balancing production, consumption and global environmental commitments and ensuring a comfortable economic environment for growth in all sectors.
This strategy aims to increase the share of clean energy in the national energy mix to 50% by 2050, taking into account the growth rate of energy demand estimated at about 6% until 2050. It also aims to increase the efficiency of individual and institutional consumption by 40% and to reduce the carbon emissions associated with electricity production by 70%.
UAE’s Important Clean Energy Projects
• In Abu Dhabi in March 2013 His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, launched the Shams 1 Project, the first renewable energy project in the country and the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world with a production capacity of 100 megawatts.
• In May 2017, the construction of the Noor Plant, Abu Dhabi, the largest independent solar power station in the world, began with a capacity of 1,777 megawatts. The plant is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2019.
• In October 2013, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated the first project of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Complex for Solar Power, with a capacity of 13 megawatts.
• His Highness then inaugurated the second stage of the project, which came into operation in April 2017 with a capacity of 200 MW.
• In June 2016, the third stage of the 200 megawatts was launched, which will enter into force in 2020 coinciding with the hosting of the "Expo 2020". This was followed by the announcement of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to start work on the largest single site solar project in the world with 700-megawatt capacity at a cost of AED 14.2 billion in the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Complex. This falls under the plan to produce 5,000 MW by 2030, making it the world's largest single site solar power plant.
• The Supreme Council of Energy in Dubai plans to bring solar energy in the energy mix of Dubai to 7% by 2020, 25% by 2030, and 75% by 2050.
• In 2012 the UAE started to build 4 nuclear power plants in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi with a capacity of 5.6 gigawatts, representing about 26% of the energy mix in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. These plants will start producing energy in stages between 2017 and 2020.
• In November 2015, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) officially announced the start of the operational phase of its renewable energy desalination pilot project in
“Ghantoot”, Abu Dhabi, with a production capacity of almost 1,500 cubic meters of water per day, reducing typical desalination energy requirements by 40%.
• In May 2017, the Sharjah Waste Company (Bee'ah) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) announced their joint venture, Emirates Waste Disposal Company (TAQA), and laid the foundation for the company's first project to establish a waste recycling facility in Sharjah.
The project, the first of its kind in the region, aims to treat more than 300,000 tons of municipal solid waste per year, with a capacity of 30 MW.
• Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has launched the
“Shams Dubai” initiative to encourage homeowners and building owners to install photoelectric panels that produce electricity from solar energy, for their own use and to transfer any surplus to a network.
• In January 2017, the Regulation & Supervision Bureau - Abu Dhabi adopted a regulatory framework for the installation of small-scale photovoltaic solar panels. In July 2017, the Bureau issued the first Self-Regulating Generation (Solar PV) license.
• In the same context, the Ministry of Energy announced at the end of 2016, in collaboration with the Federal Authority for Electricity and Water, a law that allows residents, establishments and private companies to produce electricity using solar energy by installing photoelectric panels on the roofs of their buildings.
• The renewable energy projects implemented by the UAE at national and global levels have contributed to a significant reduction of the cost of production, achieving a new world record of 2.42 cents per kilowatt/hour. This important achievement will enhance the opportunities for spreading renewable energy technologies globally.
All this has coincided with the attention paid to the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation through a variety of measures. These include raising awareness, linking consumption to the economic mechanism (band system) and the use of energy conserving tools in various sectors.
UAE’s Contribution to Spreading Renewable Energy Technologies Globally
• Since its establishment in 1971, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has overseen the provision of 73 billion Dirhams for financing 488 developmental projects in 83 countries worldwide.
• The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development is committed to providing franchise loans worth 1.285 billion Dirhams (the equivalent of almost 350 million Dollars) in cooperation with the International Renewable Energy Agency to support renewable energy projects in developing country members in the Agency.
• Through the UAE-Pacific Island Partnership Program, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development provides grants worth 183.6 million Dirhams (the equivalent of almost 50 million Dollars) in support of renewable energy projects. Under this program, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has supported 6 projects in Tonga, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
• The Caribbean Fund, announced in September 2016 with capital of 50 million Dollars, is the latest addition to the program for helping to develop renewable energy abroad. This is based on commitments exceeding 840 million Dollars undertaken so far to provide support in more than 25 countries worldwide.
• “Masdar” invests in renewable energy projects around the world, including solar systems for homes installed in 940 villages in Morocco and the London Wind Energy Matrix in the United Kingdom, in addition to other projects supporting renewable energy solutions around the globe.
Green Economy
Green Economy is one of the tracks of sustainable development. This approach aims in general to strengthen the role of economic growth in achieving sustainable development and combatting poverty, while simultaneously conserving and expanding the natural resource base by decoupling growth and resources.
The UAE officially adopted this approach in 2012 when His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, launched UAE's Green Development Strategy under the theme “A Green Economy for Sustainable Development”. Its objective is to transform our national economy into a low-carbon green economy based on its development of knowledge and innovation.
This strategy is divided into six tracks: green energy, green investment, green cities, climate change, green life and green technology.
In 2015, the Cabinet endorsed the implementation mechanism of UAE Strategy and Green Agenda 2015-2030, which was prepared following studies, meetings and workshops where various developmental activities took place in the public and private sectors.
Sustainable Transport
The continued growth in the UAE road transport sector represents an important challenge. The number of vehicles rose from approximately 1.9 million in 2008 to almost 3.2 million vehicles in 2015. These all depend on gasoline and diesel for fuel, with the exception of a small percentage running on natural gas.
Despite the important role played by this sector as a major driver of development, the steady and rapid increase in the number of vehicles in the nation has created negative effects and marked challenges on more than one level. These include increased levels of pollution in cities and urban centers, increased hazardous and non-hazardous waste, and increased level of carbon emissions. The transport sector contributes about 15% of the total carbon emissions in the country.
In an effort to reduce the negative effects of the land transport sector and to maintain its vital role in development, the concerned authorities have taken a range of measures, including:
• Setting national standards for the levels of emissions resulting from land transportation. These are guaranteed by the system of air pollution protection issued by virtue of Cabinet Resolution No. 37 of 2006 as part of the executive regulations of Federal Law No. 24 of 1999 with respect to environment protection and development.
• Periodic inspection of the gaseous pollutants emitted from exhausts annually as a prerequisite for licensing vehicles.
• To improve the types of fuel used in vehicles. Leaded gasoline was replaced with unleaded gasoline in 2003, and the sulfur content of diesel has been reduced to 10 parts per million at present.
• Use of natural gas as fuel in more vehicles.
• The adoption of the mass transport option and making it more acceptable and attractive. New means of mass transport, such as trains, metro and tram have been introduced in order to limit the individual use of means of transport. Public transport has become an option for much of the country's population. For example, more than 531 million passengers used public transport in Dubai in 2015, with a daily average of about 1.5 million passengers.
• Setting up the appropriate infrastructure to encourage the entry of clean-fuel cars to the local market.
• To float fuel prices effective from August 1, 2015.
The efforts to sustain the transport sector will continue in the next phase, with a focus on continuous improvement of fuel types and road networks, diversification of transport by increasing the share of clean-fuel vehicles, as well as promoting mass transport and making it the preferred choice for the largest population.
Green Architecture
The building sector is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions globally, according to the governmental authority concerned with climate change. In the UAE, this sector accounts for more than 70% of the total electricity consumption and for about 40% of the total water consumption.
Consequently, the sustainability of consumption patterns in this sector represents opportunities to lower consumption and to reduce pollutants, emissions and waste, more than in any other single sector.
The UAE has adopted the Green Architecture approach, which is deemed one of the most important tools in this regard, especially in light of the level of urban development it witnesses. The implementation of the criteria of this approach is mandatory in Abu Dhabi through the “Estidama”
(Sustainability) program, which includes five levels of assessment and, in Dubai, through the four-level “Al Safat”
assessment system. Moreover, the implementation of the criteria of Green Architecture has begun at the federal level in governmental buildings as a first stage, and they will be implemented in all buildings in the country in later stages.
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi and Dubai Sustainable City are two important examples of green architecture.
Ecological Footprint
The Emirates Ecological Footprint Initiative is a partnership initiative between the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, Emirates Wildlife Society and the Global Ecological Footprint Network.
The UAE is considered the third country in the world, after Switzerland and Japan, to adopt such an initiative.
Since its launch in 2007, the Initiative, through its three-year strategic partnership, has realized significant achievements, including: introducing the concept of Ecological Footprint to policy makers, decision-makers and community members, integrating it into policy development and decision-making, and setting up sophisticated mechanisms and models for collecting, reviewing and auditing the data related to Ecological Footprint accounts and to make them available at both local and global levels.
The initiative has also succeeded in developing a scientific modeling tool to assess how energy and water supply and demand processing policies affect carbon emissions, in developing standards and policies for efficient energy use in lighting, and in developing public standards and policies for the transport sector.
The initiative has played an important role in reducing the Ecological Footprint per capita in the country from around 12
global hectares in 2006 to less than 8 global hectares per capita annually in 2014.
UAE Strategy for the Future
The UAE's visionary strategy aims to anticipate and analyze opportunities and challenges in all vital sectors in the State and develop long-term proactive plans at all levels to achieve qualitative achievements serving the interests of the country.
The Strategy aims to develop governmental systems that make the future outlook part of the strategic planning process in government agencies, to launch studies and scenarios for anticipating the future of all vital sectors and to develop plans and policies accordingly.
Addressing climate change represents one of the priority issues selected in the first phase of the Strategy.
Government Accelerators
The Government Accelerators adopted by the Cabinet in October 2016 are considered as a new government action mechanism aimed at accelerating the pace of achieving the objectives of the National Agenda of UAE Vision 2021, including those related to climate change.
In the context of the 100-day work program announced by His Highness Sheikh / Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai (may Allah safeguard Him), the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Emirates Global Aluminum Company and General Electric Company have begun a joint project for reducing the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx) resulting from the activities of the company's plants in Al Taweelah area, Abu Dhabi, and Jebel Ali, Dubai, by 10% at the end of February 2017, which is equivalent to removing 280 thousand cars off the roads of the country.
The project, which was completed on time, surpassed the planned targets by reducing NOx emissions by 16%.
Emission Elimination Projects
Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies
Carbon capture and storage technology adopted by the UAE is considered one of the most promising and important technologies in the field of carbon emission mitigation in industrial projects.
In November 2016, Abu Dhabi Carbon Capture Company (Al Reyadah), a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), began implementing the region's first commercial scale program for capturing, storing and using carbon in Abu Dhabi's enhanced oil production.
The project aims to capture 800 thousand tons of carbon dioxide from Emirates Steel Company, to store it, to transport it through pipelines and to inject it as a substitute for liquid saturated gas in Abu Dhabi oil fields in order to boost their productivity. The carbon dioxide captured in the project is equivalent to carbon emissions resulting from 170 thousand cars.
This project will lead the way for the application of this technology and its widespread use in the region in the future.
Blue Carbon
“Blue carbon” is a term that refers to carbon in marine and coastal ecosystems, including mangroves, salt marshes, sea grass, algal mosses and coastal swamps. During this process, carbon is stored in the atmosphere in biomasses and marine sediments.
In the context of its interest in carbon capture and elimination projects, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative, conducted a comprehensive study of coastal ecosystems and their ability to store carbon.
This project has provided a broader understanding of the capacity of those systems to store and to capture carbon and the options for integrating the outcome entailed by the project in policies and management in order to enhance the efforts of their protection and sustainable use.
Artificial Forest Management
It focused on the UAE at an early stage on the establishment of a group of artificial forests in the framework of its objectives to combat desertification and increase green areas and provide habitat for wild species and climate improvement. The artificial forest area in the country at the present time is about 318 thousand hectares. Contribute to the absorption of about 2.5% of the total greenhouse gas emissions.
National Climate Change Plan
In June 2017, the Council of Ministers adopted its resolution No. (1/7 and) the National on Climate Change Plan.
The plan is mainly aimed at strengthening the state 's ability to mitigate the impact of climate change and adaptation, and is based on three priorities:
1. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management at the national level while maintaining economic growth 2. Increase the ability to adapt to the consequences
of climate change.
3. Promote economic diversification and private sector involvement in the state by adopting innovative solutions to the challenges of the climate change.
Based on the national plan of climate change primarily on the National Strategy for Green Development (Green National Agenda 2015-2030), which depend on the progress made in the projects covered Balojendh green serving climate work and build on them, especially in light of the areas of work common to the strategic plan, which include:
electricity, water, oil and gas dispositional, buildings, transportation, waste, industry, agriculture, fishing, tourism and finance.
The means of implementation depends on a variety of green enablers such as finance, capacity-building, governance, monitoring and evaluation, education and awareness, and international cooperation.
Infographic - National Climate Change Plan
