COP29: UAE submits latest climate committments

The UAE has submitted its third iteration of National Determined Contributions (NDCs) during COP29 in Azerbaijan’s capital. 

NDCs are commitments made by countries to reduce greenhouse gases, with the latest submissions due globally by February 2025.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries define their own pathway to meet the targets committed to in the Agreement. Every five years these Nationally NDCs are required to be updated, each time increasing its contributions to limiting global warming to 1.5C. 

The UAE has committed to achieve a reduction of 47 per cent in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2035 from its 2019 levels of 196.3 Metric tonnes of CO2, a net reduction of 103.5 metric tonnes.

Regarding the industry, transportation and buildings sectors, that are mainly reliant on oil and gas, the country set targets for each sector to achieve a reduction of 27, 20 and 79 per cent, respectively, by 2035.

The country aims to increase the share of electric vehicles (EV) to 50 per cent of the market share by 2050. 

Brazil, part of the Presidencies Troika alongside the UAE and Azerbaijan, and next year's COP host, also submitted its latest NDCs. 

Several other countries announced aspects of their NDCs 3.0, including Liberia, the Marshall Islands, and Malawi, while Finland called upon G20 countries to show leadership by setting the most ambitious 1.5C-aligned NDCs possible.