UAE unveils 10 green initiatives to accelerate climate action

After chairing the UAE Cabinet meeting at Expo City Dubai on Sunday, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, unveiled 10 green initiatives that will accelerate the country's "environmental goals".

Held on the sidelines of the UN Climate Summit (COP28), the Council of Ministers adopted a framework for the Biodiversity Strategy 2031, which aims to monitor and protect natural systems, a global initiative to remove carbon from the waste sector and a registry of carbon credits for the public and private sector.

The Council also approved the country’s fifth national communication report that documents how national efforts fared in reducing carbon emissions in various sectors to the UN Framework Convention, the "first report" on the UAE’s long-term low-carbon development strategy, UAE’s accession to the Global Cooling Pledge, Establishment of the UAE Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Company and a policy for sustainable aviation fuel and smart construction.

H.H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting at Expo City Dubai, in conjunction with COP28. The meeting approved initiatives in support of environment and climate action.#UAEGov pic.twitter.com/B5HvozsR8t

— UAEGOV (@UAEmediaoffice) December 10, 2023

Taking to his official social media channels, Sheikh Mohammed said the Cabinet reviewed more than 120 decisions on climate change that were taken over the past five years. In 2023, 60 decisions "formed an integrated system of policies, legislation, strategies and initiatives to enhance the country’s efforts and its global contribution to combat the effects of climate change".

The UAE "continues to work actively in the field of sustainability and climate change," His Highness highlighted, adding how the country "ranked second worldwide in energy transformation on the Global Green Future Index 2023 (GFI), and sixth globally in the rate of per capita solar energy consumption".

The UAE has also "invested more than $50 billion in clean energy projects in 70 countries, and pledged to invest another $50 billion in the sector over the next decade".

.@HHShkMohd chairs a meeting of the #UAE Cabinet held at @expocitydubai. pic.twitter.com/Uz8mDWPBHu

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) December 10, 2023

ترأست في "مدينة إكسبو دبي" اجتماعاً لمجلس الوزراء تزامناً مع انعقاد مؤتمر COP28، استعرضنا في بدايته حصيلة الجهود الوطنية للدولة في المجال البيئي التي شملت أكثر من 120 قراراً في الاستدامة والتغير المناخي وتنمية مواردنا الطبيعية أصدرها المجلس خلال الأعوام الخمسة الماضية.. وفي العام… pic.twitter.com/G625ThxMbv

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) December 10, 2023