More than 190 countries across the world, including the UAE, joined the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty that aims to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably 1.5 degrees Celsius. A critical goal that requires commitment and ambitious climate action with resilience and adaptability.

 

As part of their contribution, the UAE announced the “UAE Net Zero by 2050” strategic initiative, a national drive to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, with an investment of over AED600 billion in renewable energy, making the Emirates the first Middle East and North Africa (MENA) nation to do so. 

 

Debatably, in earlier decades, this target would been near impossible to achieve. Currently however, we have the necessary tools and levers to exponentially progress towards and achieve the goal. The technologies needed to drive the necessary significant reductions in global emissions already exist, and the policies that can drive their deployment are already proven. In the context of the UAE, a technologically advanced country, a scenario of achieving carbon neutrality is now modeled to be possible. Technologies such as advanced batteries, electric vehicles, effective architecture, and hydrogen cells, have made these possible scenarios relatively affordable. 

 

The UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategy consists of a large portfolio of world-class initiatives, with cutting edge technologies at the heart. For example, the UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment has undertaken a technology of cultivation without soil in several agricultural projects. The technology helps control the internal domestic climate (temperature, humidity, and ventilation). Additionally, it increases the efficiency of water consumption, use of fertilizers, solutions for soil problems and type of soil.

 

On another front, the country has been financing clean energy projects for more than 15 years, and has invested over 40 billion USD in the sector to date. Current trends predict the production capacity of clean energy, including solar and nuclear, to reach 14 GW by 2030, up from about 100 MW in 2015 and 2.4 GW in 2020. As a result of this pioneering vision, the UAE now enjoys the world’s lowest-cost solar power and is home to three of the largest solar facilities in the world. It is also the first country in the region to deploy nuclear power and to develop industrial-scale carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). 

 

Another example, on the transport front, one of the fastest-growing sources of emissions worldwide, the UAE is investing in new mass transit systems such as Dubai's light rail system and a proposed high-speed train. Supplemented by niche-focused strategies across emirates, such as the Dubai Autonomous Transportation Strategy, which is expected to result in reducing environmental impact of transportation in the Emirate by 12 per cent. Or the Dubai Green Mobility initiative, set to encourage the use of sustainable transport and electric vehicles to contribute to achieve sustainable development. 

 

The portfolio of pioneering UAE climate action initiatives is vast and diverse. But one common underlying enabler for all is data. Robust data analytics ensures a promising solution and is a top priority to achieve net-zero, by supporting comprehensive and sustainable manufacturing, efficient resource utilization and promoting innovation across all sectors. To that effect, the UAE Government has launched the United Nations (UN) platform "Big Data for Sustainable Development" as part of an initiative aimed at meeting the needs of the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, to leverage UAE’s position as a global hub for technology and big data and mobilize resources to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by employing big data and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

 

Technology’s impact on a more sustainable future is evident, and as always, the UAE is leading by example. As we navigate beyond the impacts of the Covid‐19 pandemic, it is essential that the next wave of investment and spending to support economic recovery is aligned with the net zero pathway. Policies should be strengthened to speed the deployment of clean and efficient energy technologies.