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In a panel at the World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said that the nation is planning to cut its carbon footprint by 70% by the year 2050, as it looks to leverage renewable and nuclear energy.
While the country aims to generate 50% of its power through clean energy, he noted that this would not diminish its role as a supplier of hydrocarbons
“We don’t often see a country that is responsible for supplying oil and gas to the world, taking such bold strategy,” Al Mazrouei said in his opening remarks.
“We would like to reduce our carbon footprint by 70% by 2050. We are encouraging all countries to diversify their energy mix to include cleaner forms of energy,” he said, lauding the UAE’s clean energy strategy as the first in the region.
“We have a strategy to share with the rest of the world,” he said. “UAE’s strategy is calling for 50% contribution from clean forms of energy [by 2050], which would include renewables and nuclear.”
The country has made a concerted effort to diversify its economy and promote sustainability, creating the Department of Energy in February 2018 as a regulator and policy maker for Abu Dhabi’s energy sector.
Awaidha Murshed Al Marar, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, said: “To drive economic diversification goals and to support long-term national strategies for a sustainable future, our wise leadership has implemented significant structural reforms across most sectors including the energy sector. A key aspect of the restructuring of the energy sector was the separation of regulatory and operational aspects.”
Meanwhile, ADNOC Group has plans to invest $1.8bn by 2023 in measure to reduce emissions, including carbon capture and storage, and reduction of flaring and unintended emissions.
