His Excellency Dr Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, highlighted the importance of driving coordinated action to expedite the energy transition and increase the share of renewables in countries’ energy mix at the opening ceremony of the 11th Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
In his host country statement, he said: “We still have a significant amount of work to do to reach the desired level of global energy transition that can help effectively address the challenge of climate change, and ensure a better future for the current and next generations.”
The minister added: “2020 has dealt a harsh lesson to all societies – the COVID-19 pandemic. That lesson proved that crises and emergency challenges have no boundaries in affecting all countries, economies, and societies. The ability to mitigate their impacts and achieve recovery depended on the degree of preparedness and the speed of applying the required measures on a large scale.”
Commending IRENA on its role, he said: “We are all proud of the effective role IRENA has played in driving and stimulating the energy transition during the 11 years of its existence. Headquartered in the capital Abu Dhabi, the Agency has seen exceptional growth in the number of member states, which surged from 85 to 163, in addition to 21 countries in the process of accession. Furthermore, its global influence has increased, as has its contribution to the growth of the renewable energy market. The global renewable energy capacity doubled from 1,136 GW to over 2,537 GW, according to IRENA’s 2019 statistics.”
Reflecting on the UAE’s journey in deploying renewables at home and abroad, His Excellency Dr Al Nuaimi said: “The UAE has witnessed tremendous achievements in renewable energy at the local level, as its production capacity has increased from 10 MW in 2009 to 2,400 MW today, with an additional 6,000 MW either under development or planned until 2030. At the international level, with the aim of supporting the deployment and use of clean and renewable energy solutions, and through a partnership between IRENA, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and Masdar, multiple projects have been implemented in the Caribbean and Pacific island states with a financing value of US$450 million. Through its investments and partnerships, the UAE’s flagship energy company Masdar manages a portfolio of renewable energy projects with a production capacity of 11 GW in more than 30 countries around the world.”
He noted that the UAE prides itself on playing an effective and distinct role in reducing the cost of renewable energy worldwide. The tender for the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai recorded the lowest cost of power generation globally at 1.7 US cents per kWh in 2019. In 2020, in the midst of precautionary measures, remote work, and the global economic slowdown, the upcoming solar energy project in Al Dhafra region attracted another record-breaking bid at 1.35 US cents per kWh.
His Excellency Dr Al Nuaimi reiterated the UAE’s voluntary commitment to working for the environment and the climate. Last month, the country announced its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, including an important plan to reduce the carbon footprint of the energy sector, and develop the region’s first commercial carbon capture, utilization, and storage program, moving closer to carbon neutrality and increasing the share of clean energy to reach a production capacity of 14 GW by 2030 and 50 percent of the total domestic energy mix by 2050.
In closing, the minister emphasized that the path to a climate-safe future is still long. He said: “According to IRENA, the shift towards a decarbonized global energy system will require scaling up investments in the energy sector by an additional US$15 trillion by 2050. Therefore, we need to intensify our efforts and raise our ambitions to accelerate the pace of energy transition and increase the share of renewable energy globally.”
