The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment recently organized a special event aimed at speeding up the country’s journey towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The session was conducted under the National Dialogue for Climate Ambition and highlighted the need for greater climate finance for the decarbonization of the economy. The ministry called upon private sector financial entities to increase green finance and support the UAE’s vision of building a sustainable economy. The National Dialogue is a series of industry-specific assemblies that seek to promote climate action and collaboration, especially with the private sector. The event was attended by 100 participants from various sectors, including banking, insurance, investment, financial services, and consulting, as well as different ministries.
The timing of the event is significant as the UAE is preparing to host the UN climate summit, Cop28, in a few months. The Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Mariam Al Mheiri, highlighted the importance of collaboration and raising climate finance ambition, which is crucial to implement the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The agreement aims to limit global temperature rises to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels and keep them “well below” 2.0ºC. Cop28 will discuss how countries are implementing the accord and what more needs to be done in a “global stocktake.”
Ms Al Mheiri stressed that one of the key elements of the UAE’s vision for Cop28 is to raise ambition and collective action towards mitigation (cutting emissions), adaptation (coping with climate change), loss and damage, and climate finance. She emphasized the need to address perceived risks in green investments, such as a relatively long payback period, which hinders green finance investments. The UAE has achieved success in clean energy projects such as Masdar City and Noor Abu Dhabi Solar Park, and significant green finance backs Etihad Rail, which aims to transform the UAE’s transportation sector and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 2.2 million tonnes annually.
Ms Al Mheiri highlighted that ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is emerging as the cornerstone for responsible business, and the government and private sector, including the finance industry, must rally their efforts to raise ambition for climate finance. The UAE believes that scaling up climate finance is crucial for system-wide transformation and can be achieved through strong partnerships that support the nation’s journey to net zero by 2050. Together, stakeholders must create new financial products and services that promote sustainability and resilience and align with the interests of all.
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