The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has long been on a forward-thinking path toward carbon neutrality, steadily advancing its climate agenda. Indeed, its progress goes beyond carbon neutrality: it is on the path to achieve Net Zero by 2050. Evidentially, this has been accelerated with the UAE being host to COP28 in 2023, which drove the climate finance, renewable energy and green hydrogen agenda.
On a global level, the UAE is continuing to take the lead role for climate action negotiations, by forming a partnership with COP29 and COP30 hosts, Azerbaijan and Brazil, called Mission 1.5C. This aims to maintain momentum across successive COP conferences, enhance international collaboration and ensure the fulfilment of climate agreements.
On a national front, the UAE's climate commitment is equally ambitious. Ahead of COP28, the UAE issued the third update of its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs), committing to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 19% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels. This translates to a reduction of 182 MtCO2e by 20301.
Accelerating decarbonization is one of the key goals for the UAE, and the UAE has recognized that to achieve this ambition, collective action and shared accountability by all responsible stakeholders will be required. By issuing this decree, the UAE took further steps to align policy frameworks with its decarbonization goals. The decree is designed to foster a sense of shared responsibility and accelerate the implementation of necessary climate actions across all sectors. It sets out robust legislation to ensure both public and private sectors are held accountable for managing GHG emissions and driving collective climate action.