The United Arab Emirates has become the first of the Persian Gulf’s petrostates to commit to eliminating planet-warming emissions within its borders.
“The UAE net-zero initiative will provide us with precision and boost our efforts to accelerate the energy transition,” the Department of Energy of Abu Dhabi, the capital, said in a statement.
Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, earlier said the UAE would invest almost $165 billion in clean energy by 2050.
The new target aligns the UAE with most major economies and the deadline scientists say gives the world some chance of avoiding the worst effects of global warming. The commitment is the latest from countries ahead of United Nations-sponsored climate talks starting later this month in Glasgow, Scotland, and known as COP26.
It’s a bet that will probably play well with the U.S., European Union and U.K., who have pushed fossil-fuel producers to accelerate plans to reduce their emissions. It could also put pressure on neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, to make a similar pledge.
The UAE relies heavily on the export of oil and gas, which makes up about 30% of its gross domestic product, despite decades of efforts to diversify the economy. The nation of 10 million people also has one of the world’s highest emissions rates per capita — ahead of the likes of Australia and the U.S.
It’s a “very ambitious step,” said Jim Krane, author of ‘Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf’ and a fellow at Houston’s Rice University. “For one of the world’s most oil-dominated economies to declare a net-zero goal is really a sign of the times. It’s going to buy it a lot of influence.” - Aljazeera - link - (Bloomberg) - link - Akshat Rathi - link - more like this ((Saudi Arabia) - link - more like this - link
Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, earlier said the UAE would invest almost $165 billion in clean energy by 2050.
The new target aligns the UAE with most major economies and the deadline scientists say gives the world some chance of avoiding the worst effects of global warming. The commitment is the latest from countries ahead of United Nations-sponsored climate talks starting later this month in Glasgow, Scotland, and known as COP26.
It’s a bet that will probably play well with the U.S., European Union and U.K., who have pushed fossil-fuel producers to accelerate plans to reduce their emissions. It could also put pressure on neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, to make a similar pledge.
The UAE relies heavily on the export of oil and gas, which makes up about 30% of its gross domestic product, despite decades of efforts to diversify the economy. The nation of 10 million people also has one of the world’s highest emissions rates per capita — ahead of the likes of Australia and the U.S.
It’s a “very ambitious step,” said Jim Krane, author of ‘Energy Kingdoms: Oil and Political Survival in the Persian Gulf’ and a fellow at Houston’s Rice University. “For one of the world’s most oil-dominated economies to declare a net-zero goal is really a sign of the times. It’s going to buy it a lot of influence.” - Aljazeera - link - (Bloomberg) - link - Akshat Rathi - link - more like this ((Saudi Arabia) - link - more like this - link
No comments:
Post a Comment