Abu Dhabi: The UAE and US have signed a strategic partnership agreement to invest $100 billion in producing 100 gigawatt of clean energy by 2035 with a view to enhancing energy security and reducing carbon footprint.
The President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, attended the signing of the agreement, which aims to develop clean energy projects and finance solutions as well as promote advanced technology applications and strengthen supply chains.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy for Climate Change, and Amos Hochstein, Special US Presidential Coordinator.
“The energy transition needs a realistic, practical and economically viable plan to deliver climate progress together with energy security and inclusive economic growth. The UAE-US Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy will enable climate action while enhancing global energy security and affordability for the people of the UAE, the US and nations around the world,” Al Jaber said.
The UAE-US Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) comprises four pillars:
• Develop, finance and deploy clean energy projects in the US, UAE and third countries; invest in responsible and resilient supply chains; and promote investment in green mining, production and processing of minerals and materials that are vital to the energy transition.
• Accelerate investment in fossil fuel emissions mitigation; further develop CCUS (carbon capture, usage and storage) technologies; and advance methane measurement and management, including enhancing domestic methane reduction programmes.
• Engage in the areas of advanced reactors, including small modular reactors (SMRs), and to promote nuclear power as a clean energy solution to drive decarbonisation in the power sector as well as hard-to-abate sectors beyond electricity — for example, by producing cost-competitive, low-carbon applications to produce hydrogen, industrial process heat, and desalinated water that meet decarbonisation goals, air quality standards, and clean water needs.
• Encourage concrete investment and collaboration toward decarbonisation across all industrial sectors by 2030; scale up clean fuels in long-distance transport sectors such as aviation and shipping; and promote electrification and energy efficiency as a key pathway to reducing emissions.
The agreement comes as part of the commitment of the two countries to push forward global efforts aiming at enhancing energy security and reducing greenhouse emissions.
Looking ahead to COP27 in Egypt next month and to COP28 in the UAE next year, both countries will work together to advance their shared view that the fastest and most reliable pathway to achieve net zero will require accelerating investment in clean energy technology and resources.
Both countries recognised that a rapid, sustainable and well-managed energy transition is critical to successful climate action, as well as to enhancing global energy security and affordability.
The UAE has invested more than $50 billion over the past 10 years in clean energy technologies and solutions around the world, building three of the largest and lowest-cost solar projects globally. The UAE’s nuclear energy programme further emphasises the country’s energy diversification strategy.
With three reactors online, the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant will ultimately supply up to 25 per cent of the country’s electricity needs from a carbon-free source.
Other notable UAE projects include the 5,000 MW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park and the region’s first industrial-scale CCUS facility, which captures 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide with plans to expand six-fold by 2030.
