UAE sets more ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions
Author: Daniel Bardsley
The UAE has set a more ambitious target for curbing carbon emissions in response to calls at last year’s Cop26 conference for greater efforts to combat climate change. A statement from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment revealed the country aims to cut carbon emissions by 31 per cent by 2030, compared with a “business as usual” scenario without curbs on greenhouse gases. This stricter commitment compares with the 23.5 per cent reduction pledge that the Emirates made in December 2020 as part of its commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate change. The new target means the UAE aims to have total annual carbon emissions of 207.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) by 2030 - 93.2 million tonnes less than 301 million under a business as usual scenario. It ties in with the UAE’s aim of becoming a net zero carbon emitter by the middle of this century, a target the country announced last October, ahead of the Cop26 UN Climate Change Conference summit in Glasgow in the UK, through the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.