According to a Wall Street Journal report, the UAE is now one of the largest state financiers of clean energy and is seeking to be as influential in renewables as it is in oil or gas.
According to the report, while the UAE is focusing on renewables, it “also remains a major investor in traditional oil & gas.”
The UAE has announced that it will finance the development of thousands upon megawatts of solar energy projects across the globe since November when the global nations agreed to boost their emissions-cutting goals during a United Nations summit. According to the WSJ, it has pledged to provide clean electricity by 2035 to 100 million Africans and committed $400 million to assist developing countries in their transition to renewable energy.
Along with the US, the Gulf state has also promised $4 billion to fund technologies that transform agriculture and food production in order to combat climate change.
It stated that Emirati officials believe the bet on clean oil will not only diversify the country’s oil-dependent economy but also boost its diplomatic clout to shift perceptions about the Gulf state.
According to Global SWF (New York-based research firm), the Emirati sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co’s renewables arm has already invested more than $20 Billion in clean energy projects, surpassing other state investors and public pension funds. However, UAE investments in oil-and gas-related businesses remain higher.
The UAE, which is the seventh-largest oil producer in the world, plans to invest in and develop clean energy projects that generate up to 100 gigawatts at home and overseas by the end of the decade. This would be four times the current commitments and deployments.
The government has merged its national oil company with Mubadala, a power-generation company, to jointly own Masdar, the country’s renewable investment development and investment arm. This merger will bring together renewable assets under one brand, consolidating them and helping the government achieve net-zero emission by 2050.
The country’s climate envoy and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Sultan Al-Jaber, stated that change could only be dealt with hydrocarbon producers who help in managing the global transition to clean energy.
Al Jaber, the Chairman of Masdar and CEO of ADNOC, stated in an interview that oil and gas cannot be considered a problem. Oil and Gas should be considered as part of the solution.
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