Emirati Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail al-Mazrouei said the ministry intends to start revising its energy strategy at the beginning of 2023 to align it to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
Mazrouei said that the review of the energy strategy includes the expansion of renewable energy and the implementation of new projects in areas such as hydrogen energy, hydropower, and waste-to-energy conversion.
It will also include a study of solutions that can be followed regarding traditional methods of electricity production to examine the possibility of adopting carbon dioxide capture, in parallel with a survey about its cost.
The Minister said that the world had witnessed remarkable changes in recent years concerning the climate. The energy strategy review will contribute to determining the optimal mix for the UAE to achieve supply security and reach climate neutrality by 2050.
The minister explained that the volume of electricity production capacity currently amounts to about 35 gigawatts all over the country and will increase in the coming years with the entry of many new projects at total capacity.
Mazrouei was speaking ahead of the launch of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference 2022 (ADIPEC), which kicked off on Monday.
ADIPEC will be hosting 54 of the top national and international petroleum and integrated energy companies, in addition to 28 international pavilions, providing the optimal platform for stimulating trade activities throughout all segments of the energy sector supply chain.
The event is expected to be attended by more than 150,000 energy experts from 160 countries, alongside 2,200 exhibitors who will unveil the latest innovations in the sector.
Mazrouei said that UAE aims to increase clean projects' share of its energy mix to 50 percent by 2050, while the current allocation of clean energy projects within service or under construction reached 24 percent.
The UAE government is working to keep pace with the increasing demand for energy through its reliance on natural gas and renewable energy sources, said the minister.
Meanwhile, 35 leading energy chief executives discussed delivering energy security, equitable access to energy, and climate progress simultaneously during their participation at the 8th annual Abu Dhabi CEO Roundtable.
They also discussed the building blocks required for a practical, realistic energy transition.
Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Board of Directors, Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan, welcomed world energy leaders to the Roundtable.
Sheikh Khaled stressed the importance of the forum in strengthening Abu Dhabi's position as a global energy center.
The Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Managing Director, and ADNOC CEO, Sultan al-Jaber, said that holding this forum annually confirms UAE's ability to create a platform that brings together different opinions and viewpoints with the aim of providing practical solutions to support energy security, equitable access to energy and climate progress with realistic and practical solutions to the energy transition.
The hydrocarbon industry is uniquely positioned to provide practical solutions to the trilemma of secure, accessible, sustainable energy and will play a critical role in delivering a successful energy transition, said the Minister.
"Ensuring energy security is fundamental to economic and climate progress, and global economies will continue to rely on reliable supplies of energy that our industry provides," he said.
