UAE progressing towards green economy says UN official

ABU DHABI // The UAE is taking seriously the transition to a greener economy by setting targets to increase the use of renewable energy, said a spokesperson for the United Nations Development Programme.

Helen Clark, a UN undersecretary general and administrator for UNDP, said the UAE had made great progress in this area, including having sustainable plans for Expo2020 and the building of Masdar City.

“We have been associated with the Green Economy Conference in Dubai, the Carbon Centre of Excellence, Carbon Ambassadors, and many other initiatives, and I hope we can keep the strong collaboration going,” she said in an interview with state news agency Wam on Sunday, on the eve of the publication of the UAE State of Energy Report.

“I really welcome the fact that the World Energy Congress will be held here in five years’ time.

“I think it is also a chance for the UAE to demonstrate again its interest in a wide range of energy sources,” said Ms Clark.

As for the global situation, she said the overall objective for the UN was to pass the new climate-change deal in Paris at the end of next year.

“The goal is to try to reach an agreement which would stop global warming going over 2°C,” she said.

The UN Environment Programme has just published its analysis of how to achieve this.

“The analysis does not include the recent announcement by China and the United States in addressing their greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades, which is significant, but there is still the need to raise ambitions on lowering the greenhouse gas footprint,” said Ms Clark.

An agreement was made at the recent G20 Summit in Brisbane to reduce emissions in the coming years. Ms Clark said the G20 economies needed to move decisively.

“The announcements by president Barack Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping are very significant because they say that these two great countries are not in denial about climate change.

“They are saying we recognise the significance of this challenge and we want our countries to play their part in tackling it.”