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ABU DHABI: During a briefing for business and climate leaders during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week on Sunday, UAE and US officials announced the formation of an expert group to manage the Partnership for Accelerated Clean Energy (PACE).
Led by Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Co-Chair and President-elect of COP28; Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, Amos Hochstein, US Co-Chair, and US Special Presidential Coordinator, the bilateral agency will be led by the private sectors of both countries and government representatives.
Launched in November 2022, PACE aims to catalyze $100 billion in financing, investment and other support and deploy 100 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy by 2035. It will cover a wide range of established and emerging technologies, include private and public sector support, and reach broadly across developed and developing economies.
UAE and U.S. officials announced on Sunday that $20 billion will be allocated to finance an additional 15 gigawatts (GW) of clean and renewable energy projects in the U.S. by 2035, led by the UAE’s Masdar and a private U.S. Led by a consortium of investors. The first wave of investments under PACE will be through $7 billion in cash equity financing from the private sector, which will be catalyzed by $13 billion in US debt financing and other instruments.
“Already one of the world’s largest investors and developers of renewable energy, the UAE is joining forces with the United States under PACE to drive a just energy transition, strengthen energy security and demonstrate that climate action can unlock economic opportunity,” said Dr Al Jaber.
“As the international community prepares to take stock of global climate progress at COP28 in the UAE, this multi-sectoral partnership is a transformative step to advance mitigation and adaptation through pragmatic investment and deployment of clean energy projects in the US, UAE and emerging markets around the world economies. We believe this partnership will provide a new model of cooperation that unites global efforts to make meaningful progress on the road to COP28.”
“The United States and the United Arab Emirates enjoy a deep and important partnership that is now further strengthened by our collaboration to advance clean energy innovation and deployment,” said Amos Hochstein. “Just as the United States has made a historic commitment to clean energy at home. Like investment, we are collaborating strategically to accelerate global investment in support of energy affordability and climate action. Forming an expert group and developing a work plan under PACE will help create momentum for impactful outcomes at COP28 and beyond .”
Panel members will meet monthly to provide guidance on PACE’s four strategic pillars: 1) clean energy innovation, deployment, and supply chains; 2) carbon and methane management; 3) nuclear energy; and 4) decarbonizing industry and transportation. The co-chairs will meet quarterly with the full panel to measure impact, initiate new projects, and expand support for PACE.
Majid Al Suwaidi, Director General of COP28, and David Livingston, Senior Advisor to John Kerry, US Presidential Special Envoy on Climate, were appointed as Vice Co-Chairs of the panel, representing the UAE and the US respectively. The Vice Co-Chairs will co-convene and chair the monthly meetings of the group, which includes various US and UAE entities from the public and private sectors.
PACE financing will support established renewable energy sources such as solar and nuclear power, as well as new applications such as green hydrogen and carbon capture. In line with its focus on advancing climate action and ensuring a just transition, PACE will prioritize efforts to provide technical, project management, and financial assistance to commercial and environmentally sustainable energy projects in the Global South.
The expert group will support the PACE co-chairs and key policymakers in implementing the partnership. The group will work towards the goals of PACE by tracking progress, proposing new projects, developing financial models, developing criteria for related initiatives and identifying potential collaborating institutions.
The UAE has been one of the most active investors in clean and renewable energy projects in the United States. Through Masdar, the UAE has supported ten clean energy projects in California, Texas, New Mexico and Nebraska, with a total installed capacity of more than 1.75 GW. These include investments in the 149 MW Rocksprings Wind Farm in Valverde County, Texas, and the 29.9 MW Sterling Wind Farm in Lee County, New Mexico.
Internationally, the UAE is supporting and implementing clean energy projects on six continents, including 31 small island developing states in the Caribbean and Pacific.
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