Companies like Masdar are powerful example of UAE’s climate leadership at Cop27

Next week, I’m heading to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, for the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as Cop27. The main goal of Cop27 is for countries to demonstrate how they are taking practical action to achieve the common climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement. In Masdar, I am proud to say that the UAE will be a strong example.

Masdar, first established by UAE leadership in 2006, has been a pioneering force in the renewable energy sector, driving the global energy transition while strengthening the UAE’s energy leadership and helping to diversify its economy. Today, Masdar is one of the largest and fastest growing renewable energy companies in the world, active in more than 40 countries and with a global portfolio of projects totaling 15 GW of clean power generation capacity.

This growth trajectory highlights the abundance of opportunities in the global renewable energy market and Masdar’s skills and ability to seize these opportunities for the benefit of the UAE. In the past five years alone, our total renewable energy capacity has increased by approximately 30% annually, nearly double the market average.

We also continue to grow in all areas of our business both domestically and around the world. In the UAE, we are fortunate to have some of the lowest cost solar resources in the world, and Masdar is an investor and co-developer of three of the country’s leading solar power plants, two of which are the largest single-site solar power plants in the world. Just this year, Masdar opened the Middle East’s first commercial waste-to-energy facility in Sharjah with our partner BEEAH.

Globally, Masdar has expanded significantly this year in both new and existing markets. In Central Asia, we saw the ground breaking of the 230 MW Garadagh solar power plant in Azerbaijan, the country’s first foreign-based independent solar power project, and the near-financing of the 500 MW Zarafshan wind farm in Uzbekistan. The largest of its kind in the region.

In the UK, Masdar has partnered with bp to join its green hydrogen project, HyGreen Teeside, which aims to produce 500 megawatts of electricity input by 2030. Just last month, Masdar also acquired Arlington Energy, the UK’s leading developer of battery energy storage. The move supports Masdar’s global renewable energy investment strategy and will further expand Masdar’s presence in the UK and Europe.

Globally, from Australia to the United States, Indonesia to Saudi Arabia, Masdar is developing world-class clean energy projects that play a key role in supporting the achievement of net zero emissions and driving the energy transition.

This global leadership in renewable energy reflects and is enabled by the UAE’s bold leadership in climate action. As the first country in the MENA region to adopt and sign the Paris Agreement, and the first to achieve a net-zero emissions target by 2050, the UAE is unwavering in its commitment to climate action. The UAE is driving massive investment in clean energy globally, having invested more than $50 billion in clean energy projects across six continents, with an additional $50 billion in the next decade.

With Cop27 taking place in Egypt, the “African Police” will further highlight the continent’s incredible renewable energy potential, something the UAE and Masdar have long recognized. Through Etihad 7, a project initiated by Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and supported by Masdar, the UAE is committed to helping secure funding for renewable energy projects in Africa, aiming to achieve 1 by 2035 under the plan billions of people with clean electricity.

In Masdar’s case, we are working with partners in Africa to empower local communities and develop more than 1 GW of clean energy projects capable of powering more than 845,000 homes in Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania and the Seychelles. We are also actively seeking ways to expand our presence across the continent to unlock the enormous renewable energy potential that Africa holds. This includes recent agreements with key Egyptian partners to develop 4 GW of electrolyser capacity to produce up to 480,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year in Egypt by 2030.

While deploying clean energy is central to Masdar’s operations, it is not the only way Masdar is supporting the UAE’s climate action efforts. We also have a number of strategic platforms, including Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW). Building on the flagship event held every January in Abu Dhabi, one of the largest events of its kind in the world, ADSW will serve as a bridge between Cop27 and Cop28, bringing together heads of state and global leaders from government and industry people to further advance key conversations around climate change and the energy transition.

From world-class clean energy projects to promoting real climate action, Masdar is a true reflection of how sustainable development is deeply ingrained in the UAE’s DNA, and we will be a powerful example of UAE climate leadership at Cop27. As the UAE prepares to host Cop28 in 2023, we will continue to build on our success as a shining example of the UAE’s bold climate leadership and vision for a more sustainable future.

Published: November 5, 2022 4:00 AM