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The United Arab Emirates pledged on Tuesday to do more to help keep global warming below the 1.5-degree threshold after its latest plan to cut emissions fell short.
The oil-rich Gulf monarchy, which will host this year’s COP28 U.N. climate talks, last week unveiled plans to cut domestic emissions by 19% by 2030 from 2019 levels.
Under the plans, the UAE will aim to limit temperature rise to “just below” 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, slightly beyond the range set in the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, the UAE’s climate change minister said. The goal.
Mariam Almheiri told a media briefing on the UAE plans: “We are trying to do the best we can with the resources we have. I think it will be 1.5 but we are not there yet. “
“We haven’t lost hope. We’re continuing to work on it because just from the experience of what we’ve done to improve it, I just feel like there’s more we can do,” she added.
At COP 21 in the French capital, countries pledged to work to keep temperature rises “well below” 2.0 degrees Celsius and to take “all measures” to stay within the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The fossil fuels that fueled the industrial revolution and global prosperity have already warmed the planet by 1.2 degrees Celsius, sparking extreme weather and human upheaval.
After days of intense heat across the globe, last week was the hottest on record globally, the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization said on Monday.
To reduce domestic pollution, the UAE plans to triple renewable energy production and slash emissions in everything from industry to transport, including a new focus on electric vehicles.
Currently one of the most polluted countries per capita in the world, the UAE abounds in gas-guzzling SUVs and ubiquitous air conditioning to combat the desert heat that is rapidly rising due to global warming.
Some studies suggest that parts of the Gulf region could become uninhabitable by the end of the century if warming goes unchecked.
Alm Khairi said the UAE was pursuing a “pro-climate, pro-growth” approach advocated by COP28 chairman and chief executive of state oil giant ADNOC, Sultan Al Jaber, who saw global warming as an economic opportunity .
She said the UAE hoped to unveil details of its plan to achieve domestic carbon “net zero” by 2050 in the months before COP28 kicks off in Dubai at the end of November.
“Believe me, we had hard discussions,” Almhaili said, describing the government’s weeks of brainstorming on a net-zero target.
“This year we are hosting COP28 and we want to match our words with our deeds,” she added.
The domestic target excludes planet-warming emissions from oil exported by the UAE, which currently produces about 3 million barrels a day, according to OPEC figures.
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