Abu Dhabi: The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has pledged to join the Advisory Committee of the UAE Alliance for Climate Action (UACA) to support the country’s net zero goals.
Emirates Nature-WWF, an environmental nonprofit, formed UACA during COP27 to forge a multi-stakeholder coalition for climate action.
Its goal is to accelerate the movement toward both short- and long-term net-zero targets and to promote more cooperation to establish a legislative framework that facilitates entities’ decarbonization initiatives. The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment of the United Arab Emirates supports UACA, which involves subnational and non-state entities, including the commercial sector.
UACA is a member of the Global Alliances for Climate Action, which serves as a catalyst for the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions’ Race to Zero global campaign. The campaign seeks to mobilize non-state actors’ leadership and support to build momentum towards decarbonization and reduce emissions by half by 2030 by the Paris Agreement.
Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary-General of EAD, signed the pledge on behalf of the organization in the presence of Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, Director-General of Emirates Nature-WWF, and Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chair of the UACA Advisory Committee, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28.
EAD has committed to becoming a member of the UACA Advisory Committee. As a member of the UACA Advisory Committee, EAD will collaborate with other members to offer high-level technical and strategic advice that advances UACA’s goal of accelerating the transition to a net zero future by utilizing the sectoral experience of its various experts.
Along with supporting UACA’s outreach by encouraging synergies between non-state actor decarbonization learnings and interacting with policymakers on findings and recommendations to expedite the transition to net-zero, the Agency will also endeavor to guarantee that UACA is a primary driver for enhanced domestic sub-national non-state actor commitments.
In addition, EAD will designate a focal point to accomplish the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative by disseminating information on impending policies and pertinent data as needed. It will also create awareness of UACA and its advantages to the UAE and identify strategic opportunities for UACA to contribute to national projects, such as the Climate Responsible Sustainable Companies pledge.
Razan Al Mubarak remarked that, “EAD is the primary custodian of climate action in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and it is fitting that the Agency would be a key member of the UAE Alliance for Climate Action Advisory Committee due to its vast years of experience in addressing climate change.
“Just last year, EAD launched the Abu Dhabi Climate Change Strategy, designed with ambitious targets to reduce emissions in Abu Dhabi as a means of combatting climate change. Therefore, EAD will be a prominent member providing experienced and significant guidance – all with the goal of supporting the UAE’s strategic initiative to reach Net Zero by 2050.”