The United Arab Emirates (UAE), a major oil and gas producer and exporter, ranks 63 out of 120 countries on the ETI 2023. Over the last 10 years, the UAE’s ETI score has fluctuated, mainly due to the transition readiness dimension, but the overall trend suggests a gradual strengthening of the enabling environment for the energy transition. The UAE performs strongly on regulation and political commitment, which remains a critical enabler of the energy transition. In addition, progress on system performance remains strong, although progress within the sustainable dimension is slowing. Further improvements can be unlocked by targeting a reduction in energy intensity as well as carbon intensity of the energy mix.

The UAE has invested $40 billion in clean energy in the past 15 years,¹⁰² which translates into significant strides to promote renewable sources of energy. More than $160 billion is expected to be invested to achieve net zero by 2050,¹⁰³ which will see the UAE continue to shift its energy mix towards renewables, reduce GHG emissions and improve energy efficiency across sectors. The national Renewable Energy Strategy 2050 was launched in 2017 to increase the share of renewables in the total energy mix to 50% by 2050.¹⁰⁴ The country has made significant progress towards achieving this target by investing heavily in renewable energy projects and is home to one of the world’s largest single-site solar power plants, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, covering 76 km2. The solar park currently generates 1.63 GW and offsets roughly 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, and its capacity will expand to 5 GW by 2030.¹⁰⁵,¹⁰⁶ The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company also announced a $3.1 billion investment to explore and implement carbon capture and storage technology in its operations, seeking to capture 5 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030.¹⁰⁷ While the net results of these efforts are reflected in UAE’s high ETI scores on regulation and political commitment and decarbonized energy, much more remains to be done to reduce the UAE’s high emissions per capita globally.¹⁰⁸

The UAE launched the National Water and Energy Demand Management Programme in 2022 “to improve the energy efficiency of the three most energy-intensive sectors in the country, namely transport, industry and construction, by 40% in 2050. It will launch several initiatives to cut energy demand by 40%, to raise the share of renewables in the energy mix to 50% and to boost water reuse by 95%”.¹⁰⁹ Newly implemented building codes and regulations require certain energy standards to be met, such as the use of energy-efficient appliances and equipment. The Emirates Energy Efficiency Strategy will retrofit 30,000 existing buildings in Dubai by 2030, abating 1 million tonnes of CO2.¹¹⁰ The UAE is also promoting public transport, alternative fuels and electric vehicles, with the intention of having 42,000 electric vehicles by 2030.¹¹¹ A carbon trading exchange and carbon clearing house was announced in Abu Dhabi in 2022 to attract investment in carbon emissions reduction by allowing companies to trade and finance carbon credits. The revenue generated from the carbon pricing system will be used to support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The UAE has also invested $2 billion in new desalination plants;¹¹² these are highly energy
intensive, however, and contribute to GHG emissions, which in turn drives the need for more clean energy.

The energy sector has been an important enabler of economic development and growth in the UAE, accounting for approximately a third of its GDP. Like other major exporting nations, the UAE has traditionally relied on its oil and gas resources to fuel its economy, but as the world transitions towards cleaner energy sources, demand for fossil fuels will decline over time. The cost of UAE’s renewables has been decreasing rapidly in recent years, making them increasingly competitive with fossil fuels. This provides an opportunity for the UAE to diversify its energy exports to include cheap renewable energy, clean technology and services to ensure it maintains its position as a leading energy exporter while also supporting its own energy transition goals. The UAE’s natural resource endowment, legacy energy infrastructure and availability of skilled labour, due to investment in education and training programmes (up 30% over the decade), position it favourably in the new energy landscape and provide a reference point for countries at similar levels of clean energy development.