The United Arab Emirates will cut greenhouse gases by reducing use of fossil fuel in electricity production and adopting a 27 percent renewable energy mix by 2021.
A huge delegation of UAE officials attended the 22nd session of the Conference of Parties (COP22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech, Morocco. The meeting will end on November 18 with high hopes that countries will do their part in reversing climate change.
More than 20,000 delegates from 196 countries converged in Morocco to finalize the Paris Climate Agreement.
World leaders have agreed to hold global temperature increases to well below 2 degrees Celsius.
Scientists and meterological experts at COP22 warned that if the global warming trend is not reversed, ecological abuse and neglect may cause heat waves, rising sea levels, polar ice melts and food and water security crises.
The UAE has already pledged in its commitment – known as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted in Paris by all countries – that “in the post-2020 period, the UAE will continue to expand its ambitious actions to limit emissions and improve resilience through economic diversification…”
At least 90 percent of the population in the UAE, which is predominantly a desert region, relies on air conditioning that uses fossil fuel.
UAE will also push for the construction of green buildings, district cooling infrastructure and the adoption of efficiency standards for appliances and lighting.