UAE Hopes US Climate Summit Will Bring 'Bold' Partnerships - Environment Minister

The United Arab Emirates hopes that the US-sponsored virtual Leaders Summit on Climate would act as a platform for forming ambitious global partnerships to fight climate change and other environment-related issues, the minister of сlimate change and environment, Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2021) The United Arab Emirates hopes that the US-sponsored virtual Leaders Summit on Climate would act as a platform for forming ambitious global partnerships to fight climate change and other environment-related issues, the minister of сlimate change and environment, Abdullah bin Mohammed Belhaif Al Nuaimi, told Sputnik.

"I would most like to see new partnerships that have the potential to come up with bold solutions in the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a renewed commitment from the participating countries to fighting the greatest existential threat to our planet," Al Nuaimi said in an interview, when asked about expected outcomes.

The senior UAE official also stressed the importance of the US return to the Paris climate agreement.

"The development of scalable and disruptive climate change solutions calls for a multilateral effort; therefore, any new international platform for collective idealism is more than welcome," Al Nuaimi noted.

With the UAE being the Middle East's leading country to fight climate change and adopt clean energy solutions, it also helps other states turn to renewable energy, according to the official.

"The UAE has been at the forefront of driving the deployment of clean energy solutions worldwide for many years and is a Global Champion for the UN high-level Dialogue on Energy that promotes a fair, equitable, and inclusive energy transition.

To date, we have supported renewable ventures in 70 countries. Our flagship renewable energy company, Masdar, has invested in projects with a total value of around US$19.9 billion that have a combined capacity of 10.7 GW either installed or under development," the minister said.

The Gulf country is also assisting the Small Island Developing States, which are among those most affected by climate change.

"In 2013, we established the $50 million UAE-Pacific Partnership Fund that aims to address the challenges posed by the Pacific region's energy costs, which are among the highest in the world. And in 2017, we launched the $50 UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund that seeks to deploy renewable energy solutions in 16 Caribbean island countries," Al Nuaimi added.

The US-sponsored climate summit, involving leaders of some 40 countries, entered the second day on Friday. It aims to set a roadmap for the UN Climate Change Conference, which Glasgow will host in November.

The Paris agreement, reached within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2015, has the long-term goal of limiting the global rise in temperature to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The Trump administration offically withdrew the United States, one of the major players, from the agreement in 2019. On his first day in the White House, President Joe Biden announced that the US would be rejoining the agreement, gaining readmission in February.