UAE has cumulative experience in environment protection and tackling climate change challenges

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State and Special Envoy for Energy and Climate Change and Head of the UAE delegation participating at the 21st Session of the Conference of Parties (COP21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris, has said that the UAE is participating with the high-level delegation, including representatives from ministries, competent authorities and companies.

He pointed out that the UAE through its participation in activities on the side-lines of the event is committed to reach an international agreement to limit the consequences of climate change. It is also keen to participate in the associated events and activities to highlight the UAE's leading position in the renewable energy and sustainability regionally and internationally."

Dr. Al Jaber made the remarks while visiting the UAE pavilion at the Conference. "Through our participation in the negotiations, we noted that all negotiators from other world countries accord us a respect due to the important and effective role being played by the UAE in these negotiations. We differ from the rest because we based our arguments on the scientific experiences on the ground through the initiatives of Masdar in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and The Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park."

"We are committed to a full and comprehensive agreement that takes into account standards of each party at the conference. We aim through our negotiations that the developed countries should adopt a clear and binding role towards the developing countries by activating their pledges to provide techniques and technology, participation and investment in cadres to develop the required technologies so as to reduce the repercussions of the climate change."

Dr. Al Jaber noted that the UAE has a great experience and long history in the field of environmental protection and minimising the impact of the climate change. He said, "We are committed through these initiatives and through our negotiations in Paris to finding a mechanism for the economic diversification. We create through these challenges economic opportunities with a sustainable nature."

On the launch of the global alliance for the desalination of water in Paris with more than 80 countries, Dr. Al Jaber said, "We hope to find a system or a comprehensive, complete and advanced strategy. In the UAE the energy sector depends on the water sector, while the water sector depends on the energy sector. Thus, they are integral parts. Therefore, the water sector is vital and very important for us in the UAE."

He explained that the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, which is held in January each year, includes "the Global Water Summit" during which many partnerships with government and private sector are struck to develop the efficiency of production of electricity for water desalination, as well as the development of new techniques in water desalination, Dr. Al Jaber said the experiences launched in the Global Water Summit have considerably benefited the UAE.

He added, "We came to Paris to demonstrate our experiences in the sectors of clean energy and water during various sessions of the negotiations."

Al Jaber explained that the Global Clean Water Desalination Alliance, is a new initiative dealing with the issues of water desalination, involving many stakeholders of the sector, research institutions, universities and other organisations, government and private sectors of the UAE, Europe and North and South America and Asia. The alliance aims to address the issue of water scarcity and minimise the impact of the climate change and environmental impacts of these technologies, reduce dependence on energy and reduce the cost of energy used in water desalination.

He said, "We hope this meeting and platform will lead to an important starting point, we are optimistic about the current talks in Paris."

The minister pointed out that the UAE had an influential and effective role in these meetings, citing that the UAE and the French side held several meetings to discuss this file, most recently in September on the side-lines of meetings of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, where "we had a meeting attended by a number of foreign ministers and specialists from the public and private sectors to discuss the climate issue, in particular the meetings of Paris."

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber pointed out that the participation and attendance at the Conference of States Parties participating in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in the French capital Paris, shows how the world's attention to this issue. The world today pays special attention to the issue of climate to reduce its repercussions.

He explained that the presence of more than 150 heads of state and governments and more than 120 foreign ministers and the CEOs of companies and government institutions, shows that the world is already beginning to realise the importance of this issue and that there must be a solution and a comprehensive agreement that meets the needs of national issues relating to each individual state, and that the deal should have tangible and feasible economic results.

Dr. Al Jaber referred to the voluntary contributions made by more than 186 countries, adding that it is an unprecedented and unusual, praising the role of the Secretariat of the United Nations and the competent French authorities for this momentum and these contributions at the conference, which will have an important and effective role in reaching a comprehensive deal that satisfies each party's ambition.

Source: WAM