ABU DHABI, 31st January, 2023 (WAM) -- Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, President-Designate for COP28, and Chairman of Masdar, yesterday conferred with Bruno Le Maire, France’s Minister of the Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, as part of the French minister’s visit to the UAE.

In light of the COP28 climate change conference, the UAE and France have agreed to launch a bilateral programme that combines French and Emirati expertise to develop commercial and investable opportunities that accelerate clean energy development, notably in the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate (HTA) industries, including clean hydrogen solutions for mobility.

The initiative builds on the partnership successes between Emirati and French companies in the clean and renewable energy sector. Industrial leaders from both countries have partnered in developing, investing, and operating over 6.2 gigawatts (GW) of clean and renewable energy programmes across the globe. In addition, two of the largest single-site solar projects in the world located in the UAE, which displaced some 10 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, mobilised over US$6 billion in investment.

The programme’s operations will be officially launched during COP28, the 28th session of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Dubai in November this year. The programme aims to build on the joint commitment of both countries to accelerate the identification and financing of projects and support companies contributing to the development of new clean energy solutions with the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of economic sectors.

The programme will aim to implement projects focussing primarily on the decarbonisation of HTA industries. It will support companies that have developed new clean energy solutions in green hydrogen and sustainable fuel, leveraging the origination, industrial expertise, and financing capabilities of public and private entities from both countries. Where appropriate, the governments of both countries will explore leveraging public financing tools to facilitate eligible climate-friendly projects. The initiative will look mainly at the two nations, focussing on low-carbon hydrogen and sustainable fuel production and their respective value chains.

Through this bilateral programme, the UAE and France will endeavour to deliver tangible, positive impacts in the dimensions of climate change mitigation and adaptation and optimise the impact of their climate-oriented projects on biodiversity. The investable opportunities will be developed jointly, with Masdar leading on the UAE side of the partnership. They will aim to fully align with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, with each opportunity being assessed based on the relevant and internationally accepted methodology.

Dr. Al Jaber stated, “This initiative builds on the long-standing partnership between the UAE and France to take advantage of practical, commercial opportunities for low carbon growth that will accelerate the energy transition and promote climate action and sustainable economic development in both countries and across the globe. Leveraging our combined technological and energy expertise, we will intensify our efforts to promote renewable and zero-carbon energies to decarbonise economies and particularly hard-to-abate sectors. As the UAE prepares to host COP28, we intend to make it a COP of Action and a COP for all. We are extending an open invitation to the world to join us in constructive efforts to raise ambition, move from deliberation to delivery and achieve the central goal of the Paris Agreement to keep 1.5 alive.”

Bruno Le Maire said, “This targeted programme will leverage synergies between public and private sectors from both countries to accelerate the implementation of impactful projects of clean energy development for transportation. I am very happy with this new illustration of the France-UAE strategic partnership and our common objective to raise ambitions towards COP28.”

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