Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE, announced the plans on Monday after a Cabinet meeting. The plans include investments in low-emission hydrogen fuel and developing infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE. Photo: AP
The updated national energy strategy “aims to triple the contribution of renewable energy over the next seven years and invest 150 billion to 200 billion dirhams ($40 billion to $54 billion) over the same period to meet the country’s growing energy needs,” he said.
The latest announcement includes the creation of an Investment Ministry headed by Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, who is currently vice chairman of Masdar, a clean energy company that has committed tens of billions of dollars to projects around the world .
Sultan al-Jaber, chairman of Masdar and CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company – a state-owned company that produces millions of barrels of crude oil per day – has been appointed as chairman of the upcoming climate summit, to be held in Dubai.
His appointment has drawn criticism from environmentalists, who fear the UAE will resist efforts to reduce fossil fuel sales.
The UAE's oil wealth has fueled its transformation into a major business and tourism hub. The country needs huge amounts of energy to power desalination plants that irrigate desert golf courses, air conditioners that cool sprawling shopping malls and heavy industries such as aluminum smelters.
The UAE has a nuclear power plant, as well as a large solar park in Dubai, but that only met 15% of the city's needs last year, leaving the city largely dependent on natural gas imported from Qatar.
Mai Van (according to AP)
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