Features
31 Oct 22

How the UAE is leading the region towards net-zero

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) pride themselves on being global leaders in terms of mobility innovation, among many other fields. They’ve also taken the regional lead in overall sustainability. Last year, the UAE were the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to announce a strategic initiative to achieve net-zero emissions. 

The UAE’s ‘Net Zero by 2050’ initiative consists of a multiplicity of projects, and is powered by the peculiar setup of the UAE, which as the name suggests, consists of a number of autonomous emirates, which are able to emphasize different aspects of the same strategy. Some examples:

  • In the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Department of Energy is developing a Hydrogen Policy and Regulatory Framework. The aim is to turn Abu Dhabi into a leader of the emerging international hydrogen market. 
  • Another example from Abu Dhabi. Emerge, a joint venture between UAE company Masdar and French energy company EDF, has won a contract to deploy on-site solar energy systems at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, a theme park currently under construction. 
  • Meanwhile in the emirate of Sharjah (pictured), the local emir recently inaugurated a Waste to Energy plant, the first of its kind in the Middle East. It’s the first project of Emirates Waste to Energy, a joint venture between BEEAH Energy and Masdar, one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies.
  • Thanks to various recycling initiatives, BEEAH Group has already managed to divert 76% of Sharjah’s waste away from landfills, the highest rate in the Middle East. 
  • In a ceremony at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP), Dutch OEM Lightyear introduced its Lightyear 0, the world’s first production-ready solar EV. According to STIRP’s CEO Hussain Al Mahmoudi, “Having Lightyear at SRTIP boosts the UAE’s position as a nation at the frontline of the transition to sustainable mobility (…) The UAE is already the world’s third-largest producer of solar power, making it the perfect place to test and prove Lightyear’s solar extender solutions for EVs.”

Image: Shutterstock

Authored by: Frank Jacobs