A high level delegation led by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and MD and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority ,DEWA, is attending the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22), in Marrakesh, Morocco, from 7-18 November 2016.

The UAE delegation aims to enhance co-operation with the international community, to find solutions to climate change, in adherence with the international agreement made at COP21 in Paris last year.

The UAE delegation includes Ahmed Buti Al Muhairbi, Secretary General of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Waleed Salman, Chairman of the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (Dubai Carbon), Dr. Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources at DEWA, Khawla Al Mehairi, VP of Marketing and Corporate Communications at DEWA, and Mohammed Abdulkarim Al Shamsi, Acting Executive Director of the UAE Water Aid Foundation.

Al Tayer noted that the UAE’s participation in COP22 adheres to the vision of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to enhance sustainable development and support international efforts, following the agreement made during COP21. This included keeping the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 C above pre-industrial levels, and to limit it to 1.5 C.

"Our participation in COP22, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakesh, has a special importance. We will show the UAE’s support for the international community’s efforts to enhance sustainability and green economy, while limiting the increasing effects of climate change. Dubai has a comprehensive vision for a sustainable future which is pivotal to the success of building a green economy. The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy has participated in a number of international events. The UAE delegation played a vital role in the negotiations that led to the Paris Agreement in 2015, and the Dubai Declaration 2016. Through COP22, we are continuing our efforts to highlight our means of dealing with climate change, through leading clean and renewable energy projects and initiatives," said Al Tayer.

"We will continue our efforts to enhance sustainable development in the UAE and the world, to find the best solutions to energy uses, to sustain our resources, and manage the increasing demand for energy," concluded Al Tayer.

The UAE was one of the first countries in the international community to support tackling the growing issue of climate change. The UAE is also one of the first nations to have endorsed the extension of the Kyoto protocol in 2005, to limit greenhouse gases in industrial countries, in addition to being the first country in the region to sign the Copenhagen Accord to limit emissions, at COP15.