Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, has stated that the United Arab Emirates has made significant progress in combating the climate change impact. He cited in this regard the country's national programmes, such as the launch of the National Climate Change Plan 2050 and the National Climate Adaptation Programme, NCAP, which aim to strengthen the state's national capacities to withstand climate challenges and transform them into opportunities that ensure long-term economic growth for current and future generations.

This came during UAE s keynote speech at the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held from November 6th to 17th, 2017 in Bonn, Germany, to discuss the next steps in the implementation of the Paris Agreement and review the progress of the signatory countries in achieving their climate change goals.

Al-Zeyoudi added that in view of the substantial changes to be implemented in the next phase as part of the UAE Centennial Plan 2071, the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 has been announced to boost the country s ambitions to raise the share of clean energy in the national energy mix to 27% by 2021 and 50% by 2050, in addition to laying the foundation stone of the Noor Abu Dhabi Plant featuring cutting-edge photovoltaic technology with a potential to generate 1,177 MW of solar energy.

Al-Zeyoudi added that the fourth stage of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park was launched with a production capacity of 700 MW as part of a plan to produce 5,000 MW of energy by 2030. He indicated that the UAE has also laid the foundation for the first waste-to-energy project and implemented the first carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in the Middle East and North Africa region.

In recognising UAE s most stellar environmental achievements, he highlighted the important role played by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar, which has been leading the country s efforts in the development of renewable energy technologies and solutions since its inception in 2006, and has invested about US$8.5 billion in local and global projects, contributing to the increase of renewable energy capacity by about 2.7 million GW.

The minister stressed that this global event is taking place at a time when the global climate has been worsening, and extreme weather events have been occurring at a faster and more severe pace than ever before "This conference serves as an ideal platform for strengthening cooperation frameworks that will allow countries to tackle the global challenges of climate change. Considering the current alarming situations, we need to act more swiftly to maintain the momentum created by the historic Paris Agreement if we are to translate its objectives into practical measures. Today, let us together send a positive message from Bonn to the entire world through reaffirming our determination to move forward in shaping the future we aspire to achieve," Al-Zeyoudi said.

Al-Zeyoudi reaffirmed UAE s commitment to the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement and all relevant international resolutions, as well as the country s determination to continue its voluntary participation in international efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.