Mariam Almheiri, the Emirate’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment, stated that the UAE is prepared to support Africa with financial and technological assistance for the continent’s energy revolution.
She told African Business magazine that due to the UAE’s experience in creating green energy and industrial projects, including some of the biggest solar parks in the world, the country is well-positioned to aid in Africa’s transition to a more sustainable energy source.
The UAE promised earlier this month to invest $4.5 billion to hasten Africa’s transition to clean energy. The ‘Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company’ (Masdar), the ‘Abu Dhabi Fund for Development’, ‘Etihad Credit Insurance’, and the Dubai-based ‘AMEA Power’ will also contribute money.
“We are walking the talk and stepping up where we can, to say: this is our contribution to help Africa in their energy system transformation,” Almheiri added.
She affirmed that the UAE government collaborated with the four institutions to get the USD 4.5 billion pledge.
The minister acknowledged that despite generating only “a very small” portion of total global emissions, Africa is suffering the most from climate change.
According to Almheiri, fixing the problems “is crucial to keeping Africa intact and stopping the migration routes.”
At the Nairobi meeting, African states decided that their main focus at COP28 would be on pressuring governments in the Global North to fulfill prior pledges, including the loss and damage fund promised at COP27.
The major issue they are dealing with, according to Almheiri, is the availability, cost, and accessibility of financing, even though they have projects ready.
“We realized that we couldn’t just wait”, she said.
“Every nation must act and take action. We took it into our own hands to say, Okay, let’s bring some of these entities together and see what we can do. We’re hosting the world,” she concluded.
The COP28 climate summit will be held in the UAE from November 30 to December 12 at Expo City Dubai.