UAE places technology at top of COP28 agenda in Dubai

Salim A. Essaid

Sep 7, 2023

Solar panels used to generate renewable energy at the Sustainability Pavilion during a media tour at the Dubai Expo 2020, a week ahead of its public opening, in the United Arab Emirates. — Solar panels used to generate renewable energy at the Sustainability Pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020, United Arab Emirates, 2021. — Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) ability to meet its renewable energy targets for COP28 depends on the widespread adoption of advanced technologies, a government official told Al-Monitor in an interview.

Omar Al Suwaidi, the undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), said the process begins with engaging the space sector, a source of peak technological innovation, along with the MoIAT. In July, the UAE announced it will work to triple renewable energy output to 11,000 gigawatts by 2030 and invest in agri-tech development to use water and produce food efficiently.

“Both these vital sectors have a huge role to play in climate action and must work closely together in the lead-up to COP28 to ensure strategic alignment,” he said.

Hard truths