meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Cop28 focuses energy transition spotlight on UAE

28 February 2023

 

Global climate negotiators, civil society groups, entrepreneurs and journalists will descend on Dubai’s Expo City in November for the 28th Conference of the Parties (Cop28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, putting the UAE at the centre and in charge of the annual climate talks.

UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has said Cop28 is the most important event the UAE will host in 2023. It is hard to argue otherwise.

Cop28 is expected to follow through with the implementation of a breakthrough loss-and-damage fund to help the most vulnerable countries address climate change, which was included for the first time in a Cop agreement last year.

It will conclude the first global stocktake, an assessment of the progress each country has made against the goals of the Paris Agreement, signed in 2016 by 195 nations, with the aim of keeping the mean global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels.

Contrasting agendas

Under the auspices of a state whose wealth was built for the most part on oil, negotiators are expected to lock horns over the policies, technologies and funding platforms best placed to enable climate mitigation and adaptation, and to wean the world off fossil fuels.

The relevance of the UAE's leadership in this year's Cop negotiations reflects the dilemma between meeting climate targets and a world that cannot yet live without hydrocarbons

It is not the first time an Opec member will host a Cop event – Qatar and Indonesia hosted them in 2012 and 2013, respectively. However, the appointment of Abu Dhabi oil chief and UAE climate envoy Sultan al-Jaber as Cop28 president-designate caused an uproar among environment and climate advocacy groups in January.

“I thought someone from outside the conventional energy sector would have given more credibility to the event,” an independent consultant tells MEED.

Despite this, commentators have also noted the UAE’s strategic clout and potential to act as a bridge between the affluent and developed countries increasingly referred to as the global north, such as the US, EU states, Russia and Japan, and the economically challenged countries in the global south, which includes swathes of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The UAE maintains close economic and political ties with the majority of the countries in both groups, which largely have contrasting geopolitical, economic and energy profiles, as well as climate agendas.

According to Frank Wouters, director of the EU GCC Clean Energy Network and senior vice-president of Reliance Industries, the UAE, as one of the biggest donors of official development aid (ODA), can provide credibility and leadership in the effort to mobilise badly needed global capital towards climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

For instance, at Cop15 in Denmark in 2009, developed countries committed to a collective goal of mobilising $100bn a year for climate action in developing countries by 2020. 

The goal was formalised at Cop16 in Mexico, and reiterated at Cop21 in France, with the timeline extended to 2025.

The latest available figure in 2020 stood at $83.3bn. “The reality is that this has not happened,” says Wouters. “So more can and should be done.”

With the UAE consistently rated among the countries with the highest ODA against gross national income, Cop28 is expected to provide further impetus to reaching this collective goal – one of the tangible outcomes most negotiators have hoped for at previous Cop events.

Low-carbon fuels as the next LNG

A seat at the table

Despite the somewhat counter-intuitive proposition of giving petroleum-exporting countries a seat at the Cop negotiating table, the move is an important one, another expert tells MEED.

Mhamed Biygautane, a lecturer in public policy at the University of Melbourne, says these countries’ involvement in early discussions and negotiations is critical for any resultant decisions to have a meaningful impact on the ground.

“Petroleum states can make or break any climate-change negotiations because their interests are obviously at stake here,” he says.  

“This is particularly the case for GCC states, whose economies rely heavily on oil rents and any reductions in oil exports will most certainly adversely affect their economies.”

Karen Young, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy, also points out the importance of considering the major difference in the politics of energy transition between national oil companies such as those based in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, and international oil companies such as BP and Shell.

“The state and the firm are linked, so energy policy … can include an emphasis on carbon capture and storage (CCS), on cleaner production and simultaneously on investments in renewables and economic statecraft – to deploy investment and technology to partner states that are both profitable and strategic in foreign relations,” Young says.

For example, the UAE has two national champions, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and clean energy firm Masdar, which in a different framework could be seen as a contradiction.

According to Young, the UAE is managing the energy transition with a goal of not just state survival, but of dominance across energy markets, technology and political ties across a broad geography.

This suggests that the UAE sees Cop28 as an opportunity not just to set a climate agenda, but also to put the country in a strong economic and political leadership position for decades.

Greenwashing fears

Significantly, 2022 was a year of record profits for global and national oil majors, as the war in Ukraine depressed supply and inflated prices.

 Aramco earns $42.4bn profit in third quarter

While oil firms around the world will continue to invest in renewables, some experts say they are likely to reinvest a significant amount in conventional hydrocarbons development due to robust oil demand, regardless of climate objectives.

This has reinforced fears of widespread greenwashing, or oil majors walking back on their net-zero targets, an issue commonly raised by advocacy groups at Cop events.

“Greenwashing is real, but ultimately it is not a useful framework,” says Young. “There is oil demand. There will continue to be oil demand. What matters is how we produce and transport it and, simultaneously, with purposeful government policy, reduce demand by creating incentives to use renewable energy and increase the costs of continuing to use oil.”

Biygautane also says stronger monitoring and international conventions with more powers for sanctions and penalties are necessary to deter businesses within and outside the hydrocarbons industry from making promises they will not honour.

Another expert points out the urgent need to focus on deploying clean technologies other than renewable energy, and to decarbonise sectors other than power, such as transport and buildings, along with the need for a bigger focus on transmission and distribution within the power sector.

“The major shortcoming remains in ensuring the required financing is there, which requires collective action from governments, corporates, financing and development institutions, in addition to individual behaviour and action,” says Jessica Obeid, academy associate at think tank Chatham House’s energy, environment and resources programme in London.

“It takes a village to achieve a serious sustainable transformation of our energy systems … requirements are many and efforts are only a few,” she says.

Resource allocation

For the GCC states, where historical data has pointed to a significant discrepancy between hydrocarbons production and clean energy investments, this will mean more resource allocation is required.

For example, data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects shows that the value of wind, solar and waste-to-energy generation contracts equates to a mere 10 per cent of the $254bn-worth of contracts awarded across the GCC states’ oil and gas sectors over the past 10 years, excluding investments made by GCC-based investors and developers overseas.

When it comes to projects in the advanced procurement stage, the ratio of renewable energy projects more than doubles, at 24 per cent against the value of oil and gas schemes. 

This provides a positive market signal that could further improve if a portion of the GCC economic vision-related renewable energy schemes, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and clean hydrogen projects move into procurement.

While this improvement may not prove to be enough to appease all climate change advocates, the clear policy convergence on clean hydrocarbons production between the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, Kuwait, is

significant. It could help to further drive the gradual uncoupling of their economies from fossil fuels over the coming years or decades. 

Columbia University’s Young concludes: “Which states ride the coattails of the UAE in this Cop and its subsequent agenda will be interesting to watch.” 

Technology and teamwork are critical if a low-carbon future is to be secured, says Mubadala's Saed Arar

Spotlight on the UAE

The UAE has been building up its green and clean energy base and working on energy transition objectives for some time. It set an energy diversification agenda in 2017 and was the first Middle East country to declare a target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

The Abu Dhabi Energy Department has launched regulations covering waste-to-energy, electric vehicles and clean energy certificates, along with energy-efficiency initiatives that include building retrofits. 

The UAE’s clean energy installed capacity, including three units of the Barakah nuclear power plant, stood at 7.6GW as of December. It is also finalising its green hydrogen roadmap.

Pragmatic transition

The growing number of new projects involving Masdar, which Al-Jaber chairs, forms part of the UAE’s pragmatic energy transition strategy. This involves developing and expanding nuclear and renewable energy and hydrogen capacity in addition to expanding its hydrocarbons output.

Adnoc and Abu Dhabi National Energy (Taqa) have taken control of Masdar, whose operations have been split into separate renewable energy and green hydrogen businesses. The firm aims to have 100GW of renewable installed capacity and 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.

“Adnoc is the only national oil company (NOC) to pursue renewable merger and acquisition, buying into the H2Teeside hydrogen project in the UK alongside BP,” notes Kavita Jadhav, research director, corporate research at UK-based Wood MacKenzie. “Its investments in low-carbon energy will increase, and it may also make further international acquisitions in hydrogen; CCUS; and solar, in a wave that could be similar to the rush of activity seen in the UK and Europe in the run-up to Cop26.”

Jadhav predicts the UAE and wider Middle East could have a similar eureka moment to the Inflation Reduction Act in the US, which promises a boom time for hydrogen, CCS and solar.

“A lot can happen when you have the spotlight on you,” she says.
https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10590455/main.gif
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Firms submit Jebel Ali sewage PPP prequalifications

    24 July 2026

     

    Dubai Municipality received statements of qualification on 23 July from firms interested in delivering phase three of the Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant (STP) expansion project.

    Known as DS150/3, the project will be delivered under a public-private partnership (PPP) model on a design, build, finance, own, operate and transfer basis.

    The project involves the development of a new water resource recovery facility with an ultimate treatment capacity of up to 1 million cubic metres a day (cm/d).

    It is being procured through Dubai Municipality’s sewerage and recycled water projects department and will be delivered via a two-stage operational approach over a 30-year concession period.

    It is understood that the following firms are among those likely to qualify for the project:

    • Acciona (Spain)
    • Alkhorayef (Saudi Arabia)
    • Besix (Belgium)
    • Etihad WE (UAE)
    • GS Inima (Spain)
    • Metito (UAE)
    • Miahona (Saudi Arabia) 
    • Samsung E&A (South Korea)
    • Saur (France)
    • Suez (France)
    • Taqa Water Solutions (UAE)
    • Veolia (France)

    The municipality issued a request for qualifications notice in May with an intial bid submission deadline of 18 June. UK-headquartered Deloitte is acting as financial adviser, Aecom is the project's technical adviser and CMS is the legal adviser.

    Dubai Municipality said the project will also include additional land uses and community-focused amenities as part of broader sustainability and urban integration objectives.

    Phase one and two expansion

    On 9 July, firms submitted bids for an engineering, procurement and construction contract covering the expansion of the Jebel Ali STP phases one and two.

    Located on a 670-hectare site in Jebel Ali, the original wastewater facility has a treatment capacity of about 675,000 cm/d, following the completion of phase two in 2019, combining approximately 300,000 cm/d from phase one and 375,000 cm/d from phase two.

    The upgraded facility will be capable of treating an additional sewage flow of 100,000 cm/d, with the expansion estimated to cost $300m.

    UK-headquartered KPMG and UAE-based Tribe Infrastructure are serving as financial advisers on the project.

    READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17735401/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Contractors submit interest for Riyadh Expo substructure

    24 July 2026

     

    Contractors have submitted expressions of interest on 23 July for a contract to deliver the early works and substructure works for several assets at the Expo 2030 Riyadh site.

    Expo 2030 Riyadh Company (ERC) is tasked with delivering the Expo 2030 Riyadh venue. Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle, the Public Investment Fund, launched ERC – a wholly owned subsidiary – in June 2025 to build and operate facilities for the event.

    The assets include the Icon; the convention centre; and thematic pavilions, including the Culture of Wisdom, Place & Planet and Adaptation & Innovation pavilions.

    The Icon will be located at the entrance of the Expo 2030 Riyadh site, within the Collaboration Precinct.

    The structure will be connected to the metro station and will serve as a gateway to the event.

    It will be 66 metres tall and will comprise an observation platform, food and beverage (F&B) outlets and other features.

    The convention centre will cover about 22,000 square metres. It will be the first point of arrival for visitors to the expo.

    The Culture of Wisdom pavilion will be a 25-metre-tall building that will feature exhibition galleries, innovation laboratories and conference and learning spaces.

    The Place & Planet building will also be 25 metres tall, and will include indoor and outdoor exhibition spaces, F&B and retail facilities and support areas.

    The Adaptation & Innovation pavilion will be located within the Loop of Nations precinct and will comprise a 29-metre-tall building.

    Construction progress

    The tendering of the pavilion structures followed progress on the site’s infrastructure development works.

    In April, ERC awarded two contracts for the next phase of infrastructure works at the site to local firm Al-Yamama Company.

    The scope covered the construction of road networks and infrastructure for water, sewage, electricity, telecommunications and electric vehicle charging.

    These awards followed ERC’s January award of an estimated SR1bn ($267m) contract for initial infrastructure works at the site to local firm Nesma & Partners. That scope covered about 50 kilometres of integrated infrastructure networks, including internal roads and essential utilities such as water, sewage, electrical and communications systems, and electric vehicle charging stations.

    The overall infrastructure works – covering the construction of main utilities and civil works at Expo 2030 Riyadh – are split into three packages:

    • Lot 1 covers the main utilities corridor;
    • Lot 2 includes the northern cluster of the Nature Corridor;
    • Lot 3 comprises the southern cluster of the Nature Corridor. 

    The masterplan encompasses an area of 6 square kilometres, making it one of the largest sites ever designated for a World Expo event. Situated to the north of the Saudi capital, the site will be located near the future King Salman International airport and will provide direct access to landmarks within Riyadh.

    READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17739044/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Oil price rises above $100 a barrel after Red Sea attacks

    24 July 2026

    Oil prices rose to their highest level in nearly two months on 23 July after the latest escalation in the US-Iran conflict threatened severe new disruptions to global energy supplies.

    Global benchmark Brent crude closed 7% higher, at $100.69 a barrel on 23 July. Earlier in the trading day, it rose as high as $102 a barrel. That is its highest level in eight weeks, since the end of May.

    Brent was trading at over $100 a barrel in the early hours of 24 July, but later pared gains to settle around $99.63 a barrel as of 11am Gulf Standard Time (GST).

    The surge in the Brent price came after Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea following their announcement of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.

    It appeared to be the first time since the regional war began that attacks on oil tankers and other commercial ships had extended beyond the Strait of Hormuz, opening up a new front in the volatile conflict.

    The Houthi threat is unsettling to oil markets because millions of barrels a day pass through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait to reach global markets.

    ALSO READ: Opec+ holds the line on unwinding of production cuts

    About 12%-15% of global maritime trade, worth more than $1tn, transits the waterway every year.

    It has also served as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic remains largely at a standstill, with ship crossings falling to single digits on 21 July.

    Since the start of July, oil prices have risen about 35%. Those prices are more than 60% higher than at the start of the year. This has erased much of the progress made in bringing prices down after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June.

    The interim peace deal has now collapsed, with US President Donald Trump threatening on 22 July to blow up an Iranian bridge or power plant for every vessel Tehran attacks.

    This was followed by the Houthi claim to have hit two tankers in the Red Sea.

    The UK’s Maritime Trade Office reported a tanker “struck by an unknown projectile” north of the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, and state-run Saudi Press Agency (Spa) reported that a vessel named Encelia was set ablaze by an attack while it was sailing overnight in the Red Sea, citing an unidentified source from the General Authority of Transport. Spa did not mention the other vessel, which is understood to be called Layla.

    READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17739553/main4051.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Qiddiya tenders Dragon Ball theme park package

    24 July 2026

     

    Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) has tendered a contract to undertake the back-of-house works on the Dragon Ball theme park in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia.

    The scope covers the construction of plant rooms, facilities management buildings, workshops, storage warehouses and central processing kitchens.

    It also includes a monorail service depot, a fire station, parking, utilities and other associated infrastructure.

    The bid submission deadline is 13 September.

    The Dragon Ball theme park will cover more than 500,000 square metres and will have seven themed zones inspired by the Japanese media franchise, including Kame House, Capsule Corporation and Beerus’ Planet.

    The park will offer more than 30 rides with five main attractions, including a rollercoaster that passes through a 70-metre landmark based on the series’ wish-granting dragon Shenron. 

    The development will also include themed hotels.

    In September 2024, US-based firm Falcon’s Creative Group announced that it is undertaking the masterplan and attraction design and is the creative lead for the theme park.

    QIC formally launched the Dragon Ball theme park in March 2024.

    The announcement came after QIC signed an agreement with Japanese firm Toei Animation, the producer of the Dragon Ball anime series.

    The Dragon Ball theme park is one of several major projects within the wider Qiddiya development. Other projects include an e-games arena, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium, a horse racing venue, a performing arts centre, the Speed Park and Six Flags theme parks and Aquarabia waterpark.

    The project is a key part of Riyadh’s strategy to boost leisure tourism in the kingdom. According to UK analytics firm GlobalData, leisure tourism in Saudi Arabia has experienced significant growth in recent years.

    READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17738622/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Saudi Arabia appoints developer for hybrid power plant

    24 July 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia-based Lamar Holding has signed a contract to develop a hybrid power plant at the Empty Quarter (Rub Al-Khali) land port in Saudi Arabia, according to a source.

    The public-private partnership (PPP) project aims to reduce diesel fuel use with renewable energy and ensure a long-term power supply at the Empty Quarter land port. It includes the construction of 15MW of total hybrid installed capacity, installation of a 7 megawatt-peak solar photovoltaic system and eight 1MW internal combustion engines.

    In March, MEED exclusively reported that Lamar had been given preferred bidder status and was in advanced discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Zakat, Tax & Customs Authority (Zatca) for the contract.

    MEED understands that the proposed plant will have the capacity to produce 25 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. It will be implemented under a design, build, finance, operate, maintain and transfer contract model for 25 years, excluding the construction period.

    US/India-based Synergy Consulting is acting as financial advisor to Lamar on the project. Egyptian firm Eternal Consultation Engineering Services is acting as the technical support consultant and Dubai-headquartered Aktech is the technical consultant for the project.

    Lamar Holding and Dubai’s SirajPower submitted bids for the Empty Quarter hybrid power plant project in July 2025, as previously reported by MEED.

    Zatca, in collaboration with the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP, had previously prequalified the following four companies to bid for the contract in October 2024:

    • Alfanar Company (Saudi Arabia)
    • Lamar Holding (Saudi Arabia)
    • Olayan Energy (Saudi Arabia) / Enerwhere Sustainable Energy (UAE)
    • Siraj Power for Renewable Energy (UAE)

    Prior to that, in July 2024, 12 Saudi companies and local branches of international companies, along with 11 overseas-based companies, submitted statements of qualifications for the contract.

    In addition to building and operating the power plant, the project scope includes ensuring the facility operates to defined requirements and output specifications. It also involves managing power generation and the connection to the Zatca interface point for the entire project term.

    READ THE JULY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Stress test for Gulf aviation; Mixed performance as country outlooks diverge in the Levant; GCC tourism sector pivots from crisis to recovery mode.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the July 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/17733327/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall