UAE Energy Strategy 2050

The UAE Energy Strategy 2050 aims to triple the contribution of renewable energy by 2030 and mobilize national investments of AED 150–200 billion over the same period to ensure that the country’s growing energy demand is met in line with its rapid economic growth.

The UAE Energy Strategy 2050 was launched in 2017 and is considered the first unified energy strategy in the country, balancing energy production and consumption, global environmental commitments, and the need to maintain a favourable economic environment that supports growth across all sectors.

In response to the significant changes witnessed in the energy sector, particularly in relation to global energy security and climate change, as well as the declining costs and increasing maturity of new and low emission energy technologies, and the UAE’s commitments under the Paris Agreement, the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 was updated. The updated strategy establishes targets for 2031 and ambitions for 2050 to support the UAE’s journey toward Net Zero 2050.

This step is aligned with the announcement by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, declaring 2023 as the Year of Sustainability under the theme “Today for Tomorrow.”

Objectives of the UAE Energy Strategy 2050

The updated Energy Strategy aims to strengthen reliance on renewable energy sources, improve energy efficiency, promote the use of all forms of clean energy, support research and development programs in energy technologies, and encourage innovation and investment in the sector. It also aims to enhance the UAE’s capacity to provide clean and sustainable energy, maintain its leadership position, and increase its global competitiveness in this vital sector.

The Strategy aims to triple the contribution of renewable energy by 2030 and mobilize national investments of AED 150–200 billion over the same period to ensure that the country’s growing energy demand is met as a result of rapid economic growth.

The Strategy creates new investment opportunities in renewable and clean energy, supports the development of advanced energy related technologies, and reinforces the UAE’s position as one of the world’s leading destinations for innovation and investment in the energy sector. It also supports enhanced cooperation with international partners to achieve sustainability objectives across the energy sector.

The Strategy represents a long term national program designed to balance the need to meet energy demand with the sustainable management of natural resources for future generations. In its first phase, the Strategy aims to:

• Reduce emissions to achieve Net Zero in the electricity and water sector by 2050.
• Eliminate the contribution of clean coal to 0% of the energy mix, reinforcing the UAE’s leadership and supporting the achievement of Net Zero targets by 2050.
• Improve individual and institutional energy consumption efficiency by 42%–45% compared with 2019 levels.
• Triple the contribution of renewable energy by 2030.
• Increase total installed clean energy capacity from 14.2 GW to more than 28 GW by 2031.
• Increase the share of installed clean energy capacity in the total energy mix to 32% by 2031.
• Increase the share of clean energy generation to 35% by 2031, ensuring that the UAE remains on track to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
• Create 50,000 new green jobs by 2031.
• Achieve financial savings of up to AED 100 billion by 2031, alongside national investments of AED 150–200 billion by 2031, to meet energy demand and sustain the growth of the UAE economy.

The following illustration demonstrates the UAE’s journey toward achieving Net Zero by 2050.

It is worth noting that the UAE has one of the lowest grid emission factors compared with the global average and aims to achieve a grid emission factor of approximately 0.27 kg CO₂/kWh by 2030.

*Content provided by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.

See the press coverage on the Emirates News Agency (WAM) website.

Read the summary presentation of the UAE Energy Strategy 2050.