UAE Climate Minister urges collective action on sustainable development

WAM

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment (MOCCAE), has highlighted the importance of collective action to strengthen sustainable development, at the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial Meeting in Chennai, India.

Almheiri also called upon G20 countries to fulfill their commitment to providing the pledged financial support for global climate initiatives, and reinforced the UAE's commitment to environmental and climate sustainability at two key meetings.

Mariam Almheiri said, “I want to take this opportunity to focus on two key principles, which are integral to addressing climate change – number one is collective action and number two is collective finance. Just recently, the UAE has taken a bold and progressive step of publishing a Third Update to its Second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

"I am proud to say that so far, we have set our goal of achieving 40 per cent carbon emissions reduction by 2030, versus business as usual, in line with our pathway to achieve Net Zero by 2050.”

She continued, “We urgently call upon the developed countries to demonstrate proactive leadership by fulfilling their commitment, made 14 years ago to provide the pledged $100 billion. It’s time to take decisive action and uphold their responsibility to support global climate initiatives.”

She said the UAE is committed to co-leading the Global Green Economy Alliance, which assists countries in transitioning to green economies, and highlighted the recently announced COP28 Food and Agriculture Agenda, inviting G20 nations to join the UAE in championing changes for global food systems, aligning with the UAE's position as Pro-Growth and Pro-Climate.

Almheiri underscored the benefits of climate action on the economy by creating new industries and protecting the natural world and also highlighted the importance of water resource management and combatting desertification.

The Ministerial Meeting was attended by India’s Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and COP28 President-designate and other distinguished representatives from around the world.

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