UAE ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Kyoto Protocol) in 2005 and became a non-Annex 1 country. This means UAE is not obliged to reduce its carbon emissions in accordance with the Protocol. However, the nation has opted to reduce its emissions by tracking the pollutants in the air and assessing policies for reducing GHG emissions. It also agreed (at the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2015) to generate 24% of its energy from renewable resources. Although UAE is not under any legal obligation to do so, the nation has initiated various national and local strategies to improve energy efficiency while reducing the total emissions and burning of fossil fuels.

The UAE has initiated various environmental strategies to meet the growing population and the national goal of conserving the country's resources.

 

Vision 2021 has the aim of attaining sustainable development to accompany diversification in the national economy and to increase investment in sectors such as clean energy, sustainable development, information technology and space technology.

 

Abu Dhabi and Dubai have also initiated local strategies such as Abu Dhabi's Economic Vision 2030 and Dubai Plan 2021, with the primary objective of economic diversification and sustainable development.

 

The recent unveiling of UAE's Energy Plan 2050 aims to transform the country's energy sector into a clean energy sector by the year 2050, with the following long-term targets:

Clean energy: 44%.

Gas: 38%.

Clean coal: 12%.

Nuclear energy: 6%.

 

This is a major challenge since the economy has historically depended on the oil and gas sector. Federal government and the respective emirates' governments are working to achieve economic development by reducing carbon emissions and employing innovative technologies to improve industrial efficiency.

 

The government has also set out a federal legislative framework for waste management, including an integrated waste management regime. In addition, the Blue Carbon Demonstration Project was initiated in 2013 to provide a strategic understanding of carbon sequestration (removal and storage of carbon gases) in Abu Dhabi. The scope of the initiative was expanded to cover the whole nation in 2014 due to the effectiveness of the project in Abu Dhabi.