UAE Bank Pledges $350 Million For Energy Transition Accelerator Financing

Emirates Development Bank (EDB) made a commitment on Monday to support the Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) platform with $350 million (AED1.3 billion).

The platform was established by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to provide financial to help countries as they move toward the consumption of renewable energy to curb the impact of climate change.

EDB and IRENEA signed a collaborative partnership agreement in the presence of the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, who also serves as the COP28 President.

"Guided by the UAE leadership's forward-looking vision for sustainable socio-economic development, we are very pleased to sign this timely agreement with IRENA, just days ahead of COP28, where we will rally the world around the goal of keeping 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach," Al Jaber said, WAM reported.

He added, "COP28 marks the first global stock take since the Paris Agreement, and this agreement is a significant milestone in helping to provide adequate climate financing to drive global investments that meet the 2030 global goals and fast-track a just, equitable, orderly, and responsible energy transition."

Al Jaber noted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the largest investors in the world when it comes to renewable energy projects. It has so far invested $50 billion (AED183.5 billion) in 70 countries.

He shared that this new investment from EDB will continue to drive investments to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and drive economic growth, adding that this new agreement shows the UAE's commitment to bolster global collaboration and scale up financing of renewable energy projects.

"We are proud of this new collaboration which will scale up climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts on the road to COP28 and beyond," he said.

EDB's commitment includes supporting 13,500 companies in five different sectors, including renewables, manufacturing, technology, healthcare and food security in the next three years.

The bank has also launched the Solar Energy Financing Program, which aims to support micro, small and medium enterprises so that they can move to cleaner sources of energy.

Last week, Expo City Dubai and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) signed an agreement to boost renewable energy.

Moreover, a report released by Strategy Middle East, a part of the PwC network, revealed recently that with the help of sustainability-focused construction technologies, the entire gulf's $2 trillion construction boom can generate 4.3 million annual jobs and reduce emissions by 60%.