UAE To Provide $4.5 Billion For Africa's Clean Energy Projects

COP28 President-Designate, Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, announced on Tuesday that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be providing $4.5 billion to support Africa's clean energy projects.

Al Jaber, who also serves as Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of UAE, made this announcement during his speech at the inaugural African Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.

The investment will come from various public and private institutions including Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), Masdar, and AMEA Power.

Furthermore, an investment platform named Africa50, established by African governments and the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), will also be a part of UAE's finance initiative towards Africa's clean energy projects.

The COP28 President Designate said, "This initiative builds on the UAE's track record of commercially driven, innovative blended finance solutions that can be deployed to promote the adoption of clean energy in emerging and developing nations," The National News reported.

He added, "This multi-stakeholder partnership approach is designed to accelerate sustainable economic progress, address the challenge of climate change and stimulate low carbon growth."

Minister Al Jaber explained further that this initiative will prioritize investments across African countries with "clear transition strategies, enhanced regulatory frameworks, and a master plan for developing grid infrastructure that integrates supply and demand," adding that this initiative has been especially designed to work with Africa and for Africa.

He continued, "It aims to clearly demonstrate the commercial case for clean investment across this continent. And it will act as a scalable model that can be replicated to help put Africa on a superhighway to low carbon growth."

He also mentioned the key pillars of the COP28 Presidency's Action Agenda, explaining that it will focus on people, lives, and livelihoods alongside fast-tracking the energy transition and fixing climate finance.

UAE will be hosting the highly anticipated COP28 summit this year in Expo City Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.

Last month, UAE's Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri shared that the UAE is ready for the upcoming event and looking forward to highlighting its efforts to tackle climate change on a national and international scale.

Considering this new finance initiative, it won't be surprising if the Middle Eastern country highlights its contribution to the African continent in the upcoming event.

The country might also highlight that in July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan met the President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema to discuss how both countries can work together in the field of renewable energy and logistics.

Aside from clean energy projects, the UAE has been helping African countries like Chad by providing security equipment and military vehicles.