US, UAE announce clean energy partnership worth $100 billion

WASHINGTON — The United States announced a clean energy partnership on Tuesday with the United Arab Emirates worth $100 billion, the White House said.

The Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy (PACE) will aim to develop low-emission energy sources to distribute 100 gigawatts of clean energy worldwide by 2035, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

The two countries will also invest in managing harmful emissions such as carbon and methane, as well as in developing nuclear technology and de-carbonising industrial and transportation sectors.

Funds will also go toward supporting "emerging economies whose clean development is both underfunded and essential to the global climate effort", the statement said.

"PACE also reflects our unwavering commitment to working closely with allies and partners to accelerate the clean energy transition and deliver the climate action our shared future depends on."

The announcement comes days before world leaders convene in Egypt for the UN COP27 climate summit.

The UAE, a major oil producer, will host the COP28 in 2023.

The head of UAE oil giant ADNOC and the Gulf state's special envoy for climate change, Sultan Al Jaber, said at an oil conference on Monday that oil remains a cornerstone of energy supply but that the UAE was also working to lower emissions and increase production from renewable or less-polluting sources.

Fossil fuels are the largest contributor to climate change, accounting for 75 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations.

COP26 last year ended with a pledge to keep global warming at 1.5ºC over pre-industrial levels — a goal the world is set to miss on current emission trends.