Her Excellency Aisha Mohammed Al Mulla, Member of the Federal National Council (FNC) and Chair of the Parliamentary Group of the Council of the Mediterranean Parliament, participated in the session “Threats to Energy Security: Ensuring Affordable Supplies, Within the Framework of Environmental Transition and Sustainable Development Goals in the Face of Climate Change,” as part of the Marrakech Parliamentary Economic Forum for the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf Region, held in the Kingdom of Morocco.
Her Excellency Aisha Al Mulla said in the UAE Parliamentary Group’s speech, “Climate change poses a powerful, long-term threat to all peoples and societies around the world, especially in light of the negative and impactful changes affecting human life and the planet. Large numbers of people die annually due to climate change, and 20% of marine species are threatened with extinction.”
She pointed out that “the majority of the adverse effects of climate change are suffered by poor and low-income communities around the world, especially since there are more than 50 developing countries worldwide that are responsible for no more than 1% of greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to transition to clean energy and make every effort to halt global warming.”
She said, “COP28, to be held in the UAE on November 17, 2023, will be a real opportunity to overcome all the obstacles and challenges facing the world by proposing decisive and definitive solutions to address this threat.” She emphasized the importance of the role of parliaments in addressing this phenomenon, which requires accelerating the preparation of the necessary legislative studies for each country, in accordance with its constitutional and legal requirements, to transition to the use of clean and renewable energy. She urged governments to implement the provisions of the Paris Agreement and the outcomes of the COP27 Climate Summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh. She emphasized the importance of parliamentary oversight of government policies and strategies in this regard.
Her Excellency Aisha Al Mulla added that the issue of climate change is a fundamental economic, environmental, and development pillar, especially since climate action is a fundamental pillar of the country’s economic, environmental, and development strategies and plans. She emphasized that the UAE is committed to developing and increasing the share of domestic clean energy, and that the country’s clean energy production capacity, which combines renewable and nuclear energy, is expected to reach 14 gigawatts by 2030. The country’s investments in local clean energy projects have reached more than $40 billion. The UAE has also allocated AED 600 billion to invest in clean and renewable energy until 2050 to transform into an economy free of harmful gas emissions, thus establishing a comprehensive framework to address expected climate repercussions. She noted that the UAE is proceeding with its plan to achieve net-zero emissions, which will have positive impacts on the region and the world.
