UAE and U.S. reach deal for $100B in clean energy projects

Solar panels are set up in the solar farm at the University of California, Merced, in Merced, California, U.S. REUTERS/Nathan Frandino/File photo

ABU DHABI -The United States and United Arab Emirates have reached an agreement to spend $100 billion on clean energy projects with a goal of adding 100 gigawatts globally by 2035, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.

The two governments signed a memorandum of understanding in Abu Dhabi setting out the framework of the deal, Blinken said in a statement.

“This memorandum of understanding is an important step forward in our joint efforts to accelerate our collective movement toward clean energy,” Blinken said.

Under the initiative, the UAE, an OPEC oil producer, and the United States would provide technical, project management and funding assistance for commercially and environmentally sustainable energy projects in other countries.

“Together, we will spur large-scale investment in new energy technologies, in our own countries, around the world and in emerging economies,” U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein said in a separate statement carried on the WAM state news agency.

The statement said the partnership would “assemble and stimulate” private and public sector funding and support for clean energy innovation, carbon and methane management, advanced reactors including small modular reactors, and industrial and transport decarbonisation.

“The energy transition needs a realistic, practical and economically viable plan to deliver climate progress together with energy security and inclusive economic growth,” Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy for Climate Change, said in the statement.

The initiative will also focus on investing in responsible and resilient supply chains, promoting investment in green mining as well as production of minerals and materials vital to the energy transition.