COP27, the UN climate conference, opens in less than a week, on November 6 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. A few days before this annual meeting, the United States and the United Arab Emirates have concluded a 100 billion dollar agreement to promote the energy transition.
The United States and the United Arab Emirates will focus on the progressive development of energy sources with low greenhouse gas emissions. In total, they aim to install 100 gigawatts of clean energy by 2035, without specifying where or by what means of production. However, according to the White House press release, the agreement plans to promote nuclear power as “clean energy”.
Beyond investments in their countries, Washington and Abu Dhabi intend to encourage the deployment of clean energies in emerging countries and low-income countries.
Another line of work: the decarbonization of the industry and transport sectors. The United States and the United Arab Emirates also intend to increase investment in fossil fuel emission reduction and carbon capture technologies. This agreement therefore does not close the door to fossil fuels.
The reverse would have been surprising, as the announcement of this partnership comes the day after a call from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to continue investing in hydrocarbons. The International Energy Agency has, however, included the immediate cessation of investment in new fossil fuel projects in its guide to neutrality by 2050.