NDC 3.0 Analysis briefs: UAE
Throughout 2025, CAN will release regular briefs evaluating how countries’ new NDCs align with our guidelines for NDC 3.0. You can access all the NDC briefs on the Transformative National Climate Action Plans’s page.
| In a nutsell: how did the UAE’s NDC deliver on… – Fair, economy-wide absolute emission reduction targets: The UAE commits to an absolute, economy-wide 45% reduction in emissions by 2035 compared to 2019, below the 60% emissions reduction needed globally as per the IPCC. There are serious concerns regarding its credibility, as its new target requires a sharp jump from a 7% reduction by 2030 to 44% by 2035 relative to 2019 levels and relies significantly on risky and unproven negative emissions technologies like carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS). – Sectoral objectives: The UAE’s NDC includes 2035 sectoral emission targets. However, it does not commit to phasing out fossil fuels or halting new oil and gas exploration, and it lacks time-bound commitments, further casting doubt on the feasibility of its mitigation targets. –Just transition: By refusing to commit to a fossil fuel phase-out, the NDC omits just transition measures for affected workers and communities. Plans to continue fossil fuel production undermine its efforts to address air pollution and heat-related health risks. – New and additional, public grant-based financial resources: The NDC highlights the UAE’s international climate finance to support mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage in developing countries, but greater transparency is needed, especially given reports that its ALTÉRRA climate fund has invested in a BlackRock fund supporting fossil fuel pipelines and gas projects. Download the full brief here. |
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Download file: http://CAN-I-NDC-Brief-UAE.pdf