ABU DHABI, One of the most complex challenges in the global discussion over climate change is the perceived divide between the interests and obligations of developed and developing countries.

At the crux of the debate are two fundamental questions. Who is impacted by climate change, and who is responsible?

Developing countries tend to feel climate impacts the most, largely due to their vulnerable geography, reduced capacity – economic, infrastructure and access to technology – combined with the fact they often lack the infrastructure to withstand storms, drought and other climate phenomena such as rising sea levels.

Historically, the responsibility for climate change rests with developed nations – those who have emitted greenhouse gases largely unimpeded since their industrialization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Today, however, several developing countries are major carbon emitters themselves. To catch up economically, they have relied on affordable but carbon-intensive fossil fuels. This inevitably complicates achieving a global deal on climate change.

So how do we help developing countries hold back emissions but not progress?

For the UAE, it involves becoming an active, willing and vocal investor in the developing world, where most of the 750 million people who currently lack electricity reside.

The UAE is actively scaling up finance for clean technologies and climate solutions, through public-private partnerships and in many cases, direct grants to the most vulnerable countries and communities.

The UAE is one of the world’s largest donors of humanitarian aid and has acted swiftly to help nations hit by natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, such as Pakistan, which earlier this year experienced historic flooding resulting from heavier than usual monsoon rains and melting glaciers. The UAE led humanitarian relief flights to the embattled country.

The UAE has been at the forefront of climate development assistance for the past decade and half. It has provided US$1.5 billion in grants and concessionary loans to more than 40 countries, including small island developing states (SIDS) and least-developed countries (LDCs), where renewable energy offers the chance to not only reduce their reliance on fossil fuel imports but also to spur economic development and create jobs.

The UAE has helped install dozens of solar, wind and battery storage projects in the Pacific Islands, the Caribbean, and other developing countries. These include a solar power plant in Tonga providing nearly a fifth of the island’s annual power needs, and the Port Victoria Wind Power Project in the Seychelles, which had hitherto been entirely reliant on imported diesel fuel.

Unveiled in 2008, the $3 million Zayed Sustainability Prize recognizes grassroots projects in food, energy, water and health – issues at the heart of the climate change challenge – through awards to small to medium-sized businesses, non-profit organizations and high schools.

To date, ninety-six Prize beneficiaries have improved the lives of an estimated 370 million people either directly or indirectly around the world, the majority in climate vulnerable countries.

At COP26 in Glasgow, the UAE and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) launched the $1 billion Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) platform, a global climate finance facility to accelerate the renewable energy transition in developing countries.

The UAE’s experience shows that public-private finance can kickstart local renewable energy industries. At the same time, it understands that climate action requires a holistic approach.

With food systems responsible for roughly a quarter of all global carbon emissions, the UAE and the United States launched the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate Initiative, (AIM4Climate), also in Glasgow. The joint initiative will accelerate investment in climate-smart agriculture technology and food systems innovation.

As world leaders are now descending on Sharm el-Sheikh for this year’s UN climate change conference, developing nations are looking to wealthier ones for investment, knowledge-sharing and greater understanding of their challenges in mitigating and adapting to the effects of global warming. They will find a committed partner in the UAE.

Source: Emirates News Agency