The UAE recorded the largest increase in renewable energy capacity worldwide over the past decade, a new index has revealed, reflecting the government's key focus on enacting initiatives to achieve its net-zero ambitions.
Capacity in the Emirates surged to 2,540 megawatts in 2020 from a modest 13MW in 2011, Australia-based aggregator Compare the Market said in its “Green Fuel Index” report.
“Countries are increasingly relying more on renewable sources, such as wind and solar, for their energy as they attempt to go green,” the report said.
“The UAE — where renewable capacity has grown by almost 20,000 per cent over the last decade — has traditionally relied on its plentiful supplies of oil but has recently made a big effort to shift away from fossil fuels.”
The UAE is expanding efforts to shift to greener technologies under its Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative, which calls for Dh600 billion ($163bn) to be invested in clean and renewable energy sources in the next three decades.
The plan was announced in the run-up to the Glasgow Cop26 summit in November. The UAE won the bid to host Cop28 in 2023.
The plan is a follow-up to the Energy Strategy 2050 programme introduced in 2017 — the first unified energy strategy in the country to be based on supply and demand — which aims to increase the contribution of clean energy in the total energy mix from 25 per cent to 50 per cent by 2050.
It also seeks to reduce the carbon footprint of power generation by 70 per cent, thus saving Dh700bn by 2050, as well as increase consumption efficiency of individuals and corporates by 40 per cent.
The strategy is aiming for an energy mix of 44 per cent clean energy, 38 per cent gas, 12 per cent clean coal and 6 per cent nuclear to meet the UAE’s economic requirements and environmental goals.
Aside from harnessing solar energy, the UAE made history with the opening of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in April 2021, becoming the Arab world's first country to run a nuclear programme.
In its first year, Barakah's Unit 1 prevented the release of more than five million tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to more than one million cars driven for a year.
The UAE's efforts are being spearheaded by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and the Emirates' special envoy for climate change, who has continuously championed the benefits of renewable energy and encouraged an inclusive approach that will serve as the foundation for the future economy.
Masdar, Abu Dhabi's clean energy company which Dr Al Jaber is chairman of, has advanced clean energy, sustainable real estate and green technology initiatives and projects in the Emirates and throughout the world. Masdar is active in more than 35 countries globally, and has invested over $20 billion in renewable energy projects with its partners.
Saudi Arabia has also invested heavily in boosting its renewable energy capacity and was ranked second after the UAE in the Compare the Market study. The kingdom's renewable energy capacity surged to 413MW from 3MW over the past decade, it found.
“Like the UAE, Saudi Arabia is another country that has had a strong reliance on oil for its energy needs but has been pushing towards more renewable alternatives with an increase of over 13,000 per cent in the last 10 years,” the report said.
Barbados, Malta and Bahrain ranked in the top five countries that reported the largest increases in renewable energy capacity and are the only ones that recorded a capacity growth of at least 10-fold since 2011.
In terms of producing the highest amount of renewable energy capacity per person, Iceland ranked first globally, generating 7,830MW for every one million people. The majority of this comes from hydropower, with a significant amount also coming from geothermal, the report said.
Norway, Sweden, Canada and Austria rounded out the top five in the list dominated by European countries, with EU member states sourcing an average of 22 per cent of their energy from renewables — two percentage points ahead of the goal they set in 2009 — according to the World Economic Forum.
Norway, meanwhile, is the country that relies the most on green energy at 97.4 per cent, followed closely by Iceland (97.3 per cent), Andorra (96.9 per cent), Costa Rica (86.8 per cent) and Switzerland (81.6 per cent).
When ranked by renewable energy segments, Norway was the top producer of hydropower during the 10-year period, while South Korea topped the list in terms of marine power. Denmark produced the most wind power, Australia generated the most solar power and Iceland topped the rankings globally for geothermal energy.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 3 (Abraham 11', 17', 74')
Luton Town 1 (Clark 30')
Man of the match Abraham (Chelsea)
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE