The US, Israel and UAE governments have agreed to form a joint energy strategy moving forwards.
The nations will come together to cooperate in various sectors – including oil and gas, renewables and energy efficiency – after the energy ministers of the three countries released a joint statement on the US Department of Energy’s website on 1 October.
The latest development follows the signing of a US-brokered peace agreement between Israel and the UAE at the White House last month.
Energy strategy aims to drive “innovation and prosperity” for US, Israel and UAE
The statement said the nations recognise that energy collaboration can be a “step toward to a more stable, integrated, and prosperous Middle East” and that the agreement supports the development of a “strategic vision for an energy partnership that drives innovation and prosperity”.
It added: “Israel, the UAE, and the US, acknowledging the benefits of focusing on pragmatic steps that have tangible outcomes, agree to encourage greater coordination in the energy sector, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, oil, natural gas resources and related technologies, and water desalination technologies.
“Together, our dynamic economies will look to leverage world-leading research and development capacities to meet the needs of current and future generations.”
The energy ministers said they will also “seek to find solutions to the energy challenges faced by the Palestinian people” through the “development of energy resources, technologies, and related infrastructure”.
To maximize the “global benefits of cooperation”, the countries have committed to exploring collective activities in multilateral settings in coordination with financial institutions and the private sector to “enhance international investment in research and development and the rapid adoption of new energy technologies”.
UAE and Israel have ramped up their renewable energy ambitions
The UAE’s energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said last month that the country may collaborate with Israel on water desalination and solar power projects as it looks to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.
On signing the peace agreement with Israel, it became the first member of the Gulf Cooperation Council – which includes Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar – to make such a deal.
As part of the UAE’s target to reach a 50% stake in clean energy by 2050, renewables are set to make up 44% of the target, alongside 38% natural gas, 12% clean coal, and 6% nuclear energy.
The nation has already ramped up its commitments to lower carbon energy sources this year, after a consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and Clean energy company Masdar were handed the contact for the development of the 2-gigawatt (GW) Al Dhafra solar project, near Abu Dhabi city.
Elsewhere, the UAE became the first Gulf country to generate power from nuclear energy this year, through the first of four reactors that will come online at the Barakah plant, just off the coast of Qatar.
Israel, which currently relies heavily on gas and coal to generate power, has pledged $22bn across the next decade to expand its renewable energy capacity.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said in June that the country is looking to increase its solar capacity to 16GW by 2030 – taking its share in the power mix up from 5% in 2019 to 30% over the next 10 years.
Steinitz added that the environmental significance of the solar additions will lead to a 93% fall in air pollution and a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per capita.
