RIYADH: The UAE launched 11 environmentally-friendly energy projects worth 159 billion dirhams ($43 billion) in 2022, said Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. In an interview with the Emirates News Agency WAM, Al Mazrouei said that the UAE’s clean energy production in 2021 totaled 7,035.75 megawatts, while highlighting the launch of the UAE Energy Strategy 2050. He said the country’s first unified energy strategy aims to integrate the renewable and clean energy mix to achieve “a balance between economic needs and climate goals,” in addition to reducing dependency on other fuel sources over the next three decades. In order to ensure the renewable energy sector"s sustainability, the minister added that the UAE has adopted the latest innovations that drive the path of sustainable development, noting that the UAE was among the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement. He revealed that his ministry established the features of the energy sector"s future for the upcoming 50 years, by revising the National Energy Strategy 2050, drafting the National Hydrogen Strategy, and relying on the achievements already accomplished over the past five decades. Clean energy’s contribution to the country’s energy mix in 2021 reached 19.63 percent while the contribution of renewable energy reached 12 percent, and the contribution of peaceful nuclear energy reached 7.55 percent, according to the minister. Acknowledging that the global turmoil in energy supplies has created challenges related to energy security, Al Mazrouei said this will, therefore, lead to a focus on using the lowest-priced resources available locally, with an increase in exports in the non-oil sector from the UAE. The minister stressed that UAE has considerable potential in the field of solar power, adding that the low cost of solar power will enhance the country’s energy security and its competitiveness, in addition to playing a key role in achieving carbon neutrality. He noted that the rise of renewables requires transportation upgrades and investment in storage technologies to reliably meet energy requirements. Speaking about the performance of international oil markets in 2023, Al Mazrouei pointed out several related factors that will drive prices in 2023, such as the end of China’s zero-COVID policy, the US decision to refill the Strategic Oil Reserve, the sanctions imposed on Russian seaborne oil products, and ongoing global inflation. He stressed that the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant is a leading innovative energy project in the process of energy transition. Once fully operational, he added its four reactors will offset 22.4 million tons of carbon emissions, the main cause of climate change, annually.