The UAE Minister of Energy, Suhail al-Mazrouei, said on Monday that several factors will drive oil prices in 2023, mainly the end of Chinas zero-COVID policy, the US decision to refill the Strategic Oil Reserve, the sanctions imposed on Russian seaborne oil products, and ongoing global inflation. Mazrouei also said that other factors may negatively affect oil prices, including the global recession, Chinas decreasing demand for oil, and the resumption of trade between Russia and Europe. UAE has launched 11 environmentally friendly energy projects worth $43.2 billion in 2022, announced the Minister. Mazrouei stated that the UAEs clean energy production in 2021 totaled 7,035.75 megawatts (MW), underscoring the countrys pioneering efforts in the clean energy sector. He told Emirates News Agency (WAM) that the launch of the UAE Energy Strategy 2050, the first unified energy strategy by the UAE, aims to integrate renewable and clean energy mix to achieve a balance between economic needs and climate goals. It also aims to reduce dependency on other fuel sources over the next three decades. The Minister added that the UAE has adopted the latest innovations that drive sustainable development, to ensure the renewable energy sectors sustainability. He said that the UAE was among the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement. He pointed out that the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure established the features of the energy sectors future for the upcoming 50 years. Mazrouei stressed that the contribution of clean energy to the energy mix in 2021 reached 19.63 percent, while the contribution of renewable energy reached 12 percent, and the contribution of peaceful nuclear power reached 7.55 percent by the end of 2021. The global turmoil in energy supplies has created challenges related to energy security and will, therefore, lead to a focus on using the lowest-priced resources available locally, to meet the countrys energy requirements, with an increase in exports in the non-oil sector from the UAE, he added. He noted that the UAE has considerable potential in the field of solar power, and that its low cost will improve the countrys energy security and competitiveness. He explained that the progress achieved during the process of developing the four Barakah reactors, play a crucial role in reducing the carbon footprint of the UAEs energy sector, in reaching climate neutrality by 2050. Mazrouei stressed that the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant is a leading innovative energy project in the energy transition process. Once fully operational, Barakah’s four reactors would offset 22.4 million tons of carbon emissions annually, the leading cause of climate change.