UAE Leads Dialogue on Long-Term Development Efforts at Copenhagen Climate Ministerial

His Excellency Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Foreign Minister for Energy and Sustainability, led the United Arab Emirates (UAE) delegation to the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial, alongside ministers and climate leaders from around the world, to advance COP28’s outputs and set the course toward COP30. Held from 7–8 May, the meeting represents an important milestone, marking ten years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement and the halfway point through the critical decade to keep the 1.5°C goal within reach.

H.E. Balalaa represented the COP28 Presidency in the Troika High-Level Dialogue on Long-Term Development Planning, co-chaired by the COP28, COP29, and COP30 Presidencies. The session explored how Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) can serve as strategic instruments for sustainable development, investment mobilization, and institutional resilience.

“As the initiators of the Troika Roadmap to Mission 1.5, the UAE firmly believes that NDCs must move beyond pledges. They must serve as national development blueprints – integrating investment, inclusion, and resilience,” said H.E. Balalaa during his intervention.

On the sidelines of the meeting, H.E. Balalaa held several bilateral meetings with key partners, including the Minister of Climate Change of kingdom of Norway, Deputy Danish Minister of Energy, Climate, and Utilities; Denmark’s Minister of Environment and Gender Equality. His Excellency also held several meetings with CEOs of private sector water & renewable energy companies such as Vestas the pioneer company in wind turbines, Copenhagen infrastructure partners (CIP), and AVK one of the largest holding company in water solutions.

In these engagements, H.E. Balalaa reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to leading the implementation of the Baku Climate Unity Pact, which includes initializing the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) and advancing the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG).

Furthermore, the UAE emphasized its role as a climate finance pioneer, referencing its USD 100 million contributions to both the FRLD and the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Fund, as well as the launch of the USD 30 billion ALTÉRRA platform to unlock transformational finance and catalyze private sector engagement.

In addition, H.E. Balalaa highlighted the UAE’s commitment to sustainable development through its co-hosting of the United Nations Water Conference 2026 (UNWC) alongside Senegal. This pivotal event will link water security, climate resilience, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The UAE views water action as inseparable from climate action and remains committed to driving global cooperation for a resilient and sustainable future for generations to come.

This participation reflects the UAE’s ongoing diplomatic efforts to build international support for global climate action, following the signing of the historic “UAE Consensus,” reached at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), held in Expo City in Dubai in 2023. These endeavors aim to accelerate progress across adaptation, energy transition, and resilience in the lead-up to COP30, which will be held in Belém, Brazil the coming November.