Abu Dhabi has set itself a target to end exporting oil by 2050, according to its Department of Energy’s chairman, Awaidha Murshed al-Marar.

“We have placed our natural resources at the centre of our wider plans to diversify our national sources of income, and today, we are better prepared than ever to celebrate exporting our last shipment of oil by 2050,” Al-Marar said on 15 January at the opening address of the Future Sustainability Summit, held in parallel with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2019.

Elaborating on a key goal of the recently launched UAE Energy Strategy 2050, he said the country’s leadership has created a roadmap which the country will adhere to, starting this year and throughout the next three decades, for improving individual and corporate consumption efficiency by 40 per cent.

“[That will help in] boosting clean energy’s share of the UAE’s energy mix to 50 per cent, which would save nearly 700 billion dirhams [$191bn] by 2050,” Al-Marar said.

“The [UAE Energy 2050] strategy relies on a mix of renewable, nuclear and clean fossil energy to strike a balance between economic needs and environmental objectives,” he added.

Al-Marar further said that the government body has firmly set its sights on implementing Abu Dhabi’s plans for sustainability, enacting legislation that underlines the emirate’s leading role in the energy sector, while continuing to offer conducive conditions for foreign investment.

The emirate’s government integrated state utility Abu Dhabi Electricity & Water Authority (Adwea) into the Department of Energy with effect from 20 February, 2018.

The core objective of the department is to guide policymaking and strategy implementation to ensure sustainable growth of Abu Dhabi’s energy sector.