The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has not reported its methane emissions data to the United Nations Climate Change Conference for nine years. This is reported by the British newspaper “The Guardian”. The Gulf state, which has gained its wealth primarily from oil deposits, is scheduled to host the UN climate summit this year.
The climate conference requires member states to submit a detailed report on greenhouse gas emissions every two years. Such a document would have been due for the first time in 2014. However, the United Arab Emirates have never submitted such a report, according to the Guardian.
Nevertheless, the United Nations climate summit will be held in the Emirates this year. The President of the Assembly is Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Economy and Advanced Technologies of the UAE and CEO of the state oil company “Abu Dhabi National Oil Company” (ADNOC). A few weeks ago, Al Jaber called for “ruthless honesty” when it came to gaps in climate protection that needed to be closed.
The missing emission data is not the only inconsistency. On its website, ADNOC lists a limit on methane emissions that is higher than the amount the company is currently producing. While methane emissions are around 0.07 percent according to their own estimates, ADNOC has set itself a target of a maximum of 0.15 percent. This allows them to further increase their methane emissions while still meeting their emissions target.
Methane is a gas that belongs to the hydrocarbons. It significantly promotes the greenhouse effect and thus the warming of the climate. It is mainly emitted by livestock farming and the extraction and burning of oil and coal. Saving methane is therefore an effective way to curb climate change.
Sources: The Guardian, ADNOC, ADNOC, BBC, Federal Environment Agency
