Telco e& becomes UAE’s first private sector entity to join UICCA

UAE telco e& has a signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), at the UAE Pavilion, at the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, currently taking place in Egypt.

The strategic partnership makes e& the first entity from the UAE’s private sector to join the UICCA.

UICCA is a non-partisan climate action entity that functions as a think tank, providing evidence-based policy recommendations on climate action to both the public and private sectors.

The move reaffirms the group’s commitment to the climate action efforts led by the group while supporting the transition to a greener economy.

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, executive director of UICCA, said: “As the driving force towards actualising the UAE’s commitment to net-zero by 2050, UICCA’s mission is to enable and energise an ecosystem of public and private entities that have shared values and a joint vision of building a sustainable future.”

Sheikha Shamma added that signing with e& at COP27, as the first private sector entity to join the UICCA, “is a tremendous achievement that depicts our progress towards our climate action aspirations, and we look forward to partnering together and pushing forward with our goals to preserve natural ecosystems for future generations”.

“This marks the beginning of the UICCA’s concentrated efforts towards supporting the UAE’s sustainable solutions’ commitment, as well as the acclaimed actions and efforts that have already been undertaken by the Egyptian presidency as part of our concerted efforts towards the ‘Decade for Action,” she added.

“Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and we believe that tangible sustainable goals are essential to ensure a better future for generations to come,” said Hatem Dowidar, group CEO, e&. “We have taken an important step forward in visualising our sustainability strategy and supporting the UAE’s net-zero climate action ambitions, and we remain confident that the signing of the MoU will become a catalyst for making a difference as we inspire and motivate other corporates and organisations to drive the necessary change.

“The telecoms sector has always been a key enabler for other sectors to achieve their sustainability goals. Together with UICCA, we will create an action group that will drive implementation of sustainability-based solutions in UAE’s ICT industry.”

In other news, e& also pledged its commitment to achieving net zero status for Scope 1 and 2 emissions within its group’s operations in the UAE by 2030. The announcement was made at COP27.

Read: UAE’s e& commits to net-zero operations by 2030