UAE Strengthens Private Sector Collaboration for Climate Action

The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE), in partnership with the UAE Alliance for Climate Action (UACA), held a strategic session aimed at deepening collaboration with private sector entities and NGOs to advance national climate goals.

The meeting emphasized aligning corporate operations with the UAE’s sustainability agenda and Federal Decree-Law No. (11) of 2024 on the Reduction of Climate Change Effects-legislation that came into effect in May 2025 to provide a structured framework for reducing emissions and achieving Net Zero by 2050.

Participants explored mechanisms to enhance private sector involvement through transparency, data-driven emission reporting, and innovative low-carbon solutions. The session underscored the importance of public–private partnerships in fostering green innovation, job creation, and sustainable economic growth. Leaders from MOCCAE, including Dr.

Alanoud Al Ali, reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to a collaborative development model that unites government and business efforts to build a climate-resilient future.

Meanwhile, UACA, led by Emirates Nature–WWF and supported by HSBC, continues to play a key role in guiding companies toward meaningful, science-based decarbonisation aligned with the nation’s Net Zero vision.

Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 provides the statutory backbone that MOCCAE's private-sector engagement work now operates within. Structured collaboration with the UAE Alliance for Climate Action, backed by Emirates Nature-WWF and HSBC, positions the country to translate net-zero-by-2050 commitment into corporate-level emissions accounting, transparent reporting and low-carbon innovation across sectors.

The public-private partnership model is significant for accelerating decarbonisation. Corporate climate action typically outpaces national policy in specific sectors (finance, technology, real estate); channelling that momentum into aligned national outcomes requires the coordinating architecture MOCCAE and UACA provide.

For UAE-based corporates and multinationals operating in the country, Cognitud's climate action, ESG strategy and transformation and impact assessment teams help clients navigate Federal Decree-Law No. 11 compliance, structure participation in national climate-action alliances, and prepare disclosures aligned with SBTi, ISSB S2 and UAE-specific sustainability frameworks that increasingly shape reputation and access to sustainable-finance in the region.