The UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) has signed an agreement with Etihad Energy Services Company, to bolster the principles of sustainability in the public and private sectors, a media report said.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment by Saif Mohamed AlShara, MOCCAE’s Assistant Under-Secretary for the Sustainable Communities Sector, and Ali Mohammed Al Jassim, Etihad ESCO’s CEO, reported Emirates news agency Wam.

Under the MoU, the parties seek to encourage the principle of cooperation on the consolidation of sustainability principles in the public and private sectors by exchanging knowledge and experiences on global best practices in sustainability, as well as raising awareness of successful business practices.

AlShara said that the MoU comes in line with the joint commitment of both sides to achieve the vision of the UAE 2021 and to implement the UAE Green Agenda 2030.

"In accordance with the directives of our visionary leadership, MOCCAE is keen to promoting partnerships and cooperation on integrating sustainability in the public and private sectors. The ministry also seeks to involve UAE businesses in the diverse supply chain of financial institutions and technology service providers across the enterprise development stages," AlShara added.

In turn, Al Jassim said, "We are keen to implement green projects in partnership with the MOCCAE and cooperate with them to achieve the UAE Sustainability vision of 2030 and in the implementation of the government directives.”

MOCCAE and Etihad ESCO aim to identify the key elements of success and enhance mechanisms of data collection and information exchange in climate change and green development. They also aim to promote partnerships in the creation and application of innovative and sustainable solutions for the conservation of natural and environmental resources, and the ensuring coherence and planning between strategies and policies with regards to sustainability.

Both sides also agreed to prepare sustainability-related documents and reports to raise the level of stakeholders’ scientific knowledge on various environmental issues and support national and global partnerships to develop innovative and intelligent industry related to climate change and green development.