Yoon calls for ties with UAE in renewable energy sector

President Yoon Suk-yeol, center, at the Barakah nuclear power plant on Monday during a state visit to the UAE. [Photo by Yonhap]

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday emphasized the need for cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in achieving carbon neutrality, going beyond the area of nuclear power and forging ties in clean energy sector.

“If we join hands in clean energy sector such as renewable energy, hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), on top of nuclear power cooperation that symbolizes bilateral friendship, we will be able to strengthen energy security as well as contribute to improving global energy market,” Yoon said during a keynote speech Monday at the opening ceremony of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

Yoon noted that Korea is expanding supply of clean energy and rapidly recovering nuclear ecosystem to become carbon neutral by 2050. The government is also providing active support so that businesses through technology innovation can pioneer new industries related to carbon neutrality and cities are transforming into smart cities that combine low energy and mobility technologies.

Yoon’s remarks come as the UAE in 2021 for the first time in the Middle East announced its intention to reach carbon neutrality.

The UAE is building a zero-carbon city, Masdar City, and it has conveyed possible cooperation with Korea.

On Sunday, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that its sovereign wealth fund will invest $30 billion in Korea in the fields of nuclear power, defense and hydrogen.