The UAE is consolidating its leadership in the world of sustainability with specific projects that enhance its economic competitiveness

The UAE is steadily moving forward to consolidate its position as one of the most prominent global models in adopting sustainability, to be a major economic engine that contributes to creating new investment opportunities, enhancing the efficiency of resource use, and raising the competitiveness of the national economy regionally and globally.

Sustainability projects in the UAE constitute an essential axis in the path of economic transformation and a model that reflects the comprehensiveness of the vision in light of its expansion in launching and implementing qualitative projects in clean energy, green infrastructure, sustainable urban planning, low-emission transportation, and recycling.

Sustainable finance stands at the heart of this transformation, as it is the tool that enables the translation of environmental plans and goals into executable and growth projects.

The UAE has succeeded in building an advanced sustainable financing system that includes green bonds and sukuks, blue bonds, and sustainability-related loans, as these tools have contributed to mobilizing capital to finance sustainable projects in various sectors.

Bashar Al Natour, Executive Director and Global Head of Islamic Finance at Fitch Ratings, said that the market for ESG debt instruments linked to the environment, governance and society in the UAE is expected to continue its growth in the medium term, supported by several factors, most notably the UAE Banks Federation’s announcement during the COP28 conference to provide more than one trillion dirhams of sustainable financing by 2030, in addition to the country’s strategy to reach climate neutrality, finance major sustainable projects, and launch new regulatory frameworks.

He added that sukuk accounted for the largest share of debt instrument market issuances related to the environment, governance, and society in 2025, at a rate of more than 60%. He pointed out that the Central Bank has begun developing a sustainable Islamic bonds program, at a time when investment demand for “ESG” debt issuances in the country continues to record strong levels.

Al-Natour explained that the debt instruments market in the UAE witnessed the entry of a wide range of new issuers from companies and financial institutions, which offered for the first time sukuks and bonds related to environmental, social and institutional governance, including, but not limited to, the green sukuks issued by “Tabreed”, Binghatti Holding, and Omniyat Holding.

He added that the value of debt instruments related to the environment, governance and society (ESG) in the UAE continued to grow to reach about $29 billion by the end of 2025, after recording an annual growth of approximately 19%.

In August 2025, First Abu Dhabi Bank issued $50 million in blue bonds, followed by a $20 million issuance in October, becoming the first financial institution in the Gulf region to issue blue bonds.

At the beginning of 2026, Emirates NBD issued sustainable bonds worth one billion dollars, which included a blue tranche worth $300 million, and a green tranche worth $700 million, making it the largest issuance of blue bonds in the UAE and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and the largest double-tranche “blue-green” issuance by a financial institution in the world.

For his part, President and CEO of Mitsubishi Power for Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Javier Cavada, touched on the growing demand for clean and advanced energy in the UAE and the Middle East.

He explained that the current market is characterized by an unprecedented demand for energy, especially in the clean energy sector through solar and wind energy projects.

For his part, the technical director of the International Solid Waste Management Foundation, Dr. Mustafa Ahmed, stressed that regulations and legislation can constitute a fundamental motivation for companies to implement sustainable waste management practices, by setting executive regulations that encourage these practices, in addition to raising public awareness of the importance of the shift towards a circular economy.

He described the UAE’s experience in the field of sustainable waste management as promising, noting the existence of modern legislation that regulates waste management and supports the transition towards a circular economy.

He stressed that the UAE is one of the countries that is constantly working to improve solid waste management and implement the best environmental practices.

According to the HSBC Global Sustainability Survey, which focuses on the opinions and trends of senior decision-makers in the business sector across 12 global markets, UAE companies are showing strong momentum in achieving their ambitions in the field of sustainability, as 94% of companies in the UAE reported that climate change represents a business opportunity, while 90% of companies in the country plan to accelerate their approach to climate change during the next three years, that is, by more than 12 percentage points above the global average, in a clear indication of the transition from the ambition stage. To the implementation stage.