The UAE, Jordan, and Israel In Agreement to Advance Clean Energy Projects

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in 2022, the governments of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the State of Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance clean energy and sustainable water desalination projects unveiled last year.

Project Prosperity, which consists of Prosperity Green and Prosperity Blue, is the subject of the MoU. In Prosperity Green, a 600 MW solar photovoltaic plant with electric storage will be constructed in Jordan to generate clean energy for export to Israel. A sustainable water desalination project called Prosperity Blue will annually export 200 million cubic meters of potable water to Jordan from its location in Israel.

The agreement was signed in the presence of John Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate change for the United States, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s minister of industry and advanced technology, and others. Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment for the UAE, Mohammad Al Najjar, Minister of Water and Irrigation for Jordan, and Esawi Frej, Minister of Regional Cooperation for Israel, all signed the agreement.

At the Dubai Expo in the United Arab Emirates in November 2021, the three nations signed an initial Declaration of Intent to investigate the viability of both projects.

According to the Memorandum of Understanding, feasibility assessments for each project are now being conducted, and the parties affirm that Prosperity Green and Prosperity Blue both have promising futures. To create the necessary implementation plans in time for COP28, which will be held in the UAE in November, the UAE, Jordan, and Israel will continue their collaboration.

Project Prosperity was put forth as a way to address some of the problems with water and energy security brought on by climate change in the Middle East, as well as to support stability, sustainable water supply, and renewable energy sources.