The UAE Climate Law,
in plain English
Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 on the Reduction of Climate Change Effects came into force on 30 May 2025 and moved UAE climate reporting from voluntary to mandatory. It requires sources operating in the State to reduce their emissions (Article 4) and to measure, report and retain records of them (Article 6). The headline deadline for Scope 1 and 2 reporting is 30 May 2026.
Measure your emissions
Article 6 requires sources to measure emissions from their activities on a regular basis and prepare an emissions inventory, to the standards set by the Ministry or the competent authority.
Report them
Submit periodic reports on the Ministry's approved forms through the national MRV platform, covering your activity data, your current reduction measures, your planned ones and their expected results.
Reduce them
Article 4 lists the means: energy efficiency, clean energy, protecting carbon sinks, CCUS, fluorocarbon alternatives, offsetting and integrated waste management.
Does this apply to you?
Article 3 applies the law to sources in the State, including free zones. A "source" is defined in Article 1 as any public or private legal person, or individual enterprise, whose operations release greenhouse gases. It is written around emitting activity, not company size.
| If you are… | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| A large emitter | Emitting 0.5 million tonnes CO₂e or more a year (Scope 1 and 2 combined) triggered registration with the National Register for Carbon Credits by 28 June 2025. Expect independent verification by a MOCCAE-approved verifier and closer scrutiny under Article 6(3). |
| A mid-size business | There is no size or turnover threshold and no sector exemption. The practical task before 30 May 2026 is a complete Scope 1 and 2 inventory for the 2025 reporting year, built from your fuel, electricity and cooling data. |
| A small business | Article 1 includes individual enterprises in the definition of a source, so size alone is not an exemption. Duties apply once you are designated a Source — but larger customers increasingly ask suppliers for emissions data regardless. |
| Based in a free zone | There is no free-zone exemption. Article 3 says so directly, and Article 1 defines the competent authority as the local authorities in each emirate, including free zones. |
| Part of a group | Decide and document your organisational boundary — which entities and sites consolidate into your inventory, and on what basis — before you start collecting data. Article 6(1)(c) then requires those records to be kept for five years. |
Key dates on the road to 2050
The law came into force on 30 May 2025, and the headline compliance deadline is one year later. Obligations bite once MOCCAE or your emirate’s competent authority designates you a Source, so confirm your own status and sector guidance.
Decree-Law issued
Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 is signed, establishing mandatory greenhouse gas obligations for sources operating in the UAE, free zones included.
Law enters into force
Nine months after publication in the Official Gazette, as Article 21 requires. The one-year clock in Article 18 starts here.
Large-emitter registration
Under Cabinet Resolution No. 67, entities emitting 0.5 million tonnes CO₂e or more a year (Scope 1 and 2 combined) register with the National Register for Carbon Credits.
National MRV platform launched
MOCCAE launches the Integrated Emissions Quantification Tool, the centralised system for submitting emissions data.
Compliance deadline
One year from entry into force (Article 18). In-scope entities report Scope 1 and 2 emissions for the 2025 reporting year. MOCCAE has indicated this may be extended pending technical guidance, but no revised date is confirmed.
Scope 3 expected
Value-chain reporting is widely anticipated to follow, though it is not yet legally mandated.
Climate neutrality
Article 5: the Cabinet sets annual sectoral reduction targets along the national pathway, reviewed and updated periodically.
What non-compliance costs
Article 15 attaches a fine to violations of Article 6(1) — the measurement, reporting and record-keeping duties — without prejudice to any more severe penalty under another law.
The minimum fine under Article 15 for violating the Article 6(1) duties.
The maximum fine under Article 15 for the same violations.
Article 16 doubles the penalty — up to AED 4,000,000 — if the same act is repeated within two years of the final judgment of conviction.
Five steps to a defensible baseline
Whatever the exact deadline for your sector, the preparation is the same — and the first reporting year is the one you cannot go back and re-measure.
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Set your organisational boundary
Decide which entities, sites and facilities are inside your inventory, and write down the basis for that choice. Everything downstream depends on it.
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Collect a full year of activity data
Fuel purchased, electricity and district cooling consumed, refrigerant top-ups, fleet mileage. This is the part that takes longest, because it means finding twelve months of bills.
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Calculate Scope 1 and Scope 2
Apply recognised emission factors to your activity data to produce your direct and purchased-energy emissions — the core of any GHG inventory.
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Screen your Scope 3
Not yet mandated, but widely expected from 2027. Work out now which of the fifteen value-chain categories are material for your business — for most UAE organisations a handful dominate the total.
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Keep the evidence
Article 6(1)(c) requires a record of measured emission quantities to be kept for five years from the date of each analysis, accessible to Ministry and competent-authority officers with judicial capacity.
From bills to a submission-ready report
MeNetZero is built around exactly this workflow — guided data capture, recognised emission factors, and the UAE-specific outputs you need at the end of it.
Guided data capture
Each emission source has a form that asks only for what is on the document in front of you — kWh from a DEWA bill, litres from a fuel receipt. Bulk Excel import handles a full year at once.
Recognised factors
Calculations follow the GHG Protocol using DEFRA 2024 and UAE-specific emission factors, so your figures rest on methodology a reviewer will recognise.
UAE-ready outputs
Produce a GHG inventory PDF, a MOCCAE Scope 1 & 2 report and an IEQT export to help prepare mrv.ae submissions, with the evidence retained behind every number.
Start your baseline
before the deadline
The first reporting year is the one you cannot re-measure later. Create your account and start from AED 499 a year.